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Stevie Hay
SUMMER 2010 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
20
C A S E S T U D Y
During an inspection of six ewes and lambs
with footrot and scald, Neil Laing also found
on some feet that lesions had started at the
coronary band and appeared to spread
downwards. This caused the hoof wall to
separate.
‘The CODD infected sheep were severely
lame and exhibited a lot of pain during
examination. At present, there is no treatment
licensed to treat CODD in sheep, but rapid
action and sometimes severe procedures like
culling will lead to successful control and
eradication,’ adds Neil.
Therefore, a Flock Health Plan was drawn-up
for the farm. This 'back-to-basics' approach
included a detailed foot inspection of the
entire flock.
The flock was then split based on the type
of foot infection and specific management
began. CODD infected sheep were kept well
away from the main flock. Ear tag numbers,
date of infection and affected legs were
all recorded.
The overall vaccination programme to
control footrot in breeding ewes and scald
in lambs was stepped up. This helped
control the underlying footrot infection on
the farm and thereby prevent further infection
between animals.
Over a six-month period sheep were foot
bathed at each handling using Zinc sulphate
and Tylan soluble powder in rotation.
Long-acting antibiotic injections and a
Tylan-based spray were used on ewes that
showed lameness after footbathing.
‘A long-acting oxytetracycline based injection
has a cure rate of around 90% within five
days. When using a spray it's important the
area to be sprayed is clean and ensure the
lesion is adequately covered. Try to make
sure the sprayed area has dried before
releasing the sheep,’ advises Neil.
‘Eliminating footrot and scald made
identification of CODD easier and meant
we could really focus on treating severely
affected animals. This targeted approach
actually helped reduce labour and
antibiotic costs.’
The Flock Health Plan for Brownsbank Farm
also saw severely and repeatedly infected
sheep culled.
Pleased with the success of the foot health
programme drawn-up for his flock, Billy
Tweedie says results after the six month
treatment programme were impressive. ‘We
culled just 18 ewes, footrot infections were
in single figures and no new CODD cases
were found. The health status of the flock
has improved, and lambs are finishing much
sooner on the back of being infection free.’
‘Mr Tweedie has worked hard to control
foot infections and is now seeing the rewards
of his endeavours with fewer losses,’
says Neil.
A year after Flock Health Planning began,
no further cases of CODD infection were
indentifed, while footrot infection had almost
been eliminated and treatment of lambs for
scald had stopped. This helped reduce
antibiotic use by around 75%.’
Neil also advises quarantining all stock
coming onto the farm and checking their feet
regularly, for at least four weeks, to prevent
CODD entering a flock.
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Serious infection of sheep's feet
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Differs from footrot and scald
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Characterised by lesions that begin
at the coronary band
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Often causes the whole hoof to
be shed
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Strong association with specialised
bacteria called a Spirochaete
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Direct transmission from sheep to sheep
is the most obvious route of spread
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On no account should affected sheep
be footbathed with formalin
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Insist on correct examination and
diagnosis by your vet
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Use a Farm Health Plan to instigate
a rigid treatment protocol
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Control and eradication can be
achieved relatively quickly
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Eradication = welfare and
economic benefits
CODD
CONTAGIOUS OVINE
DIGITAL DERMATITIS
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Pasture ground ranging from 900ft
to 1,300ft
l
1,000 North of England Mules
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Buys-in all replacements
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March lambing both in and outdoors
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Texel X lambs sold deadweight
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Lambs finished on grass
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100 pure-bred Limousins
FARM FACTS
AT BROWNSBANK FARM