The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: perkhar on September 07, 2015, 08:12:07 pm

Title: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 07, 2015, 08:12:07 pm
Wondering how you would treat these any advise welcomed thanks got warts on both the teats
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Foobar on September 08, 2015, 09:27:38 am
Do you have a photo?  Is it Orf?
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Marches Farmer on September 08, 2015, 10:10:32 am
Is it ewes that are still being suckled?  I too would suspect orf first of all.  If still being suckled check the mouths of the lambs. 
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 08, 2015, 04:26:20 pm
No she had lambs and they have come off her they didn't want to suckle so a friend of mine who had the ewe at the time took the lamb off her and raised it as a pet. I have recently taken on the ewe but before I condemn her I'd like to see if it was cureable
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 08, 2015, 04:35:40 pm
Got two photos but apparently to big to post but I could send them to you another way of you would have a look at them would be great.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: nutterly_uts on September 08, 2015, 04:46:11 pm
Upload them to photobucket or similar and then copy the links here :)
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 08, 2015, 06:40:45 pm
Ok I'll try to do that that's a good idea I don't have a account with them but once I get home this afternoon I'll try and set that up.
I don't think its orf or it would have effected the lambs when she had them plus my friend has been touching her teats over the past few months checking on them and he hasn't picked up anything. That orf is quite contagious is it not??? No expert just from what I have tried to read up!

Is there any one that's had warts on the teats of there ewes what did they do???
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 08, 2015, 09:31:25 pm
http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/Harry_Perkins/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/Harry_Perkins/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0)

Let me know what you think
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Porterlauren on September 08, 2015, 09:35:37 pm
Not Orf.

Not 100% sure what it is, but it could just be a wart, papilloma virus etc.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 08, 2015, 09:43:01 pm
How would I treat that??? Can I get rid of it it was stopping the lambs suckling last season was a lot bigger then apparently but thought if I could get rid of it before next year it would save the same problem then
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Porterlauren on September 08, 2015, 10:55:07 pm
No idea. If its stopping lambs sucking it probably a culling offence.

I may be harsh though.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 09, 2015, 08:09:05 am
That's kind of why I took her on I had a few ewes off him for the freezer but I don't really need to kill them all at once. If she was treatable id at least give her another season with a lamb.. Big if though.....might sound Daft but would one of these wart sprays work for humans the ones that freeze the wart ?? Don't want to damage the teat either
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Foobar on September 09, 2015, 09:46:06 am
Show the photo to your vet and see what they say. :)
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 09, 2015, 04:06:17 pm
Yes that was my next step but hoping I could avoid a vist and get some advise on here always worth a shot
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: shep53 on September 09, 2015, 07:48:49 pm
Have a look at TEAT LESIONS IN SUCKLER EWES        VETS ON LINE . COM             
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 09, 2015, 09:33:22 pm
Had a look at your site all good info but nothing on treatment and not focused on the wart like growth that I have. Prevention is better than cure in most of these cases ie good diet and supplements but I took this ewe on knowing what she had. I'll hang in there with this thread and see if any one comes up with anything. Or had a similar issue... I'm going to let them graze a few more weeks before they are due to be culled anyway... Still always nice to give an animal a second chance if possible

Thanks for all the replies so far
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 09, 2015, 09:44:57 pm
Also anymore thoughts on the freezing method there are loads of products for humans on the market surely they would have the same effect on the ewe??? The trouble being such a sensitive area!!! If it was anywhere else I'd just give one of them a try but sceptical being its on the teat
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Porterlauren on September 09, 2015, 10:15:13 pm
Funnily enough i found one of my ewes has the same today. Not sure what to do, probably ignore it, and see what happens at lambing time. At least she is a big chunky ewe, so will have a decent cull value.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 09, 2015, 10:21:18 pm
Is yours on both teats like mine??
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Porterlauren on September 09, 2015, 10:26:58 pm
Yer, from what I saw. Not hard, or warm, just some warts on teats where they connect to the bag. She is an old ewe, so if she has another pair of lambs and rears them then that's great, if she doesn't, she has to go.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Judey on September 09, 2015, 10:28:50 pm
I don't think this would prevent the lambs from sucking. Did you check there was milk there when she had her lambs. I did wonder if that was scar tissue rather than warts? If that's so there may be no milking ability. Warts will usually clear up by themselves in time.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: ZaktheLad on September 10, 2015, 06:48:25 am
That was caused sometime in the past by over vigorous lambs that have damaged her tears by biting on them.  Probably when the ewe was very young and her tears very soft. Maybe she reared twins as a ewe lamb, that can make a huge mess of a young ewes teats. There's no reason at all why she can't raise lambs again if teats express milk and udder not hard and lumpy.
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 10, 2015, 08:39:09 am
So you don't think its warts at all? That's good news to a degree just wondering why he took the lambs off her then I'll have to go back to him and ask if she had milk tbh I don't think he even gave the lambs a chance to suckle or learn to and I doubt he'll know how much milk she had either as the lamb was taken off her...

Is she worth putting to the ram again this year or would you not bother???
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: shep53 on September 10, 2015, 12:29:13 pm
 IF I looked I could find teats like this in my ewes easily , wouldn't give it second thought .  As ZAK  and the article say its just proud healed tissue .  if the ewes milk supply and the lambs demand are not equal then  chaffing /cracking / splitting can occur the lamb tries to suckle and the ewe tries to not let as she's sore ( happens in all  milk feeding mammals including women )   this can lead to mastitis , early weaned lambs / teat damage which heals to leave proud flesh
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 10, 2015, 01:01:58 pm
Thanks for elaborating the article shep now i can see why you pointed me there I just assumed they were warts..
I got hold of my friend he said that she didn't have a lot of milk in her but when I saw them last she wasn't in good condition at all very skittery and thin this summer she has come on leaps and bounds after he wormed her and has had her out on good pature. I think half the problem with the lack of milk was due to her condition then.

If I make sure she has enough  concentrates this year and she is kept in top condition hopefully she will do another turn about. It's a hard call he got rid off her because he didn't want to put her back to the ram but on the other hand I know he didn't give her the best of chances given that she was forgotten about really. Would like to see her mother another lamb but also don't want to be stuck with a pet lamb either.

I suppose if you don't try you'll never find out ???? thanks for the advise all much appreciated
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: shep53 on September 10, 2015, 06:29:24 pm
Sounds like she had a hard time so no wonder she had teat trouble , I  wouldn't consider culling so long as the teat canal feels soft
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: perkhar on September 10, 2015, 08:52:48 pm
I'll give her another thourgh check this weekend when I can pen her and if she's clear in that sense I'll just put her to the ram to give her a chance worst case scenario we will have to feed a lamb that could happen with any ewe
Title: Re: Warts on teats
Post by: Blacksheep on September 10, 2015, 09:33:17 pm
I agree most likely scar tissue / proud flesh from previous teat damage. I would check her udder and teats very carefully, if you can feel any nodules actually inside the teat canal then she may have a problem with blocked or partially blocked teats so won't have a good milk supply for lambs.   Good that you have got her back to good health though, and hopefully in this condition if the scarring is just external only she should be able to rear lambs next year.