Treating Hoof Rot in Sheep and Goats

[@EZ-viewing.]

Thank you good sir for your comprehensive yet easy to follow presentation. I have taken onboard your recommendations. Very useful and practical advice. Thank you again. Cheers.

[@LinessaFarms]

Thanks, Mark. We appreciate the kind words and you taking the time to give us your feedback. If there are ever any topics you would like us to address, please feel free to let us know. Happy holidays to you and your family!

[@viscache1]

We just had a brand new lamb get a small splinter in the interdigital space right next to and at the coronary line. He started limping and I waited two days to see if it self corrected. When it didn’t I got in there and found the splinter…seemed to be a small piece of wood from a railing that he jumped up on at feeding time. Once it was out he continued limping and with a little pressure I found almost a half fl.oz. of pus oozing out. We cleaned and got him started on antibiotics for infection. Now four days later, we got iodine on it to clean it up and Pine Tar to seal it once he demonstrated weight bearing and no more pus coming from the hole. Little guy is jumping and playing and no more infection! 3 weeks old and keeping me busy!

[@LinessaFarms]

It’s always something! We are glad you were able to figure out what was going on!

[@emmanuelspromisefarm6118]

Thank you again for another awesome video. Love your because they are thorough and to the point with information needed. Great Job!!

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you very much. We appreciate you watching our videos. We are always trying to evolve and do what works best for our viewers. In our early days we spent way too much time editing our videos and trying to make them look pretty. We have found what most people want is short, sweet, and to the point. We enjoy helping people and appreciate your feedback. Thanks again and happy holidays to you and your family.

[@rtg]

Approach the animal, *sniff*, hoof rot. The smell, you do not forget it. Dr. Naylor products are like a familiar friend. The generally high water table around our area makes trimming a frequent necessity, and we're all too familiar with hoof rot. I kept pretty busy growing up trimming our animals and some our neighbors'. Long-term, the best treatment for the problem was to cease raising sheep. The sheep mucked the softer ground worse than the goats, and less mud led to little to no trouble with hoof rot. Improving drainage, adding moisture percolating soils/surfaces... anything to get the hooves out of moisture really helps long-term. Covering a handful of wet trouble spots with wood chips really reduced hoof problems in a given year. Great video and tips!

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Robert. Thank you for taking the time to leave a detailed message. We appreciate it. You are definitely correct with the sniff test. Hoof rot is definitely something that stands out. 🤢 Drainage is a huge issue for many people and this can be a make or break scenario for avoiding hoof rot. If you are living in an area which experiences multiple seasons and has clay soil, this can be a HUGE problem. Thanks again for the message. It is appreciated. Best wishes to you this season.

[@dellhussey]

Hello all! Do wood chips really work? I tried straw in one area and it turned to stinky mush so I scraped it all away at the end of last winter. I've got a few big goats who's hoof walls have slowly come away from the toe. I scrape out the gunk, trim it back, treat it, changed the chicken wire fencing they kept jumping up on, but it's gotten worse. We've had flooding and constant rain in Auckland. All through summer, and a few days ago I noticed small signs of rot and scald between the toes. We're about to go into winter and I'm starting to worry. They have shelter to sleep and eat but it's not ideal to contain them in long term. I tried a pathway of gap40 that leads from their shelters out to the paddock but it's only helped a little and the down side is, small stones are getting stuck in behind the hoof. I tried thrush buster and filling it with a little hoof putty yesterday but it wasn't as effective as I'd hoped. When I checked today, the mud and stone had worn most of it away. Maybe I could woodchip a few areas? How does it go with smell? A friend recommended this free big chunks of smashed concrete laid out to make a path. Anyway, I went out and bought copper sulphate today and used your foot wrap technique on the worst one of my boys' hooves. The inner side of one hoof toe looked eaten away. My fingers are crossed I've done it right, it'd give me confidence to figure out how to fix it myself rather than having to get the vet out. Thanks for your time!

[@rtg]

@@dellhussey Howdy! From our experience, wood chips work virtually maintenance free for one wet season. Typically by the second year the chips start to acquire a layer of gunk on top, but if you're careful, you can scrape it off the top to uncover a nice bed of chips still underneath (square shovels work best from my experience, beware how slippery it can get immediately after doing this though). This can be maintained to work multiple years. The type of wood and size of chips will impact how many years you can keep reusing the bed before you need more. The trick is to try and grade the ground underneath and "crown" the chips as best you can (put a bit of an angle to the layer you put down sloped towards drainage areas), to help divert water away from the areas your goats are frequenting. I've never noticed the chips to smell, certainly not like hay can. You'll get a different opinion from just about everyone on large aggregates like concrete. The only thing I would note on the concrete is just to watch out for any rebar that may be embedded in it, that can cause injury. If the chunks are free of reinforcement, that's best. Best of luck to you!

[@FITZIEBLUE]

good to know...great advice and step by step tutorial. Thanks ! happy holidays, stay well and warm.

