Groverdog 0 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Ive been rearing orphans again this year and all the 21 buggers have gone and contacrted orf. All the web sites seem to contracdict each other so i am trying everything, teramycine sptay, iodine, pen & strep and a tubby. The other half has got in on his finger too which he is nay happy about at all! Was told caster oil is good but the lass at Boots just looked at me like i was an idiot when i asked about it. Any one out there had this problem and any tips/old timer ways of clearing it up? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SEAN3513 7 Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 been there and done that with goats !!!!!!!!!!.............tried everything, like you seem to have done. nothing was greatly successful. i used "ORPHOIDS" from the vet..........quick and easy!!!! sorry no old traditional methods...........hopefully someone more learned will shed light in due course. all the best sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SNAP SHOT 194 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 try scabivax next year its a vaxcine to prevent orf, but for now try 1ml of ivomec super, most farmers use this and it seems to work, but you have to do the same again in 10 days time, or try cydectin once at .5ml, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JohnGalway Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Stand back, good idea-a-coming-through! The absolute best thing for Orf in lambs is called Orf-M. You can get it here. We used to use it years back when I think we got it in Cork, then it vanished. Just this year I have found it again, we've used all sorts including Ovaloids. Orf-M worked faster and better than anything else we have tried They also sell a spray that I'm trying at the moment, seems to do good though I've not had a serious orf case this year thankfully. I have been told that 30ml of castor oil administered slowly (they can choke otherwise) does help with Orf also. Almost forgot this bit. Some people have told me applying Cheno Unction (it's to soften cows udders) also helps. I've not used this so I can't comment. Now, best thing for Orf in humans is tincture of Iodine, get it in the chemist with a dropper and apply it a minimum of three times daily to the Orf. It'll take a couple of weeks minimum but it will go. Know that from firsthand (pardon the pun) experience. Had doctors prescribing three different antibiotics for me when I had it, ended up almost shutting my kidneys down - the idiots. Iodine works. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hiho 5 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 my dad uses these licks in buckets dont no what there called il say later Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Thanks everyone youve been very helpful, and i certainly be trying the suggestions. Laughed at the other half getting it - bloody shouldnt have cos guess what!!!! I use the buckets 'tubbys' if thats what you mean Hiho but im having trouble getting the lambs to take to it. Ive one lamb who is very very small and i think hes got it in his throat (can that happen?) as he coughs after each bottle. Jagged him over three days but to no avail. Dont want to destroy him as he a likeable sort of chap and (now dont hammer me for being soft lol) he will be kept as a pet if he survives as hed loads of problems at the start of life. All the others (got a mixture of Blackfaces, Suffolk x's, Cheviot x's, and Charolais/Texel x's) are comiung on great and its looking like the weaned Suffolks will be ready for the fat lamb ring soon. But this Orf has fairly set them back. F**king sheep!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JohnGalway Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 How're they doing Grover? What did you decide to use in the end? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BRYAN3 29 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Thanks everyone youve been very helpful, and i certainly be trying the suggestions. Laughed at the other half getting it - bloody shouldnt have cos guess what!!!! I use the buckets 'tubbys' if thats what you mean Hiho but im having trouble getting the lambs to take to it. Ive one lamb who is very very small and i think hes got it in his throat (can that happen?) as he coughs after each bottle. Jagged him over three days but to no avail. Dont want to destroy him as he a likeable sort of chap and (now dont hammer me for being soft lol) he will be kept as a pet if he survives as hed loads of problems at the start of life. All the others (got a mixture of Blackfaces, Suffolk x's, Cheviot x's, and Charolais/Texel x's) are comiung on great and its looking like the weaned Suffolks will be ready for the fat lamb ring soon. But this Orf has fairly set them back. F**king sheep!!!! Are you really? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted June 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Now now Bryan lol. And according to soursces there are those who have contracted orf on there tadgers???? - from not washing there hands then going for a pee! John - ive chucked allsorts at them. Got a Tubby down (which the buggers wont use). Ive ordered that Orf - M and im still using the teramycine and iodine. Also been told about stockholm tar so off to get some of that too. Weird disease this orf. I lost that small lamb yesterday just found him dead, not bloated or anything so i guess the orf had killed him cos he was a runty thing anything. And now ive another coughing after a bottle. Ive been raising orphans for a few years now with some success (had lambs off orphans last two years) and have never seen this before. Sheep always seem to find new ways off cacking it eh! And i have to say its bloody painful and itchy not something i wont ever again. Apart from that the older weaned ones are doing well and the Suffolk x's are nearly ready for the mart or my freezer. (Made some nice mint jelly too just for them lol) Now then this orf - where the hell do they get it? Is it the thistles/gorse? Do the normal lambs get it too or is it just a orphan thing? What with orf in the lambs/us and mange in the dogs seems that we are afflicted with some sort of plague!!! lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BRYAN3 29 Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Now now Bryan lol. And according to soursces there are those who have contracted orf on there tadgers???? - from not washing there hands then going for a pee! John - ive chucked allsorts at them. Got a Tubby down (which the buggers wont use). Ive ordered that Orf - M and im still using the teramycine and iodine. Also been told about stockholm tar so off to get some of that too. Weird disease this orf. I lost that small lamb