Ecohoof Purple Socks

Description

Introduction & Background

Taking sheep as an example; 15-25% of all flocks of sheep in the UK are culled due to lameness caused by foot-rot type problems, these sheep are lost to the market and cost the industry £234 million annually.  Individual farmers incur a loss of at least £40 per animal culled.

The traditional method in dealing with foot and hoof problems is regular foot bathing in Formaldehyde or zinc sulphate or copper sulphate.  Formaldehyde is far the most widely used and it is extremely hazardous to the operator, his animals and the environment.

All of these traditionally used chemicals create a toxic build up in the earth and water courses and many states in the US have banned their use and the UK will follow suit within the next 2-3 years.

Although the use of these chemicals are proven to be erratic in effect (hence the high losses referred to) there is almost no suitable alternative.

The disadvantages of using traditional footbath products are:

• Highly toxic with many associated health problems in both farmers, his working dogs and other animals
• Very hazardous to the environment – difficult disposal problems
• These chemicals, always used in pure liquid form do not adhere to the affected areas and are not effective in wet ground or weather conditions.
• Current products available rely on the farmer to make up the correct concentrations
• Purple Socks is designed to be used in the traditional foot-bath
•  Purple Socks is non toxic
•  Purple Socks is non-hazardous to the environment, being totally degradable, and recyclable if required
•  Purple Socks adheres to the affected areas regardless of ground or weather conditions
• Purple Socks emits no acrid fumes to deter passage of animals.  This reduces stress in the animals and allows the use of less labour
•  Purple Socks comes ready to use which removes the responsibility from the farmer as regards to the correct concentrations of active ingredients
•  Purple Socks remains in its semi-liquid state whilst in bulk and only starts to form a poultice and dry when coated on the hoof and foot: Consequently, any residue left in the footbath can be saved if covered over with a plastic sheet
• The animals walk through the product in the footbath as normal, coating the affected areas.  Purple Socks starts to form a soft shell round the foot or feet.  Within a few minutes this shell/ poultice will slowly dry over an 8-12 hour period then flake off and degrade into the earth.
•  Due to the long contact period achieved, it is possible to use much less aggressive, non-toxic and safe with a much greater success rate.
•  A unique aspect to Purple Socks is a careful blend of various ingredients which creates a controlled drying period.

The walk through hoof and foot poultice has been developed to help overcome the disadvantages of traditional foot bath products