Why are sheep lame? Temporal associations between severity of foot lesions and severity of lameness in 60 sheep
We investigated the temporal associations between the severity of foot lesions caused by footrot (FR) and the severity of lameness in sheep. Sixty sheep from one farm were monitored for five weeks. The locomotion of each sheep was scored once each week using a validated numerical rating scale of 0-6. All feet were then examined, […]
Impact of rapid treatment of sheep lame with footrot on welfare and economics and farmer attitudes to lameness in sheep
This review article summarises the evidence for an effective management protocol for footrot to sheep, the welfare and economic benefits of such a protocol and its likely uptake by farmers. Over 90% of lameness in sheep in England is caused by Dichelobacter nodosus, the aetiological agent of footrot. Farmers can recognise lame sheep both from […]
Development of a facial expression scale using footrot and mastitis as models of pain in sheep
Management of pain in sheep is limited by the challenges of recognising and accurately quantifying pain in this species. The use of facial expression scoring to assess pain is a well-utilised, practical tool in both humans and non-human animals. The objective of this study was to develop a standardised facial expression pain scale for adult […]