Friday 4 December 2015

Ovine Chiropody.

Today was a big day for the sheep - they were all treated to a major pedicure.   Because of our enormous rainfall here during the month of November, the ground is absolutely sodden and whenever it rains (which at present is most of the time) the water just stands on the ground as it has nowhere to drain to.   This means that inevitably the sheeps' feet suffer and they get infection between their hooves.   If you see sheep in a field and they are kneeling on their front legs in order to eat the grass, then they have bad feet.

Today, the farmer who owns the sheep (we only over-winter them off the tops) came and two of them cut off the excess hoof on each sheep, cleaned out the space between the hooves and sprayed with an antibiotic spray to keep infection at bay.   Now for a little while they will be pain-free, but if this weather continues it will soon come back.

The sheep dog who came with them (dog being the operative word) was very interested indeed in miss Tess (we walked down to take a photograph for you) and for once she didn't bark but just danced about elegantly and flirted outrageously (I was a)ashamed of the display she put on and b) pleased she had been spayed!

15 comments:

donna baker said...

My inherited horses are standing in muddy muck too and I worry about their hooves. I can't do anything about it and no one around who can. Hope they don't get an infection.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

There's a little urban farm here that is usually a sea of mud 6 months of the year, and their ponies and goats are always escaping.

Frances said...

It's interesting to learn about the reasons for kneeling sheep, and the pedicure remedy...and the December canine flirtation. Once again, I learn much from visiting here.

Will those pedicures be repeated if the weather continues to yield muddy fields? Maybe frosty ground gives more security for the sheep?

xo

A Heron's View said...

Oddly enough my Devon school which was in a coastal town taught us all about the causes and remedy of foot rot in sheep.

Derek Faulkner said...

Down here in North Kent on the nature reserve that I wander round every day, I've been putting a big diesel pump on most days in order to pump water onto the reserve to create our Flood Field for the wildfowl. Despite it being damp, rainfall hasn't been that much so far.

Heather said...

Poor sheep - I can sympathise. I had my 'hooves' trimmed last week and have happy feet now. I am sure Tess has been nicely brought up, but girls will be girls when there is a handsome man about!

angryparsnip said...

I think maybe Tess is missing The Farmer's dog ? sorry I can't remember his name (Shep?)
So when she saw the "sheep dog" I think she was just happy.
Maybe ?

cheers, parsnip

John Going Gently said...

Thank goodness that irene and Sylvia dont need much hoof fixing, being essentially wild sheep....

Dawn said...

we do the same with the alpacas and goats although doing the Alpacas I often get a few kicks as they dont like there legs being touched, the goats had foot problems a few months back all better now and they are being kept indoors at the moment nice and dry :-)

Gerry Snape said...

I see that there is another storm on it's way...Desmond I believe...why I ask?...anyway stay safe and warm.

Hildred said...

Been there, - done that!

Cro Magnon said...

Sheep are hard work, Dipping, shearing, foot-care; there's always something to do.

Midmarsh John said...

Sheep do sem to take quite a lot of looking after.

Bovey Belle said...

A job well done. I just popped in to see if you were OK as I've just seen a video of the flooding up your way with the River Ure hugely outside its banks at Hawes Bottom. (Hope you are on a "top" and not a "bottom".) Keep safe, and feeling very sorry for anyone in that river valley, living there or with livestock there.

Anonymous said...

Good old Tess :o) Poor old sheep. The Chalk is high and dry, so no boggy fields where I walk most often, but in the forest it's a different story.