[pharnorth]

Noses on a few of my sheep have scabby bare patches. Not large pustules like orf, more like a midge reaction?

[Marches Farmer]

May be due to a soil-borne bacterial infection.  My tegs sometimes suffer from something similar-looking when they graze my neighbour's orchard.  I spray with a/b and it heals in a couple of weeks.   

[pharnorth]

Thanks that sounds likely.  The Vet had a look at the photo too and wasn't clear but felt midges or soil infection so we're going for anti infection and fly repellent first off and antibiotic spray if no improvement. Subsequently it occurred to me it looks very like the sunburn my horse gets on his white nose if I don't put sun screen on it.  I haven't heard of sun burn on sheep but it has been over 30c here for three days and it has appeared from no where on 4 out of 12 sheep in that time.

[Twotwo]

St. John's wort can make horses hypersensitive to sunlight, possibly with sheep too. It might be worth looking in any damp lush parts of their field. Hope they get better soon

[Marches Farmer]

St John's Wort is always quoted as a photosensitiser but I suspect there are other plants that have that characteristic but which, because they're not used for medicinal purposes as St John's Wort is, the photosensitising agent hasn't yet been identified.

[pharnorth]

Could be hyper photosensitivity but it's been sooo hot here over this period I was wondering if it is simply sunburn. Put it this way,  I would burn in it in protected and I am pretty sun resistant. They look better rather than worse this morning so I'll get some more anti inflammatory cream on later and fly repellant

[Dogwalker]

Are they grazing around thistles at all?

[pharnorth]

Possibly a few around the margins but it is a hay field and was sprayed in the spring so pretty clean. Similarly I have not seen and St Johns Wort but I'll walk the whole field later and take a good look.

[pharnorth]

I treated them initially with sudocream until I was able to get the yellow fly cream from the Vet, which is what they recommended. It started to improve immediately and after two dabs of yellow cream is now sorted. Still not entirely sure what it was but midge damage seems most likely. One out of 12 ewes also got it on lower part of back leg suggests it was related to contact with ththe grass/ plants.

[Foobar]

Midges will bite anywhere where there isn't wool.  Under-bellies is a favourite!


Glad they are improving - which reminds me I need to re-tar my lot if it ever stops raining!

[Marches Farmer]

I was reading an old book on pigs the other day and it said that if they're on ground with lots of buttercups they can get blisters and scabs around their mouths.