Footbaths are mainly used to control the spread of infectious lameness between animals.

We also use them on bought-in animals to reduce the risk of bringing new infections onto our farms. It has been suggested that footbaths will help the hoof and foot skin health, making them more resistant to lameness.

In the past we have used footbaths with antibiotics to treat infections, but with limited results.

This type of footbathing using antibiotics isn’t done any longer and for good reason.

Often you will have limited results and the risk of environmental contamination using larger solutions of antibiotics is too great.

Disposing of these mixtures poses a huge risk of environmental contamination.

Part of a lameness plan

In general, we must remember footbaths are part of the solution and are really about preventing the spread of infection.

When tackling lameness in your flock or herd it is always worth remembering to figure out what is causing the lameness.

What product to use

As the table below shows, there are a number of products available to use in a footbath.

The research and reality with footbathing is that the product, (bioactive) once used correctly, makes only a marginal difference in most cases.

Much more important is the frequency and the amount of time a clean foot spends in the solution. The dirtier the feet going into the footbath, the poorer the results.

Frequency

How often the animals pass through the footbath is very important. They should flow through and dip each foot at least twice.

When animals are indoors, or have an infectious lameness problem, they require regular footbathing.

For dairy farmers, this can be easy because a footbath can be set up leaving the parlour so cows can go through it as often as is required.

For sheep farmers treating lambs with scald, try and bring them in at least weekly until the lameness is under control.

Leaving lambs standing in footbaths helps with the challenge of less frequency when footbathing.

Newly purchased cattle or sheep should be foot-dipped twice before joining the new herd or flock.

This can noticeably reduce the risk of bringing disease like foot rot or CODD into your flock.

The size of the bath

It is important to know the size of the bath because it will influence the dilution and amount of solution needed. Standard footbaths for cows are typically 200 litres.

Footbaths should be raised over the surface, rather than sunk.

If making up a 5% copper sulphate solution, you would add 10 kg of copper sulphate and 190 litres of water.

The length of the bath is important because it can determine how many times the foot gets immersed. If baths are too long they can become soiled easily.

It is recommended to change the solution after 200 animal passes, but that can vary.

They need to be deep enough for the foot of the cow or sheep to be completely immersed.

A common mistake is under filling the bath, so that they sometimes need to be topped up half way through dipping to ensure it is effective for the last of the animals going through it.

Animal flow

Footbathing simply won’t be done if it is a very difficult task. If animals are hard to get into a footbath then it won’t work for anyone.

Position your footbath in a place where cows will flow into it easily, avoid shadows and block the sides for distractions. Let both cattle and sheep see an escape.

Immersion time

The amount of time the foot spends in the bath can be important with sheep. We will often stand them in the bath.

This helps to combat the challenge of reduced frequency and ability to get them in very often. We aim to have them standing in the bath for up to 3-4 minutes.

When using zinc sulphate, I also recommend a good dash of washing up liquid to act as a surfactant and stick the product to feet.

It is really important that sheep stand in a clean dry yard for at least one hour afterwards, especially for those that might not be dipped as regularly.

Read more

Animal health plays a key role from farm to fork

New research: overlaying slats with rubber - a good option for beef cattle?