[Elissian]

My set of 2 week old triplet wilts horn lambs have blisters on their noses and top lips. i have 18 lambs in all and none of the others have it. Their mum looks fine and they're all eating and growing well and very active. Any ideas?
Thanks, Helen

[Freddiesfarm]

Sounds like orf to me.  Avoid touching the lambs without gloves on and try to find either a mineral lick to help for orf (we have Denis Brinicombe down here) or ovoids I think they are called which are little pills for orf- no idea how effective either are.  The other thing you could use and I can swear by this one is Thuja occidentalis - which is a plant extract and worked a treat on my orf last year!

[Elissian]

thanks,will source some of that, I do have a high energy mineral lick in the field which i notice these lambs have had their noses in whereas the others haven't

[Elissian]

How would i administer the thuja, i presume neals yard remedies will have it. Last time i used a homeopathic remedy on my sheep it came in little white balls which i put in their drinking water. Obviously i would need to place it on the lambs tongue, does it come as a tincture?

[Freddiesfarm]

I bought the thuja off the internet as a tincture which you can either apply directly to their faces or add to their water.  I do know now that my local herbal shop stocks it too.  There was an article I found in farmers weekly about it.

[Hermit]

Am I right in saying that orf is caused by the same organism that causes foot rot,except they get in on their noses through grazing?

[shetlandpaul]

Orf is a highly contagious disease of sheep and goats caused by a parapoxvirus

The clinical manifestations of orf in sheep are very variable (Lewis, 1996; Reid, 1991).

(a) In ewes, lesions are usually found on the udder and teats. This may result in acute

secondary staphylococcal mastitis leading to loss of udder function or death of the ewe.

(b) Lambs sucking infected teats commonly develop orf. Lesions in suckling lambs are most

frequently seen around the month and nostrils and may extend into the mouth and

oesophagus. The pain caused by these lesions may prevent the lamb from feeding and it

may die from dehydration and starvation. Ewes with painful lesions on the udder may also

prevent their lambs from suckling with the same consequences.

(c) Grazing and finishing lambs may develop the mouth form of orf or more rarely, a

condition known as strawberry footrot. In the latter condition, lesions occur on the lower

part of the legs and may cause lameness. Lambs with either form of orf may suffer

reduced growth rates.

(d) A venereal form of orf occurs in ewes and rams. Affected rams become reluctant to mate.

This disrupts the breeding season with a consequent long drawn out lambing.
i think c is what hermit was thinking about.

[Freddiesfarm]

That almost sounds like you are writing a thesis on it!!

Think of it like cold sores, once you have it, it never really goes away!  You can vaccinate but that would mean you are introducing it to potentially healthy animals.  It also tends to go in annual cycles and affects those animals which are under more stress (ie triplets).

[shetlandpaul]

i wish i knew that level of info. just pasted

[Freddiesfarm]

There was me thinking you knew it all!!    Just like that, off the top of your head!

[shetlandpaul]

 

[Elissian]

Just wanted to update you. I got the thuja in pill form and was told to just put it in their mouths, the guy at neales yard had sheep himself.they seem to like them, no probs with administering it. I have also been putting sudocreme on the lambs faces as recommended in Tim Tynes sheep book for smallholders. I've sprayed iodene on the teats of the ewe and she's also had the thuja. The rest of the flock seem clear at the moment and the blisters on the lambs faces are dry and dropping off, the ewe shows no sign of developing it.
thanks to everyone for the info, Helen
By the way, Tim Tynes' book is excellent if anyone is of a mind to treat themselves or a friend.