sheep foot (rot?) question

[patandchickens]

Yet another "I wish I had some actual sheep experience before, so I knew what things looked like instead of just relying on books" question

It's been real wet here for the last week or so. One of the dairybred ewes started limping yesterday so I caught her up and checked her out. Front feet seem 100% fine to me, problem seems to be the hinds, one moreso than the other.

She has always walked a little funny, on the inside claw (toe? whatever you're supposed to call it) more than on the outside, one, so the outside claw gets long and a bit funny. It's been a couple months since I trimmed her, and I may not have done the best job last time. Anyhow, last night I trimmed back both feets' hind claws properly, but one of them had the outer horn layer ripped waaaay back so that it was mostly flapping and the innards of the hoof/claw/toe/whatever exposed.

Not sure of sheep foot structural-anatomy, but in a horse I'd describe it as having lost a large portion of hoof wall with the laminae exposed?

It looks a bit rotty in places (like thrush in horses, with irregular raggedy bits eaten away here and there) but the only smell I can detect is a *faint* sort of seashore-at-low-tide smell, not unpleasant and definitely not strong or thrushy-smelling. No discharge visible.

I cut the the big loose flappy portion off, after which she was walking a lot better but still maybe a hair 'off'. After contemplation overnight, this morning I also squirted on some of the horses' Thrushbuster, which I do not know what is in it except that it's very, very purple and does a good job on equine thrush.

a) does this sound like foot rot, or just softened-horn-that-got-ripped-away, or what?

b) should I be doing something different?

The other sheep seem fine -- most of them (i.e. "except the obnoxious two) I caught and their feet look fine (I did a tad more trimming here and there) and have no odor or discharge.

Thanks for any advice,

Pat, not expecting things to dry out anytime soon unfortunately.

 

[carolinagirl]

Here's a good link for you. http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/410/410-028/410-028.html

I really really hope it is not foot rot because it is hard to cure and is contagious. VERY contagious. I think it could be cultured to see exactly what bacteria it is, so you'd now for sure. Can you isolate that ewe to prevent her from infecting others?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If there was no "oh my god that stinks' odor, then it's probably not foot rot. It could be that her hooves are just soft from all the moisture. Keeping them trimmed will definitely help keep foot rot away.

Foot scald is another problem that sometimes gets confused with rot. If the area inbetween the toes is red and they're limping, it could be foot scald.

It wouldn't hurt to use thrush treatment on them if you have it, or you can do an epsom salt foot bath (or zinc sulfate or copper sulfate), but right now I'd just wait and see how trimming affects her.

I've also used Koppertox in the past with good results, and Hoof N Heel.

 

[Bossroo]

Pat, since you say that the hoof is seperated and has an odor. Trim ALL of the seperated hoof horn out COMLETELY so that oxygen can do it's thing. Also, use copper sulfate as a hoof soak several times for 2 weeks. Trim all of the other sheep hooves as short as possible and run them through the copper sulfate solution at least 2-3 times in a 2 week period. Also isolate this sheep and keep the hooves as dry as possible. Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Well, I've done a bunch more googling/reading on foot rot, and honestly it doesn't sound like what I've got.

This has a) no foul odor [just a faint not-unpleasant 'damp seaweed' kind of smell, for all I know it may be what the ground in parts of the paddock smells like, I ain't gettin down on hands and knees to check] and b) no inflamed skin between the toes, that area looks totally normal to me (comparing to the other sheeps).

There is really nothing I can do to keep them drier, unfortunately -- their nightyard is high and dry (but damp, b/c continual rain) straw, but the paddocks are damp grass with squishy ground in some places and that's just the way it is right now.

I know in a perfect world we'd all have perfect facilities and perfect weather, and could isolate animals into perfect conditions without them getting upset, but that is just not how things are here.

I'll see if I can dig up some Copertox to use instead of the Thrushbuster. She seems a lot better right now but if it gets worse again I could probably devise a homemade poultice boot along the lines of how I build them for the horses, to soak the foot in copper sulfate for a while. And of course will keep a close eye on the other sheeps.

Thanks guys, will let you know how it goes,

Pat