[fifixx]

My group of 13 8 mth old female kids have had 2 with orf last week (hopefully no more) and today 2 with pink-eye

Managed to fool them into a pen this afternoon (!) and we have brought the 2 with pink eye back to the farm and on the vet's advice they have had penicillin and metacam and tomorrow I  will collect some cream for the eyes.

Where does it come from?  We don't buy in or have other animals on the farm...the vet thinks the orf has been in the ground from sheep grazing a couple of years ago! 

Both zoonotic so I have been disinfecting/washing/changing clothes like crazy!

[Anke]

It seems a bit of ritual on mixed sheep/goat farms - I get isolated cases of orf and pink eye in both goats and sheep/lambs. Seems to affect them when their immune system is under challenge, so maybe a mineral/multi--vit drench for the whole flock would be a good idea?
 
You will only possibly catch it from open wounds/cuts on your hands - it won't be transmitted through clothes etc.

[tizaala]

We usually find our youngsters get a bit of orf as soon as they start grazing on the Autumn thistles as they are going to seed, they love them at that time of year , It only lasts a couple of days with the help of a quick squirt of purple or green spray, then their immune system kicks in and they never get it again.

[fifixx]

I expect the grass no longer has much nutrient value and I was about to bring them back to near the farm buildings before the orf last week - now I'm going to keep them up there another couple of weeks as the adults have never had it. They did have a lick - and once the orf appeared, I took it out as that is a good way for them all to catch everything!

I have read that cod liver oil is a good one for pink eye - Vit A - so I'll give them all a yummy dose -