yesterday just found him dead, not bloated or anything so i guess the orf had killed him cos he was a runty thing anything. And now ive another coughing after a bottle. Ive been raising orphans for a few years now with some success (had lambs off orphans last two years) and have never seen this before. Sheep always seem to find new ways off cacking it eh! And i have to say its bloody painful and itchy not something i wont ever again. Apart from that the older weaned ones are doing well and the Suffolk x's are nearly ready for the mart or my freezer. (Made some nice mint jelly too just for them lol) Now then this orf - where the hell do they get it? Is it the thistles/gorse? Do the normal lambs get it too or is it just a orphan thing? What with orf in the lambs/us and mange in the dogs seems that we are afflicted with some sort of plague!!! lol. Hi. I Googled orf and clicked on eMEDICINE-ORF Artical by Lana H Hawayek. It was interesting but, had some big words in it. Best of luck-Bryan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JohnGalway Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Thistles and gorse will make it spread more yes, get rid of them as soon as you can. As for what it is itself and how it spreads I'll get back to you I got Orf from dosing a ewe, I wasn't paying attention and she bit me Dozy git. There are also two sprays on that Farmrite site that will help dry the scabs up. By the way, Orf can survive in discarded scabs for a very long time, maybe years if it's sheltered from frost say inside a shed or in thick cover. I do not have the obscene words to describe my hatred of Orf. I would think that small lamb of yours choked? I am not sure Stockholm Tar will work but it's worth trying. The second year I started out in sheep I had 28 lambs and 19 contracted serious cases or Orf, didn't lose any though, so yes non orphan lambs will get it, couples, singles etc. Hoggets and fully mature Ewes can also contract it. I'll get back to you with more information, could be tomorrow, or even late tonight. Use the Orf-M as soon as it arrives In the mean time use anything else you have Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SNAP SHOT 194 Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 orf is a virus that is very contagious, It comes from the poxvirus family, And causes lesions around the mouth, mainly young animals are affected but with the scabs coming off the animals more get infected by coming into contact with the scabs.......The virus will last in the scabs for months, So the only real way of dealing with an outbreak is to disinfect the sheds were the virus is known, jeyes fluid is a good start then steam clean the shed as it is prone to high temperature's which will kill off the virus. however lesions may not appear and an animal can still by carrying the virus. The farmers in my area always use scabivax at the middle to end of march, it's a live antivirus developed from the virus within scabs which were tested. you nick a cross into the skin, on the inside of the back leg. it seems to work very well. 50 dose pack is normally around 40-45 euro. yeshttp://www.imdb.com/media/rm3605960960/tt0091369 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JohnGalway Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Sorry to hear about your little lamb. As SS says it's important to disinfect the pens, am presuming you have the lambs inside, really throughly. Remove all bedding and wash the place down with a strong solution of Jeyes fluid. Pay articular attention to anything made from wood The virus needs a nick in the skin to get in, causes of these nicks are many. Thistles (in some areas it's actually called thistle disease), gorse, brambles, stubble, sharp plant stems, feeding troughs, rocks, hedges. Basically anything that will cause a scrape in the skin. So pay particular attention to removing what you can and disinfecting feeders. As I've said before in a sheltered spot, protected from frost and rain (I've been doing some reading myself) the virus will live in Orf scabs until next season, and will live for years in some cases given the right environment. It will also happily live in sheltered soil that sheep like, say under a large gorse bush. Another way it will spread is on anything that an infected animal has scratched itself upon (good God how many scrape prone rocks do I have ), so again pay attention to the disinfecting process. As well as the outwardly obvious and common outbreaks affecting the mouth/nose and the feet, scabs can and will form inside the mouth, in the throat down into the stomach and in rare cases in the lungs. Orf is also the cause of secondary infections which seem to be responsible for most deaths, but Orf itself in a severe enough case will be fatal. Strawberry foot(rot) will attract blowflies so be careful of maggots. I was just thinking the last day we were discussing this that sheep really are suicidal compared to other animals. Dad and I often discussed this, and not boasting but we do take good care of our animals but when a sheep gets some condition or other it's first thought is feck this I'm dead Just as I was thinking that there was a programme on here. I didn't get it all but it's "Vets on call" and the lady vet was walking out the gate talking to the farmer saying the same thing as I was thinking They're stubborn as hell but when sick there's not much fight in them for some reason. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SEAN3513 7 Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 orf is a nightmare !!!!! as pointed out thistles will cause small abrasions on the mouths of sheep and it is transmitted by saliva.this would explain the large number of your stock having it, if they have been bottle fed. it is more noticeable in younger animals as their imune sytems havn't built up yet. it likely cause is probably down to imported bedding or similar, the virus can remain contagious via scabs etc. it can also survive in soil. orf can return,usually a year later but tends not to be as bad. we had it in our goats for a couple of years, in the end we scarified the land they grazed and sprayed VIRKON S ( an anti viral liquid, used for foot and mouth) this got rid of the problem. we also washed out the pens and hard areas, walls etc. kept the thistles down and have been orf free now for several years, all very much as said by JOHN and SS i do sympathise with you and anyone else thats been involved with orf. good luck with it and hope you get sorted ASAP. kind regards sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SEAN3513 7 Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orf_(animal_disease) may be usefull !! cheers sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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