Foot care in sheep

Foot problems and sheep are almost synonymous with each other and, following our terrible experience at having to have Jemima euthanised due to her lameness, we were conscious that we needed to ensure our remaining sheep's feet were as healthy as possible.


Inspecting our sheep's feet for the first time turned out to be a family occasion - it might look easy to "flip a sheep" on its rump in the text books but the reality is somewhat different! With John taking on the role as director of operations and chief sheep grappler, I was armed with the hoof trimmers and antiseptic spray and we were relying on our daughter Laura to persuade the sheep that this was really in their best interests, by bribing them to cooperate with handfuls of food pellets!



We found that the sheep, once settled on their rears, were generally quite relaxed, although the grunting and deep breathing did have us a little alarmed at first. Only Fluffy took great exception to be manhandled and we had to leave her to the end by which time we'd got a bit more proficient and could get her hooves trimmed much quicker.

It was quite a nerve racking experience trimming the hooves, although we had done our best to read as much information as we could find that would guide us. We printed diagrams off the internet but it's funny how it all looks so different once you're faced with the real thing! Laura and I had recently attended a donkey care workshop where we were lucky enough to see a brilliant demonstration by a specialist donkey farrier - he made it look soooo easy. I suspect that I was probably over-cautious on this first attempt - nearly all the sheep had some heal overgrowth which really could have done with a more aggressive trim. I felt that it was better to just nibble away at the hoof a little and repeat the process in a few weeks time. The alternative of just "going for it" and risking a bleeding foot just might have put me off ever trying again!!



It took us about an hour to get through all five sheep (we'd never make a living out of it at that rate!) and it does give you a real sense of satisfaction to see their hooves looking a little more like they did as baby lambs. I just hope that sheep are as satisfied with the whole process as we were - somehow, I don't think so!



Diane
www.AnimalLoversWeb.com