Lamb with orf on feet

Eddies farm

Yesterday I went to take horn ram lambs in from the field to sort out for the mart the next day.One of the lambs have orf on it feet.Now the lamb is walking ok and is in good condition.Is there anything that can be done to treat it so i can sell it while the trade is good

Connemara Farmer

Something I have been wanting to try, but have been lucky enough not to be provided an opportunity for was bathing the foot in very salty water.

Salt licks have been a revelation on my farm for combatting orf, talking to another local farmer one day he mentioned using the brine from bait fishermen use. There may be something in it, there may not, but I will try it next time.

I don't know of anything quick though.

Green farmer

I wonder would a bottle of table salt added to a foot bath clear it up ? Would be a cheap solution if it worked?

AnFeirmeoir

Orf can be very slow to get rid of. I wouldn't hold my breath. Usually it lasts 2 weeks or so but i have had a couple that simply will not clear up.

I'd clean it every day with antiseptic spray ( Try any, I've never found one that works really well to be honest)

Connemara Farmer

Green farmer wrote: »

I wonder would a bottle of table salt added to a foot bath clear it up ? Would be a cheap solution if it worked?

The only concern I'd have with the footbath is possible transmission of orf to other animals? I don't know if it could happen that way, if I were to try it I'd be rigging up something for orf animals only.

Green farmer

Just throwing this out there, would Stockholm tar be any good on orf ? It's antiseptic and can be used on cuts , soars etc ? I don't know the answer myself, but might be helpful ?

fanadman1

Eddies farm wrote: »

Yesterday I went to take horn ram lambs in from the field to sort out for the mart the next day.One of the lambs have orf on it feet.Now the lamb is walking ok and is in good condition.Is there anything that can be done to treat it so i can sell it while the trade is good

never seen a lamb with orf on its fert but for young lambs with orf on thrre jaw or ears I treat with ..... Deleted Specifics.. I know iys ment to be a cattle dias but alwats used it with great success 2 doas's 3 days apart and it is all gone


[mod]Please do not recommend unlicensed treatments, for species, or in excessive doses.[/mod]

rangler1

fanadman1 wrote: »

never seen a lamb with orf on its fert but for young lambs with orf on thrre jaw or ears I treat with .....Deleted Specifics..... I know iys ment to be a cattle dias but alwats used it with great success 2 doas's 3 days apart and it is all gone

Have heard of people using that, don't know how it'd work, get orf here most years and it usually only lasts a week, it's important to keep down thistles/ nettles as abrasion from those is what introduces infection, otherwise it goes away on its own here

Green farmer

I got it in fields with thistles this year as well. The lambs in fields with no thistles had no orf.

foxylock

We get a few cases every year , have also used <SNIP> and it helped ,this year used alamycin spray it did the trick . Most lads say to isolate affected individuals and let it run its course. I prefer to treat also.

If its on the legs it might be strawberry footrot.

MayoAreMagic

Always found alamycin spray works well for whatever reason. Clears it up faster than just leaving it alone.

Strawberry footrot would look different and wouldn't bleed as easily. They would also be limping if they had it. Best job for this is a good thick piece of fishing line tied around the stalk a few times to cut off the blood flow. It will fall off over time.

razor8

As I was told many years ago, the reason there are so many so called cures is most of the time it just gets better itself, same as if you did nothing with it
We had problems for years but since using scabivax we have no trouble at all

Connemara Farmer

razor8 wrote: »

As I was told many years ago, the reason there are so many so called cures is most of the time it just gets better itself, same as if you did nothing with it
We had problems for years but since using scabivax we have no trouble at all

Easier throw out salt blocks than go through the process of using scabivax. Never used it but local farmer gave me the run down on it. Have had orf on my farm since the 90's.

foxylock

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Easier throw out salt blocks than go through the process of using scabivax. Never used it but local farmer gave me the run down on it. Have had orf on my farm since the 90's.

how much per block and how long do they last?

Connemara Farmer

foxylock wrote: »

how much per block and how long do they last?

Off the top of my head Dad got two 10kg blocks in local ag merchant for something like €11, he breaks it up into smaller lumps. I got Himalayan Rock Salt online, can't remember the price but it's significantly more expensive, it was all I could find at the time. Protect them from the rain they last ages.

foxylock

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Off the top of my head Dad got two 10kg blocks in local ag merchant for something like €11, he breaks it up into smaller lumps. I got Himalayan Rock Salt online, can't remember the price but it's significantly more expensive, it was all I could find at the time. Protect them from the rain they last ages.

thanks i might give them a whirl and see.

rangler1

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Off the top of my head Dad got two 10kg blocks in local ag merchant for something like €11, he breaks it up into smaller lumps. I got Himalayan Rock Salt online, can't remember the price but it's significantly more expensive, it was all I could find at the time. Protect them from the rain they last ages.

Salt is a good healer and disinfectant and lambs like licking it so it cleans and heals their mouths

GreenwayM

Ovaloids / Orfoids Capsules are the best . . .Orf is extremely contagious and can take many years to get rid of . . .

I am from a farming background and very familiar with it . . . Round the Mouth and top of the hooves

Did you get any pallets, wood, buckets, buy-ins etc from another farm in the last while? this is a very common way of Farm-To-Farm transmission . . .

I have even seen humans with it on fingers etc.

When it gets bad enough - they bleed onto troughs etc and this spreads it

You know that you can Vaccinate for it - scrape the inside of the leg with a live vaccine. You can give from about 2 months onwards . . .

Horrible, horrible dose . . . I have actually seen lambs not to thrive if it gets bad enough . .

razor8

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Easier throw out salt blocks than go through the process of using scabivax. Never used it but local farmer gave me the run down on it. Have had orf on my farm since the 90's.

Don't find it much hassle at all, give them a scratch when they are leaving the shed. €40 bottle will do anything from 80 to 100 so pretty cost effective, I've never used salt licks and at the moment I don't have the nerve not to use scabivax

Connemara Farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

Salt is a good healer and disinfectant and lambs like licking it so it cleans and heals their mouths

It's also labour free, no catching lambs, no risk of catching orf yourself (got that tshirt).

ganmo

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

It's also labour free, no catching lambs, no risk of catching orf yourself (got that tshirt).

Loved when I heard that one of the 1st year vet students in ucd got orf and it worked it's way up through the ranks

greysides

razor8 wrote: »

As I was told many years ago, the reason there are so many so called cures is most of the time it just gets better itself, same as if you did nothing with it
We had problems for years but since using scabivax we have no trouble at all

[mod]This quote is worth repeating.

Please bear in mind the veterinary section in the charter when suggesting treatments.[/mod]

Moanna

Alymycin spray is the best cure