It’s Good, It’s Real Good

We are seeing lots of really lame sheep around the district, due to the wet soil and grass underfoot.  If you’ve got dew on your boots at 10am and a mat of grass around your boots, its sore feet weather alright.

This lameness is mainly due to foot abscess, but scald, benign footrot or Ovine Interdigital Dermatitis (call it what you like!) may flare up due to the seasonal conditions.

It is best to examine some of your sheep and make sure you know why they are lame. But how do you tell the difference between foot abscess and footrot?

Foot abscesses usually affect only one leg.  They have an obviously swollen foot, the swelling is usually around the coronet, and it spreads the toes.  There is heat in the coronet band if you have a feel, and once the abscess has burst out there is usually a creamy white or yellow discharge.

Scald (let’s call it that) usually affects multiple feet, there is no swelling but there is redness and hair loss between the toes. In really severe cases they may smell or underrunning of the sole of the foot.  

In both cases, drying the animals’ feet out – more easily said than done in the current conditions - can help clear up the condition and prevent new cases.  Antibiotics and pain relief are all options for treatment too.  Foot bathing with zinc sulphate solutions can help, but the key is letting them stand in the baths for 15 minutes, and then dry for 24 hours on a hard, dry surface which is often not possible.

Heavily pregnant ewes are the most affected by foot abscess, this is probably because they are carrying up to 10kg extra weight due to big lambs in their bellies, and because their immune systems slip in the immediate period before lambing.

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