Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Lameness causes suffering and poor performance in sheep, as in other species. The cause of lameness often originates in problems of the claws. Many claw diseases of sheep are described in British and Australian research, but this field has previously not been of special concern in Sweden.
This graduate thesis contains the first claw health survey made on Swedish sheep. The chief objective was to give an overview of sheep claw diseases and to assess claw health in adult sheep. These were sheep slaughtered or deceased during October and part of November 2004. Although complete representativity for the entire population could not be established, it reflects the claw health status of adult sheep during autumn. In addition, herd visits were made in cases with lameness to assess commonly occurring acute claw diseases.
Overgrown claw horn and separation of the white line were common diseases in the survey, as were different forms of dermatitis of the interdigital cleft. Many of the observed diseases may not primarily cause lameness, but they weaken the natural resistance of the claw. It is of utmost importance to examine all sheep's feet regularly, in order to discover and treat potential claw health problems before they lead to serious disease. Interdigital phlegmon or foot rot may develop, if pathogenic bacteria are present.
Interdigital hyperplasia to the extent of a large growth was described in the survey. It is similar to the interdigital hyperplasia described in cattle. The cause is likely insanitary underfoot conditions, which lead to a cronic form of dermatitis and subsequently to hyperplasia.
During a herd visit in October 2004, foot rot was clinically diagnosed and later confirmed bacteriologically. This is a new disease in Sweden, caused by a mixed infection by Fusobacterium necrophorum and Dichelobacter nodosus.

Key words: lameness, sheep, foot health survey, case study, horn overgrowth, white line separation, interdigital dermatitis, foot rot, interdigital phlegmon, foot abscess.