Email this page
Print this PageFor more information, please contact the FeedLine on
01278 444829 or email info@molevalleyfarmers.com.
Lameness in Sheep
By Patrick Traill, MRCVS, Mole Valley Farmers Veterinary Services Manager
Lameness in sheep can cause chronic losses in the flock, impacting on the body condition of previously fit ewes and lambs. The added threat presented by the latest form of hoof disease, Congenital Ovine Digital Dermatitis (C0DD), is one which will force many to relook at their procedures for these diseases.
Footrot Problems - a Solution With Footvax
A new analysis of the direct costs of footrot in sheep by the Farm Animal Institute (FAI) based in Oxford, shows that treatment and labour inputs alone are as much as £8.38/ ewe.
In highlighting the direct costs the FAI says these are only a fraction of the total costs. The headline treatment and labour costs are significant enough, but these do not include the knock-on financial penalties caused by this painful condition. To minimise the costs of lameness and its adverse effects on animal welfare, FAI and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health are now two years into a three-year programme assessing a new footrot control protocol, which is highly practical and focuses on prevention. It involves culling persistent offenders, improved biosecurity and Footvax bi-annual vaccination.
Over the last 12 months, there has been a 90% reduction in lameness problems, with potential direct cost savings. Lameness is a big issue for many flocks, but effective disease control starts with accurate diagnosis. If you have any doubt at all about the cause of any foot problems in your flock, ask for help. The causes of lameness include scald, contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD), classical footrot and shelly hoof, but it can be easy to confuse the symptoms.
For footrot control, vaccination as part of an overall management programme, providing effective treatment for infected sheep, as well as long-term protection against the onset of the disease. The Footvax vaccine allows the sheep to build immunity to Dichelobacter nodusus – the key bacterium implicated in the disease. Unfortunately, unvaccinated sheep do not produce an antibody response to this bacterium, which means they will always remain susceptible to the disease.
A Five Point Plan to Control Footrot
1. Make an accurate diagnosis of the cause of lameness, then work out an effective programme of control.
2. Isolate lame sheep and treat as quickly as possible.
3. Footrot spreads easily. If moving sheep onto clean grazing, make sure that all sheep are foot bathed in advance to keep the land footrot-free.
4. If footrot is diagnosed, vaccinate all sheep, whether or not they are lame.
5. Cull any sheep that do not respond to the treatment protocol to protect the remaining flock from cross-contamination.
New Footbath Technology Offers Hope for Sheep Producers
Whilst the two main sheep hoof diseases, scald and footrot, can probably be considered endemic on most flocks, C0DD is not, and for producers fortunate enough to be free from the disease currently, a quarantine regime should be adopted in consultation with the farm vet. The key principle for a quarantine system is that C0DD may be identified and treated before the sheep are introduced to the main flock.
The use of footbaths for sheep is not ideal, but is probably the most effective method of whole-flock treatment. The key drawback is the rapid contamination of the footbath solution with organic matter which may inactivate the chemical treatment; particularly with antibiotics and peroxide solutions.
Products such as Formalin, copper sulphate and zinc sulphate, have the advantage of continuing to work in the presence of organic matter, but all have drawbacks: Formalin is toxic, painful and can make the hooves prone to cracking, copper is highly toxic to sheep and zinc requires the hooves to be steeped in the solution for around 20 minutes to be effective. Zinc has the advantage as it works in a different way to other treatments, reducing the inflammation around the lesion and its prolonged use leads to a protective build up of zinc in the hoof.
This elevated level acts to prevent inflammation thereby improving the robustness of the hoof. A new product available from Mole Valley Farmers offers an alternative footbath which has achieved excellent results for both sheep and dairy cattle. Kling-on Blue is a patented preparation which has the unique property of forming a gel, which coats and then binds to the hoof. The active ingredients are not only bound to the hoof in higher concentrations than via a conventional footbath but they are present for longer – giving a longer period of activity. The results have been excellent and extensive trials have demonstrated that Kling-on Blue is as effective as Formalin, copper or zinc. The advantage with it is that it can be used less frequently, which is where the major benefit for sheep producers is seen. Results from a French trial demonstrated that using the product every two weeks for an eight week period resulted in an 84% reduction in lameness compared to weekly use of zinc sulphate (steeped for 20 minutes).
Kling-on Blue must be mixed properly. The gelling agent which binds so successfully to the hoof has to be activated by the force of a high pressure washer and this is critical to achieve the desired gelling effect.
For further information, contact your local Mole Valley Farmers branch.
For website enquiries and online orders phone 
