The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Jon Feather on January 03, 2016, 10:42:32 am
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Only been in sheep since Sept and so far had Pink eye and now they have orf. I read that it is a virus and not treatable. Is there no treatment? What should I do: just leave them????
There is a horse in the field: is there a risk it could pass to the horse?
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It could certainly pass to you so be careful handling them. There are lots of old posts on here re orf. There is a product called orf paste which may help. Good luck, sorry I can't offer help.
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As Bramblecot says there are posts on here re Orf. As for horses there seems to be a small chance they could get but it is very rare. I suppose the risk areas would be shared feeding or watering areas. If a horse did catch it then it would mean it couldn't be ridden until it cleared up because of the lesions being around it's mouth but if the horse is not being ridden and with the risk being so small it wouldn't seem too much to worry about.
You must though as Bramblecot says protect yourself.
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I had Orf last year over winter and eventually it seems to clear its self up. Make sure you wear gloves when handling the sheep with Orf. I got Orf paste but by the time I got the paste it was just about gone. Make sure you disinfect all the feeders after it's cleared or next year new sheep or lambs could get it again. I think it's like chicken pox once they get it they don't get it again.
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Yep, it will just run it's course. If they have a lick in with them in th field, that will certainly spread it, but feed troughs/hay racks will too. However I would not worry too much, most of my youngstock went through with it during the summer. You cannot disinfect ALL fence posts, tree trunks etc... so just watch and if any sheep gets too down with it and looks really miserable you may put some nappy rash cream/sudo cream or dare I say purple/blue spray on it to help it heal. Sometimes vets recommend an AB injection to ward of secondary bacterial infection, but I have never injected any for orf.
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Spray it with an animal disinfectant like Bactocyde (from Net-tex) to try to prevent it spreading. Wear gloves when handling them. It will clear up on it's own, just keep an eye on it. Put out salt licks if you don't already have them.
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Thanks to all for your responses.
Looks like there is nothing to do but wait for it to clear up.
We feed hard feed in a wooden trough every other day and we already have a high energy lick in one of those square red tubs.
Should I keep the lick and get rid of the wooden feed trough and just feed on the floor?
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Try not to let it get you down is the main thing. As has been said it will usually run it's course it does look a bit unsightly and sore for a while. I lost a batch of lambs last season to pasturella and nearly packed it in but I can't I'm hooked ;)
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You could wash the feeder down with apple cider vinegar x
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If you have to use the trough, clean it daily in proper farm disinfectant. But really you want to try to avoid situations where they are sharing the same head space :).
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Ill dump the feeder and keep the lick then. Cheers guys. Let me know if you think I should do anything else.
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Effective and cheap treatment - told to me by an old farmer many years ago - is a mixture of sulphur and salt. Sulphur powder can be bought from agricultural stockists as a powder, or flowers of sulphur from a chemist. Mix in roughly equal quantities with salt and leave in a container for the sheep to help themselves.
Not much point cleaning troughs or anything else at this point while the infection is still there. It will be in the bedding, on the walls, and the sheep will be touching each other constantly anyway.
At the end of the season, then treat what you can. But remember you are treating a virus, not a bacteria, so you need to make sure that what you use is a viruscide. In fact a solution of ordinary washing soda (sodium carbonate) is as effective as anything.
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Effective and cheap treatment - told to me by an old farmer many years ago - is a mixture of sulphur and salt. Sulphur powder can be bought from agricultural stockists as a powder, or flowers of sulphur from a chemist. Mix in roughly equal quantities with salt and leave in a container for the sheep to help themselves.
Not much point cleaning troughs or anything else at this point while the infection is still there. It will be in the bedding, on the walls, and the sheep will be touching each other constantly anyway.
At the end of the season, then treat what you can. But remember you are treating a virus, not a bacteria, so you need to make sure that what you use is a viruscide. In fact a solution of ordinary washing soda (sodium carbonate) is as effective as anything.
Thank you for that. Is this the yellow sulphur you are referring to? and do you mix it dry with dry table salt or wet it? What do you do with it then? just put it in a bucket and leave it out for the sheep??
Thanks in advance.
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Yes it's yellow sulphur. Mix it dry with salt and put it in any substantial container that they won't tip up.