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for watching our videos. We appreciate the kind words! Happy holidays to you and your family. We look forward to hearing from you again in the future.

[@DiverseKitty]

What a great demonstration!

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for the kind words and thanks for watching our videos (as always). 😬

[@jasonsilzle]

Love it thank you... Stay warm Tim!

[@LinessaFarms]

Thanks, Jason!

[@brianthesnail3815]

We used copper sulphate mixed in high concentration with lard on rams feet and packed well up into the claws then bandaged on here in the UK when they had bad foot rot. Mostly just pare back and oxytetracycline sprays though.

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Brian. Thank you for watching our videos and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I like the idea of the lard a lot actually and it makes good sense. This would allow us to maintain better contact with the hoof and would also allow us to get up and in between the toes for other issues as well. I like the natural and antibacterial properties of copper but have always struggled with ways to get good contact. I may combine your method and mine by making a paste application and then wrapping it in gauze and coban. We will keep you posted. Thanks again.

[@brianthesnail3815]

@@LinessaFarms You are welcome. Its a very old remedy passed down to my father by his father and no doubt is at least 100 years old.

[@McCoyFamilyFarm]

I found hoof root in a lamb and when I finally caught him to trim the hoof, I found maggots. Would the lard help or compound my problem? Worried the lard might attract more maggots

[@brianthesnail3815]

@@McCoyFamilyFarm The important thing is to pare back loose and overgrown horn, expose the infected area, clean and then treat. In fact, maggots eat dead flesh so paradoxically may be doing some good. However, oxytetracycline spray may be all that is needed with repeat treatment and keeping the lamb away from flies until healed. If you don't like using artificial compounds then the lard has to be mixed with copper sulphate which is the agent that kills the infection and then bound (not tightly) to keep the lard/copper sulphate on the foot and flies off. Your lamb may also have a more chronic bacterial infection that requires antibiotic but its hard to tell from your description. The lard/copper sulphate treatment we only used for really chronic foot problems. In fact, copper sulphate in foot baths is used routinely in some cattle and sheep farms but don't let pigs near it as it is lethally poisonous to them as it is if drunk by most animals.

[@McCoyFamilyFarm]

@@brianthesnail3815 Huge thank you for the advice! I lost a lamb to coyotes or an eagle yesterday, so trying to ensure I don't lose another. Since he's not eating, I suspect a bacteria infection as well. Will monitor and decide if a shot is needed too.

[@kimc5048]

Thank you very helpfull

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for watching our videos. We appreciate the kind words!

[@alishaberrey4479]

Would you use iodine to treat it?

[@homerjay2561]

Did you only treat one foot? Will this contaminate the pasture soil for the flock? Thanks.

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Lannon. Yes, we only treated the one foot in this case. We inspected all other feet and there were no defects noted. Hoof rot is a general term used for a wide variety of bacteria and viral infections which cause problems. In this case, it was obvious the animal had actually injured its foot (probably stepped on a rock, etc…) and the infection was allowed to set in. Most infections in the feet are anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that grow in areas without oxygen) and are similar. There are nasty strains of highly infectious hoof rot that can spread through an entire farm and cause issues with all animals. This is not the case in this situation. In cases of highly contagious bacterial hoof rot, producers are sometimes forced to set up foot baths which will treat every hoof of every animal. In the case of animals such as this, where only one foot is affected, you can use the protocol we show in the video. While you could technically use this method on lots of animals and on lots of feet, I doubt it would be economically feasible. Hopefully this helps.

[@aarisdar710]

sir i have been treating my flock for at least 20 days but some of them are not getting well . i dont cover their hoofs after treatment and i use potassium permangnate and salt with water and washed their feet am i doing right or should i change the treatmnt please suggest me...from india🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@LinessaFarms]

If you are not getting results, I would consider using copper sulfate as well as an injectable antibiotic if you have one at your disposal. Covering the hooves will help to keep the medication in place for a longer period of time but may not be a realistic option for you. Do your best to keep their feet clean and dry.

[@McCoyFamilyFarm]

If I find maggots up in a hoof, is that the same thing as hoof rot or would that qualify as flystrike? Or did I just find a new way for sheep to get sick 😅😢

[@LinessaFarms]

You’re probably looking at a bacterial infection such as gangrene. I would clean it well, pack it with copper sulfate, and also consider antibiotics. That’s just my opinion.

[@hightower8912]

So question you said both did she go back with Flock or did you quarantine her?

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello! I understand what you’re saying, it’s a little confusing. We kept her quarantined for 7 days after all her symptoms had resolved and then allowed her back into general population. Thanks for watching our videos and for the question.

