[tommytink]

Last a Wednesday I noticed one of my lambs had a pink spot/lump on the end of his nose, about a cm above his nostrils. Also another patch where the hair was missing just underneath this spot. The skin didn’t appear broken but I thought he might have caught his nose on something prickly or on barbed wire. Applied Sudocrem, and the past couple of days blue spray, but it didn’t go away and looked quite prominent. Tonight I tested to see if it was an abscess by using a sterile needle; there was no pus as such, just a bit of watery blood. It didn’t carry on bleeding at all and sprayed with blue spray again. On leaving the field I noticed another lamb with the same looking lump in the exact same place. I just want to check I’m not missing some sort of disease?? (It’s not scabby like orf.)

[bj_cardiff]

I suspect its the early stages of orf, pretty much all of my lambs have all had it this year

[harmony]

Yes, could be orf. You can get cream or tablets to treat. Can be a nuisance if it stops lambs from drinking. You can catch it too and it is very painful so use disposable gloves when touching them.

[tommytink]

I don’t know, we had orf back along which cleared up and that was scabby. This is like a smooth lump, which is why I thought maybe an abscess.

Here are some pics.

First one is the original lamb that I lanced. You can see the pinky little lump (which I prob exacerbated a little by sticking it) and underneath two areas where the hair is gone.

[tommytink]

This is the second lamb I noticed last night - doesn’t look as pink but hair missing again.

[tommytink]

This is the third lamb which I just noticed this morning - three hairless spots.

I’m confused about where the hair is going 

So it didn’t look like orf we had before, unless it can also look like this?

[Fleecewife]

Do you have a lot of thistles around?  Lambs noses can get pricked by the spikes, then that becomes infected with orf.  It looks pretty much like orf, but anyway, treat it the same, NOT poking around at it (because it's sore, and all you'll do is spread it further including to you).  Spraying with blue spray will prevent the pustules from secondary infection, but does nothing for the orf.  When you are spraying around the mouth and near the eyes, take care to cover both from the spray.  We haven't had orf for donkey's years so I can't remember how or if we treated it, as it's self limiting

[shep53]

Orf, salt or a Dennis Brinicome  Fro-but  tubby to dry up .   

[tommytink]

I’ll treat it as if it’s orf for now then and just leave it be. It isn’t scabby, so I think that’s why I thought it was something different. There are plenty of brambles along the fence lines and in the field they are in, along with a roll of barbed wire on a wooden holder which they like to huddle under when it rains, so as you say, getting pricked is a possibility. (This is a neighbours field; I wouldn’t have brambles or barbed wire rolls in mine but needs must at the moment due to our grass situation.)

[shep53]

Orf can vary from a little lump to the whole nose a raw lump with the lips like bottox on steroids plus it can affect the eye area and the feet also the ewes teats  . If it becomes a problem you can check out Scabivax

[Anke]

Now please don't shout me down, but there are other things that can cause lumps, spots whatever you want to call them.
One of these is what is called "goatpox" (not really goatpox) in dairy goats - but all it is a staph aureus infection. Usually starts on the dam's udder and it then transferred to the kids noses/mouths when they suckle. I suspect it is similar in sheep. It is most prevalent in first kidders, and it is often just a consequence of the immune system not working 100%. It often clears up by itself, if not treatment is AB's.

So if the lambs are fine, feeding and by now grazing fine, I wold just observe and check, most likely it will disappear.

[shep53]

In lambs  ORF contagious pustular dermatitis  which is a virus can combine with staphylococcus aureus which is a bacteria to produce very serious damage to the nose  ,lips and mouth  and need AB's to control