Lameness in Lambs

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Isn’t it standard practice to put sheep through an AB foot bath to sort CODD? Everyone I’ve heard in our sheep group that has tackled it has been through daily footbathing through Tylan/Lincospectin footbaths for 3 days. All say it more or less cleared it, but probably down to local vets’ advice rather than experience?
 

lizness

Member
Location
North East
Isn’t it standard practice to put sheep through an AB foot bath to sort CODD? Everyone I’ve heard in our sheep group that has tackled it has been through daily footbathing through Tylan/Lincospectin footbaths for 3 days. All say it more or less cleared it, but probably down to local vets’ advice rather than experience?
We were told to betamox and footbath with antibiotic powder for 3 days but as we didn't have loads to do made it up in a spray bottle and did them by hand, imagine it got into the foot better and can spray right up into the foot. Used draxxin too but the above method seemed to work on ones that draxxin didn't get. CODD is horrid and can cause lumps that cause permanent lameness that we have had to cull out with knackerman.
 

JSmith

Member
Livestock Farmer
Isn’t it standard practice to put sheep through an AB foot bath to sort CODD? Everyone I’ve heard in our sheep group that has tackled it has been through daily footbathing through Tylan/Lincospectin footbaths for 3 days. All say it more or less cleared it, but probably down to local vets’ advice rather than experience?
Our vets don’t want to give it you for sheep, over use of AB!! If you’ve got over five chickens they’ll give it you for that 😉
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Isn’t it standard practice to put sheep through an AB foot bath to sort CODD? Everyone I’ve heard in our sheep group that has tackled it has been through daily footbathing through Tylan/Lincospectin footbaths for 3 days. All say it more or less cleared it, but probably down to local vets’ advice rather than experience?
That’s what we did last time we had a bad outbreak of CODD. It’s a good few years ago but we had 150 lame in 300. Got it down too 2 animals in a fortnight after fbath in Tylan and Betamax jabs. Isolated those 2 inside, fed and home killed for the freezer. Never been as bad since by a long way
 

Agrivator

Member
How much zinc sulphate are people putting in a foot bath? 100 litre foot bath she is. Can’t seem to get a straight answer from anyone I ask. Thanks


About 10kg. And the same solution will last for a long time. But the fuller sheep are, and the longer they stand in it, the more it starts to resemble a very weak slurry. But it still seems to work.

Apparently, cattle slurry contains viruses which are phages, and they engulf and kill bacteria in the same way that amoeba engulf their food source. And the beauty of it is that the bacteria can never become resistant. I wonder if sheep slurry is similar.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
About 10kg. And the same solution will last for a long time. But the fuller sheep are, and the longer they stand in it, the more it starts to resemble a very weak slurry. But it still seems to work.

Apparently, cattle slurry contains viruses which are phages, and they engulf and kill bacteria in the same way that amoeba engulf their food source. And the beauty of it is that the bacteria can never become resistant. I wonder if sheep slurry is similar.

I’d agree with the 10%, but not with your second part. Walking in slurry is one of the reasons why dairy cattle (especially) need footbathing so regularly. The slurry spreads DD incredibly well, to the extent it is sometimes even known as ‘slurry heel’.
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Only recently had the vet out to confirm and advise about treatment of CODD,
She also warned us of the risk of it passing to the cows and them getting DD
 

Agrivator

Member
I’d agree with the 10%, but not with your second part. Walking in slurry is one of the reasons why dairy cattle (especially) need footbathing so regularly. The slurry spreads DD incredibly well, to the extent it is sometimes even known as ‘slurry heel’.

You are obviously not aware of the finding by a Research Institute in Georgia that cattle slurry does in fact contain phages which attack bacteria. It seems there was no commercial interest in pursuing their findings for obvious reasons.

And although it is well known that dairy cows can suffer severe foot problems through exposure to slurry, there are thousands of beef cattle throughout the UK which will spend a few hours a day standing in slurry next to a feed stance or ring feeder, without incident.

Foot problems in dairy cows might also be exacerbated by excess protein intakes
 

Lemon curd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Yorkshire dales
scald if untreated ends up in that smelly manky foot that we all know about. Is that codd or just bad footrot ?( I jab and spray those ,the other lambs walk 3 times through formalin but thinking of changing to zinc. Formalin just seems to harden the hooves )
 

Stw88

Member
Location
Northumberland
scald if untreated ends up in that smelly manky foot that we all know about. Is that codd or just bad footrot ?( I jab and spray those ,the other lambs walk 3 times through formalin but thinking of changing to zinc. Formalin just seems to harden the hooves )
Exactly the problem we’re having. pritty sure it’s just foot rot. A lot of the time it’s only 1 foot or even 1 cleat on 1 foot. Footbathing with zink formalin all summer and hasn’t made a difference.
 

Ysgythan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ammanford
Pruex warning

yes, I know, I know

CODD has a particular life cycle. If infected you need it to flare up before you can kill it off. That involves internal as well as external treatments, over a number of stages.

I would certainly speak to them before ever using any AB footbath.
 

Estate fencing.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Codd is a nightmare when you have it, but one day it will go and you wont see if for years again.
I had a bunch of ewes that I would think every single housed yearling up to 4 year old ewe had it in the spring, then one day it was gone and haven't touched a foot on the lambs or ewes all summer (from this farm).
I can trace it back to when it came in as well, just before Christmas someone wanted me to help him treat a load of lame sheep, I was to busy so he came to find me when I was running sheep through the race, I didn't see him coming and he stood on the end where the ewes where coming out. about a week later they started to go lame and just spread like wild fire!
 

ladycrofter

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Highland
+1 zinc sulphate. Also helps to dump a bag or 2 of builders lime around feeders/troughs etc. Helps kill the scald when it squishes with mud between their toes. Bloody expensive now tho, used to be cheap. 🙄
 
+1 for the lime. I made some wooden trays for lime and put them round the creep feeder that was out for the hogg's lambs as an experiment. Their scald cleared up and they have been OK since. Other batches have been a nightmare, never had much success with footbathing but don't really have the facilities for it.

Thinking next year for the majority of lambs that aren't on creep to try a tray for lime in an upturned ring feeder and put a feed block inside to encourage the lambs to go in.
 

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