Foot abscess has become a big challenge for sheep producers this year

The high rainfall resulting in extremely wet pastures for large areas of the state has resulted in a rise of foot abscess in the past two years.

Local Land Services district veterinarian Evie Duggan, Cowra, said many farmers have been struggling to control the problem.

"There's been a lot of ram wastage in particular and then struggling with lambing ewes and all the secondary diseases we start to run into when we have heavy in lamb ewes with foot abscess," she said.

Dr Duggan said foot abscess often starts with Ovine Interdigital Dermatitis, scald, when the skin in between the toe is getting wet.

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"When the sheep are standing in wet pastures for weeks or months, that skin is never drying out so you end up with it breaking down the barrier area that usually protects it from the bacteria found in the environment and enters through that skin," she said.

Dr Duggan said early detection is crucial with sheep at risk of long term conditions if not treated in a timely manner with infection spreading into the joint inside the hoof.

"If you don't get on top of it [the infection] fast enough you're left with these chronic changes in the joint," she said.

"So while it may not be infected it's going to be lame because it's got these permanent changes to the joint."

Like many conditions Dr Duggan said prevention is better than anything with footbathing with 10 per cent zinc sulphate recommended.

"As frustrating and hard as it is in a season like this is minimising OID as much as you can," she said.

"It's tricky because when we're footbathing we're trying to dry out the skin and let the healthy barrier return but if they're coming straight back onto a wet pasture it becomes a vicious cycle where their skin's still wet."

"Letting that zinc have time to actually act on the skin... so even just holding them in a holding paddock around the yards for a little bit before they walk through longer pasture and it rubs off can make a big difference."

Dr Duggan said checking animals regularly is important for early detection with antibiotics most effective in the early stages.

"Especially with your high value animals like rams checking them regularly so you can treat as soon as you notice lameness is really important," she said.

"It's probably not realistic to be able to check all your ewes but if you check all your rams regularly when it's these high risk kind of times it gives you the ability to be able treat really early on in the disease process."

"Antibiotics will have the best result when it's just that hot swollen foot that they're really lame on because by the time you're seeing puss coming out of that weak point you've already got all that structural change to the joints and ligaments.

"It is very challenging to pick them up that early but it does make a really big difference in terms of how they respond to treatment."

For Rodney Watt from Felix Rams, Greenethorpe, stock management has been important to minimise foot abscess in his herd.

"We've had a fair problem in our ewes, not as much in the rams the previous couple of years but we've managed them a bit better this year," he said.

"With the rams we just try to keep them on shorter feed. You can have them big and heavy and fat and looking magnificent but you'll have more trouble with foot abscess than if you're growing them on a bit tighter pastures and give their feet the opportunity to dry out."

Mr Watt has also been spreading hydrated lime in the yards for when the sheep are going through, on a suggestion from the vet last year.

"If the yards are a bit wet they'll mix the hydrated lime through with the top part of the yards and that should kill some of the bacteria that gives them foot abscess," he said.

Mr Watt said they'd put the rams through the yards three times so far this winter with no instances of foot abscess so far.

"Hopefully it keeps working," he said.