[@brianstewart51286]

What would happen if the bandage falls off and the sheep eats the copper sulfate

[@LinessaFarms]

Good question, Brian. We usually leave in on until the bandage falls off. At that point the bandage is soiled to the point we usually can’t discern it from the bedding but if we happen to find it, we remove it. Most of the copper sulfate is dissolved after a day or so. I suppose if they were to eat it, it could potentially make them sick. If this is a concern for you, I would tape it in place and remove it yourself after 24 hours and dispose of it. For the record though, we’ve never had an issue. Good question! Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to ask a question.

[@tiffanyeagleman6630]

I have a baby Nigerian dwarf that was given to me. He had stepped in fire or hot ashes 5 days ago. I’m soaking, wrapping, applying ointment to it. One side of his front right hoof fell off today. Is that something that will grow back? What else can I do to treat him?

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Tiffany. You will want to keep the hoof as clean as possible. It sounds like you are doing a good job. If possible, let the wound breathe a little during the day and air out. I would continue to wrap it but avoid any cotton dressing which may heal into the wound/tear off when removing the dressing. Damage to the hoof wall itself may not heal if the damage is all the way into the matrix. It will be difficult to know until you have more time. You’ll have a good idea how things are going to be after about a week. Best of luck to you and thanks for reaching out. Please keep us posted on your progress.

[@tiffanyeagleman6630]

@@LinessaFarms Thank you! I’m only doing what the previous owner has been doing. I wouldn’t have known; all credit to her! :) will keep you posted on progress! Thank you for a great channel!

[@AnxiousCowboy]

Would you ever use formaldehyde

[@LinessaFarms]

Cowboy, yes. Formaldehyde works great in the treatment of hoof rot. The downside of formaldehyde tends to be its propensity to make the hoof very hard. Some people have issues trimming the hooves after formaldehyde foot baths. Thanks for the question and thank you for watching our videos!

[@trwoody1]

Great demonstration! I am having trouble finding the zinc oxide at Tractor Supply, nothing comes up in a search on their website, & what did you pack the copper sulfate in? Thx!

[@LinessaFarms]

Here is a link for the zinc oxide: www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dr-naylor-hoof-n-heel-16-fl-oz?cm_vc=-10005 The gauze we use to contain the copper is here: www.amazon.com/Gauze-Bandage-Rolls-Tape-Stretch/dp/B08PVZ12CH/ref=sxin_14_alexaasm_3?cv_ct_cx=gauze+rolls&dchild=1&keywords=gauze+rolls&pd_rd_i=B08PVZ12CH&pd_rd_r=d4996f25-79eb-4611-b257-9b1665aaf877&pd_rd_w=F3PyX&pd_rd_wg=ZD0DY&pf_rd_p=e8d32a90-5188-4e63-a774-012ba7c6701a&pf_rd_r=FKW62S2QS1NDNKWJZAB8&qid=1622134908&sprefix=gauze&sr=1-1-5b3de6cd-2263-42df-99ce-5507743f5512

[@AnxiousCowboy]

How do you feel about procaine

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello and thank you for the question. This is an interesting question! Most people don’t know about Procaine Penicillin as it has fallen out of favor over the years as newer “better” drugs have entered the market. Without getting in the deep weeds of pharmacological cow pies on you, I would say my concern with penicillin is the massive dose you would have to administer to reach a truly therapeutic level (one that actually works). Procaine is really designed to be given IM and I know some people give big doses subq but again, I don’t know how well it’s actually working. I will say this, hoof rot is caused by a couple anaerobic gram negative bacteria. Penicillin is not able to work on gram negative bacteria due to the structure of the cell membrane. Penicillin is designed to work on gram positive bacteria although some members of the penicillin family like zosyn will work on gram negative but again.... we aren’t going to get into it too deep. LA200, tetracycline, Nuflor, and other meds will probably serve you better in regard to hoof rot. Draxxin is considered one of the best antibiotics for hoof rot and it is very long acting. It is also very expensive. I assume I will get a bill in the mail for just saying Draxxin... there’s another bill 😬. So, what do I think? I don’t know. If I had to only treat with antibiotics, I would probably use a mixture of Nuflor and Draxxin. 6ml subq of the Nuflor and 1ml/100 lbs of the Draxxin subq and call it good. If you haven’t tried my copper sulfate wrap, give it a shot in conjunction with what I just advised. I think you’ll like it. If you don’t want to drop the $300 for a bottle of the Draxxin, I would consider 6ml nuflor every 3 days for a total of 2 shots. With all this being said, please remember I am not a veterinarian. 😬

[@AnxiousCowboy]

@@LinessaFarms damn-- thats a lot of useful info that I digested easily. thanks for taking the time to explain

[@repentaoption8273]

My paw used turpentine and cured hoof rott

[@LinessaFarms]

So…. Your paw was a pretty smart fellow. Here is why: Hoof rot is extremely difficult to kill because it is caused by a special kind of bacteria known as gram negative bacteria. When you do the research on turpentine, it is noted that it doesn’t kill bacteria well EXCEPT in gram negative bacteria. Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for taking the time to leave us a comment.

[@dougm2681]

Talk about talking....so frustrating

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for watching.