subject: The Lamb Stuffed Toy and Footrot in Sheep [print this page] The Lamb Stuffed Toy and Footrot in Sheep
It's often been thought that the lamb stuffed toy is reserved strictly for young children, especially babies. It's usually a soft toy that's given to a newborn as it represents purity and gentleness of character. A lamb stuffed animal, however, can be given to children of all ages and doesn't necessarily have to be associated with specific symbols.
Footrot is a very common cause of lameness in hoofed animals (such as sheep) and is caused by the bacteria known as Dichelobacter nodosus. It is extremely infectious and can quickly spread to other animals. If infected with footrot, sheep will have uneven posture, a shorter stride on one leg or when they move, a slight nodding of the head. It is widely believed that sheep farmers are very skilled at noticing sheep that are just mildly lame, but don't take the steps to catch and treat the animals so as to prevent footrot from spreading. The question is: are sheep farmers able to pick out which sheep are in the very earliest stages of the disease?
Researchers at the University of Warwick, spoke with more than 230 farmers and sheep specialists re footrot. They had them watch video clips of individual sheep and then asked them to say whether or not a sheep was lame or not. Following that, they were asked when it was they would go about catching the sheep so they could be inspected for the disease and be treated if necessary. Or, would they wait on catching them altogether until more of the animals showed signs of a problem?
The study participants more than 90 percent of them - were able to correctly identify sheep that were mildly lame with the symptoms described above. How and when they would treat them, however, varied a great deal from one farmer to the next.
On the first day lameness would be noticed, 20 percent of the farmers said they would treat the sheep. 70 percent said they would only treat the animals within a week suggesting that farmers and sheep specialists would only treat their sheep as the condition got worse. The majority in the study said they would catch the sheep only when the animal showed signs of discomfort when moving and couldn't put all its weight down when standing. 25 of the farmers said they didn't catch their sheep at all and would only do so (and follow through with treatment) when the animals were routinely gathered up. Understandably, these were the farmers that had the highest degree of lameness - 15 percent - in their flocks.
The authors of the study went on to say that "their study indicates that farmers have the skills to follow the current advice about how to minimize lameness in sheep and prevent the spread of footrot among their flock. They should inspect and if necessary treat the first mildly lame sheep in a group within one to three days of it first being lame."
Luckily, the lamb stuffed toy doesn't have to ever worry about contracting footrot. The only concern it will ever have is how much time is allotted to play with its owner? Will it be thought of so fondly that it will be privileged enough to go to sleep with its owner? And, finally, will it have to endure the dreaded washing machine because of the all time spent being played with and slept on?
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Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
