I have not had any problems with foot rot in my 7 years of Blackbellies and we go thru several weeks of wet weather every year. Right now it is unusually wet for July. We are now 4 inches above normal for the month.... Of course we are still 9 inches behind for the year....!!!! I would watch for signs of foot rot and probably give a supplement with vitamin H or biotin to help strengthen the hooves. I supplement mine with this regularly. Best way is to mix mineral supplement with pellets or grain and feed them. This way you know they get it.....
Cecil in OKla ----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:57 AM Subject: Re: [blackbelly] Ram pen suggestions AND Q on footrot > > I habe a 'safe pen' for Ira andd Ernie--(Ram.wether) Built out of > necessity due > to the fence being knowed both down and out! This is basically a very > quickly > [put together 4 x 8 pen, solid plywood on three sides, wioth a lattice > panel > yop. it is slightly taller than the pallet that acts as a door to the pen. > Of > course, to get the boys in it at night, I have to shine a flashlight into > it, > so they can see properly-- they know it is a 'safe' place-- but they like > to > make sure-- This is where they have to be right now, when no one is around > to > supervise at night-- > I have been moving a chain link dog run around for them to weed whack > around > trees-- they defineitely prefer weeds to grasses. It has been so wet here > lately-- in fact, talking to a neighbor who raises cows, donkewys, and > ponies--she stated, as has anyone else in the area, this is the craziest > summer > they have seen in an extrememly long time. The first cuttings of hay are > just > getting in-- > With all this rain and mucky soil, I now am worried about foot rot. I ams > tartong a small paying job tomorrow, and I am thinking of nuying a > footbath > trough for the boys to walk through at least once a day. The pnly way > right now > to endure dry feet is to keep them locked up-- and lets face it-- they > need > exercise!they wont browse graze in areas where they are standing in water, > and > the higher areas are slick with clay mud. Within the next week, Iwill > have > run out of tree areas that are high enough to consider putting them > near--and > the other areas are either all grass-- which they won't touch until they > have > knocked it into the mud or are under 6 inches of water. So, how do I > prevent > Foot rot with ALL this water mess? I gotta let them boys out sometime-- I > did > not want to be feeding hay when there is plenty of food outside!! > > I am desperately trying to figure a way to send you guys some of our > rain..and > I am looking for a way to raise the barn floor a bit-- my brother has > decided > he will make the horse stall the first part of the barn to complete, so > that > threre will be plewnty of room in the fall for addtional critters-- I > caught > him talking to the boys a few days ago-- he wont admit it, but hey--- and > a few > of his buddies are asking when the boys will be turned into gyros!!! > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > This message is from the blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
