Provita has confirmed that it is to host a series of sheep lameness talks over the coming weeks. Two venues and dates have been confirmed. The first will take place in Markethill Sale Yard on Wednesday June 29th, commencing at 6.00pm. The address is Markethill Sale Yard, 12 Cladymilltown Road, Armagh, BT60 1RS. The following day, Thursday June 30th, two events will be hosted by Carrickfergus flockowner Edward Adamson. The address for this event is 6 Fort Road, Killroot, Carrickfergus, Co Aantrim, BT38 9BS. The planned starting times are 1.00pm and 6.00pm. Other dates and venues will be confirmed shortly.
Provita’s Tommy Armstrong will speak at each event. He will relate the causes of sheep scald, foot rot and CODD, while also highlighting the benefits of using Provita’s Hoofsure Endurance as part of a lameness prevention strategy. Insights will be given into the latest perspectives on trimming sheep’s hooves.
Armagh sheep farmer Denver McCall will attend the Markethill talk and relate his own views on the benefits of regular foot bathing and the impact this policy has had on overall flock performance.
Edward Adamson runs a flock of 500 Ile de France, Lleyn and Clun Forest ewes. He subscribes to the latest thinking on hoof paring, which is to give an antibiotic injection first and only pare overgrown hooves. He is also of the view that many farmers are over-paring, drawing blood unnecessarily and damaging the internal structure of the hoof. Paring hoofs infected with foot rot has been shown to lead to a higher level of lameness than just giving an antibiotic injection on its own.
Edward uses the Provita Hoofsure Endurance footbath solution on a regular basis to maintain hoof condition in his flock.