RAVAGES OF FOOT-ROT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20792, 7 February 1931, Page 20

RAVAGES OF FOOT-ROT.

DUE TO WET WEATHER. EARLY TREATMENT ADVISABLE. BT NITEOS. During visits to a number of farming districts recently the writer found that foot-rot was worse than usual for the time of the year,. the trouble no doubt being due to the unseasonable weather experienced. With much more summer rain than usual, many of the low-lying heavier pastures have offered every facility for the epread of foot-rot and as the trouble spreads very rapidly through the flock, being highly contagious, the earliest pos Bible treatment is advisable. Sheep bought At the saleyards should be carefully examined for once they are distributed jthrough the flock they will spread infection cjuicklv. Small, intensively-farmed holdings arc (especially liable to suffer badly from the ravages of the disease, for the conditions are just those which favour its increase. The disease gains entrance through the cleft of the foot and thereafter spreads rapidly, often undermining the whole of the hoof. In the worst cases flies attack the foot and often when the hoof is pared away largo maggots are found. The agony ■which sheep have to endure under these circumstances can be easily imagined. Prevent or Cure. On the small farm where the sheep are (Constantly under supervision, and where the trouble has not been brought in by bought sheep, preventive measures can be carried out. Whenever the sheep are yarded a search can be made for sore feet and these treated with healing ointment before foot-rot sets in. Once it is actually in evidence sterner measures are needed.

The first thing, naturally, is to remove all the diseased hoof and then to treat the exposed surfaces with an astringent solution. It is useless bringing the sheep into a muddy yard, paring the hoofs, then running them through a foot bath and letting them back into the yards again. jsTet that is exactly -what is often dono. gome sort of foot bath is essential and tho best place to have it is in the woolshed. On one or two large stations in Hf.wke's Bay where foot-rot gives a good deal of trouble there are proper bricked troughs of considerable length, with concrete draining pens at the end similar to those '.n large sheep dips. Thß Best Solutions. There is no need for anything so elaborate, of course. A shallow wooden trough >vhich fits into a temporary race in the woolshed will do very well, the sheep being run through and then left on the batten floor for a time. Twenty gallons of solution can be made by adding lib bluestone and lib. arsenic to that quantity of water-. The best way is to.dissolve tho bluestone and arsenic in about a gallon of hot water and then add the rest of the water to make the bath of the required strength. Hie sheep should be run through and if badly infected should be again brought in after about a week, the treatment being continued until a cure is effected. Stockholm tar possesses valuable properties for the treatment of foot-rot and painting with it alone will do a lot of good. A mixture of Stockholm tar and lard lias the advantage of ointment consistency and can be applied in such a way that it will adhere to the seat of the trouble. Some farmers consider Stockholm tar too drastic in its action, but in footrot practically all the remedies must of necessity be drastic. Certainly bluestone and formalin, both of which are widely used, are painful in their effects. The great thing is to use something, to use it before the disease becomes top Btrongly entrenched and to use it regularly, so : that foot-rot may be prevented from gaining too strong a hold. One of the few advantages which light hill country possesses is its freedom from footrot. The best and heaviest pastures are the ones that give most trouble and that need most . watching, especially when seasonal conditions are favourable for tne spread of the trouble.