Heavy & Pregnant Ewe with Hurt Leg

[bonbean01]

I would encourage you to wash her foot thoroughly and take a really close look....for a few days I picked up Dolly's bad foot and saw nothing....put her in the chute, squeezed her to not move....put some sheep pellets in front of her to keep her busy and distracted and I sat behind her on a stool with my bucket of soapy warm water and doctor Bon kit and just kept washing and washing it...I would NEVER had seen it without that washing...now I truly did get my face right into that hoof...but then I am kidded about how I pamper my sheep, but you know...so far in 9 years I have never lost a sheep or lamb...must be doing something right? Or it is just a matter of time? Or dumb luck? Yes, my sheep are spoiled rotten and super tame...just how I like it

 

[bonbean01]

mysunwolf....feel free to message me privately...I love sheep and so many helped me when I started out...and I would help anyone with my limited experience anytime!

 

[mysunwolf]

Thank you bon, I will definitely have to get in there and get familiar with her hooves! She looks very stylish in her new collar, should be easier to pin her against the wall with that on. I may have to message you to ask all my crazy sheep questions before I create panicked posts on here You are so lucky not only to have your very friendly sheep, but also no losses. I think it can't all have to do with luck, you must be doing a LOT right! But is it safe to partially blame good Katahdin/mixed genetics?

Her limp has almost gone away completely this morning though, so I am really betting it was a mild injury--with her bulk, I would not be surprised.

 

[mysunwolf]

So... now she is favoring her back left leg (a different leg than before).

Could it be some sort of hoof rot infection that is making its way through all her hooves? Is she maybe injuring herself over and over again because she is heavy? I can't figure this out.

Would it hurt to pen her separately and ration her hay? Right now she is free choice on hay and some dormant forage. My worry is that penning her will decrease her exercise (though she is lying down a lot, the flock does roam back and forth over three acres throughout the day).

 

[mysunwolf]

Ahck, nevermind. Went out and checked her tonight and she had something stuck in between her hooves on the back left foot--bon, you were right! Pulled it out (not sure what "it" was) and there's an open wound, a little inflamed but doesn't look infected. If I can catch her, I want to check her again in a few days. She has been avoiding the barn at night because she hates it when I steer her away from the grain trough. Don't know what was wrong with the front hoof, but I trimmed all of them anyway as they were starting to get a little long. She has more hoof problems than any of my other sheep and I am just not that attentive to the hooves