CURES FOR FOOT-ROT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9589, 8 September 1909, Page 3

CURES FOR FOOT-ROT.

Contagious foot-rot spreads rapidly through the diseased sheep, contaminating pastures, yards, sheds, etc. The first sign of foot-rot in sheep is their walking lame. They cannot bear to put their feet on the ground. As time goes on, and the disease gets the sheep graduslly drop on their knees, and are apparently in great pain. It will be noticed that the horn of the foot is swollen, and is soft and cracked, and discharges offensive matter The foot will be swollen more, and be more painful, according to the virulence of the disease. Flits become troublesome at this time, and the foct is frequently fly-blown. Owing to the sheep finding such difficulty in moving about they naturally lose conditio'). The disease works rapidly, and should be dealt with as quickly as possible. Mora often than not the feet retain inshaped for all time. This depends, of course, on how far the disease has gone before curative measures were adopted. When once tiie disease is noticed tiie whole of the sheen in the paddock should be immediately gathered together, and the feet examined. All feet which show the disease should have the overgrown hoofs carsfully cut into shape with a knife or special cutters. The operator should be careful not to take off too much, or else the trouble may be aggravated. The hoof should be thoroughly cleaned and prepared for a dressing. A number of dressings mentioned by thejJNew South Wales Stock Department are as follows: Butyr of antimony, with or without an equal quantiy of tincture of myrrh. Sulphate of copper (Milestone 1 part to 4of wter), applied once or twice. Stockholm tar 20 parts, carbolic acid 1 part. Stockholm tar 4 parts, bluestone (finely powdered) 1 part. Oil of tar 10 parts, carbolic acid 1 part, olive oil 1 part. After a few applications of any of the above dressings on the sores daily:—Powdered chalk 4oz, Armenian bole loz, charcoal loz, alum £oz, sulphate of zinc £oz. In using the trough treatment to effect a cure, when the feet have been pared, care should be taken to have the solution wtll mixed before the sheep are put through. When the animals pass through they should stand for some time, and allow the excess of fluid to drain off the feet and legs. The mixture in the trough should consist of one of the following:— Halt oz of arsenic, 4oz of potash or soda (preferably potash), and 1 gallon of water. This should be boiled slowly in an oil drum till the arsenic is dis.-olved. One gallon will do about 250 sheep. Half oz of arsenate, 2oz of potash or soda 2, oz of bluestone, 1 gallon of water. Prepare similar to pre • vious mixture. Eight ouucc3 of bluestone, 1 gallon of water. Crude carbolic acid 1 part, water 20 parts. A strong decoction of wattle bark, with the addi'ion of |oz of arsenic and 4oz of potash or soda; prepared as directed, to one gallon of water. These solutions should be used at a temperature between 90 to 100 degrees. The sheep should gel out of the mixture on to a batten floor, or else on to clean, dry straw, and be allowed to stand until they are dry enough not to collect the dirt. A good dressing in J place of a liquid is fiesh slaked lime. It should be spread on a dry yard, and the sheep made to walk through it.