Something on teats?

[MN Mom]

Our 1 yr old alpine has some thing on both teats. They look kind of like scabby moles where her teats and bag meet. Tried milking her just a tiny squirt a few days ago and did not feel them then. Also on the bottom of her belly there feels like a decent sized (1 1/2-2") liquidy cyst or something like that. As you can tell from our descriptions, we have no idea what we're talking about. She doesn't seem to enjoy us touching it right now so I'm wondering if it's tender. Doesn't seem to be having any other problems though sometimes when she eats she sounds like she's having a hairball(but maybe that's normal). Her doeling is approx 2 weeks old and noticed her nursing yesterday. She's housed with a Ewe and her lamb if that makes any difference. Here's two pics we took of each teat.





Thanks Jon & Sara

[Teacupliz]

never seen that before.. wonder is it is sore mouth or CL?
Let us know what you find out.. Liz

[AnnaS]

It looks a lot like orf aka sore mouth. some of my doelings picked it up at the breeder's so I learned about it this winter. The baby probably has lesions around her lips- they'll look like grey, puffy warts. It can looks pretty awful, but it about as serious as chicken pox in a child. Keep the sores dry and watch for secondary infections & don't pick! The pus inside the sores is infectious. Watch that the baby keeps eating. Should clear up in a week or two. The sheep & lamb will probably get it (if they weren't the carriers in the first place). They are supposed to have immunity after one infection.
And, be careful with any cuts on your hands! The orf virus can give you sores if it gets into cuts or even chapped knuckles.

[goatmarm]

I agree with AnnaS. It looks like soremouth/orf. We are just now getting over a nasty outbreak of that here. One of my does picked it up when she went out to be bred and it made the rounds of my herd. The milkers got the worst reaction to the virus, their sores look like the pics you posted. I took some pics too. I will post the link.
It has been a few weeks. The vet told us it can take a month to fully clear up. Keep the lesions DRY. Our vet told us to keep ointment on them, and that was the worst thing we could have done! The ointment actually made things worse, seemed to spread the orf, and made the sores breakout with whitehead-like pustules around the edges of the lesions. What I found helped our girls the most was 2x daily cleaning the area with betadine surgical scrub solution, then applying Blue Kote to the really bad sores. We only put udder balm on the teats to keep them from cracking/drying. Don't use the milk for human consumption either until all the lesions/scabs are gone.
Orf is very common in ruminants. Check the sheep, they might have been the source. Also, disinfect the barn when this is done, and bathe the animals. The virus is spread through the scabs that have been shed, and the scabs can remain viable in the animal's coat or in the environment for quite some time, but are susceptible to cleaning solutions--per the vet. So disinfect-disinfect-disinfect!
I hope your girl recovers quickly.-------- Anna

[goatmarm]

O.k., here's the link to the pics I took when my milkers broke out with orf:
http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...rm/orf%20pics/
They actually seemed to get worse before getting better, but I think it is because we slathered the sores with antibacterial ointment in an effort to stave off secondary infection. I'll repeat, keep the lesions dry to get them to heal quicker!

[MN Mom]

Thanks for the info!!

Now one more question...we just found out a few days ago that I'm pregnant, probably only about 3 weeks along...is it a risk for the baby for me to be in contact with the Doe right now? We aren't milking her so drinking the milk is not an issue at this point...just don't want to chance anything. Thanks, Sara

[famer_manda]

Congrats on your pregnancy Sara :P

[goatmarm]

Not being a doctor, I can't tell you about the risk to your pregnancy. BTW congrats.
I suppose you'd take the same type of precautions that you would if a family member came down with chicken pox at this time.
I was told the virus can be passed to people only through direct contact with the lesions, and an outbreak in a person is usually limited to the hands/fingers. Also, if a person should get orf, they can not pass it to another person. I would wear gloves when handling any animal with symptoms, and make sure you wash afterwards as well. If it's any comfort to you, I've been dealing with an outbreak here for the last month and never came down with anything, and neither did either of my 2 children.
Well wishes for a speedy recovery for the doe, and a healthy pregnancy for you.

[AnnaS]

Congratulations!!! The world needs more kids like yours!

check out this link- it is the whole info on orf in humans along with pregnacy risk (none)
http://www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic605.htm

I had 2 doelings and 1 milker get the orf lesions. The only med. I used was 1 day of Ambesol when one of the doeling's mouth was too sore to eat. Other than that, I just let it run its course.

[goatmarm]

We didn't have to do anything for the doelings or the kids as far as any meds. They didn't seem to get as serious of a reaction to the virus as the milkers got. They got a few mouth blisters and only small pimples(like prickly heat) on their underside of their tails+groin.
I did have to pull the kids b/c the moms were kicking babies away due to the painfull udders/teats, and the kids were starting to lose condition. I didn't want to do this b/c I prefer the personalities of dam-raised kids, and these guys were already three weeks on their moms. At the same time, we didn't want to lose them from starvation either. Also, the kids can get the lesions inside their mouths and down their throats from nursing on teats w/orf lesions. The buck kid did have some inside his nostrils and his mouth, I think that added to the difficulty of switching him to a bottle. All the doe kids took to the bottle within a day or so. The boy took over a week. We have had to bottlefeed for two weeks.
I am so glad to finally be able to put the kids back with their moms today. The buck went back to nursing pronto , but I have yet to see the doe kids try to nurse from their mom again They are all still getting their bottles. I don't know if the girls will return to nursing off mom, or if they've just decided that the bottle is easier. At least their mother has healed with no lasting damage, and she seems willing to let them nurse if they wanted.
The does were treated with an antibacterial/antifungal spray on the lesions that broke out on their udders. The milkers really had an awefull reaction to the virus, very extreme. I think their reaction may have actually been worsened by using antibacterial ointment on the lesions. Many of the lesions were ulcerated, and only started to begin to heal after being sprayed with Blu-Kote. I'm really not trying to push product here, but that is what worked to heal my girls' udders. It helped the skin to heal, and dried the lesions up at the same time.

[MN Mom]

Thanks so much for all the replies. I have just been so busy I haven't had a chance to get back to say thank you. Thanks for the pregnancy well wishes.

Sara