# Could this be soremouth orf?



## Chinclub (Mar 2, 2005)

We just bought some goats last weekend and now one of them has weird scabs on her lips. I did some searching and the only thing I can find on mouth sores in goats is soremouth (orf) but looking at the pictures of that it doesn't seem like what she has. I am hoping that it isn't. 

I have 3 goats total and she will jump the fence so she has had free range of whatever grows around the woods while the others have had strictly grass, hay, and feed.

They all have what I think is lice and who knows what other parasites (we will be treating them for this).

I have no history as they were bought from an auction.

I first noticed that she has bumps along her lip, almost wart looking. Then I noticed some small scabs. Now her whole top and bottom lips are all scabs from the corners to halfway toward the front. It is not on her nose or anywhere else, just the lips. It has all happened really fast like within 48 hours.

Could it be caused by a parasite or something she might have eaten? Does anyone have experience with orf? 

We are getting a donkey tomorrow and were planning to house them together but of course we will not be doing so now. What about the other 2 goats that are not showing any signs? Could they be carriers? Should they stay separate? 

Any advice would certainly be appreciated. I have seen some horrible pictures of orf in people and am terrified that that might be it since my two kids have been loving on these goats all week.

Of course I had to wait until Saturday night to realize how bad she has gotten when no vets will be open until Monday!


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

I've never had a goat with soremouth, but that's what I would suspect. I would keep the auction goats quarantined and take the one with the scabs to the vet on Monday. In the mean time, I would keep the goat's mouth clean with a chlorhexidine solution, wearing rubber gloves when you do this and keep the children away from them until you know what you are dealing with. This is the reason many of us goat people don't buy our goats form an auction or sale barn. I don't want to be bringing home other people's problems. Since you already have them, I'd also have the vet blood test them for CAE and CL and run a fecal on them.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

You won't want to just put the donkey in with the goats anyway, so let the soremouth run it's course. Put the donkey on the fenceline with the goats to get aquainted, and then put them in together once the sores are gone and you have seen them together with the donkey on a lead. Even coming from a herd situation, adding donkey's to the mix can be dangerous with new goats who think it's a wild beast. Same with LGD's.

Has the donkey seen goats before? It's not a jack I hope. 

Soremouth is no biggy, especially this time of year, it will pass. If you must treat it wear gloves, you do not want to catch this. Vicki


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## Chinclub (Mar 2, 2005)

The donkey is a jennet and she has been around all sorts of animals. The only goat I was really wanting to put with her is a young one that doesn't seem to know he is a goat. My guess is he was a bottlefed baby. The other two will have nothing to do with him and he wants constant attention from us. When we go inside he cries for hours! He has no fear of the dog or the neighboring horses he just wants to be next to something! One great thing about this donkey is that she has been very affectionate and accepting of the young animals born at her last place. The lady we are getting her from suggested putting them together right away because the donkey also craves companionship, however that was before all of this happened.

The baby is showing no signs and since he was in the pen and the infected girl was outside I am hoping that he will be spared. (Maybe it is just wishful thinking).

Does anyone know if equines can even catch this? I searched all over the internet for donkeys and soremouth and couldn't find anything.

One more question. At what point do they become contagious. I'm hoping it is once the mouth sores become visible? I certainly don't want my family catching this, but I hate to ignore that poor baby goat. Also, at what point is the sick goat no longer contagious?

Thanks for all of your help!


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

Can you take/post a photo?

I'm going to guess staph infection. We have a goat who breaks out on her chin and another who breaks out on her nose/lips in times of stress.

The move to your place would be exactly that kind of stress. (It's how ours fist showed up - a couple days after their move.)

We treat with chlorhexidine (Nolvosan) and it dries right up.

Edited to add photo:
This is the one who gets it on her nose and lips.


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## Chinclub (Mar 2, 2005)

Here are some pictures. One side of her mouth is much worse than the other. It seems to itch her more than anything. It has not lessened her eating at all.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Sore mouth is contagious until the scabs fall off and the area is no longer raw. The scabs themselves are contagious and contaminate your property. This is an advantage, I would give everyone this, you can pull off a scab and infect all the other goats, this way you will not be dealing with this ever again unless you bring in other goats who are not immune to this. It's unsightly, and during nursing kid season it can cause you problems on udders and mouths of kids, but this time of year it is nothing more than a nusiance. But you and the kids shouldn't touch their mouths without gloves. Vicki


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## havenberryfarm (Dec 9, 2003)

Clean and lime the stall after she is clear too. You don't want kids to get soremouth. It is just a nuisance to adults, but can be life threatening to kids who get sores in their mouths and go off feed. Also, don't let anyone kid or raise young kids in that stall next year. Soremouth virus can live for a LONG time. 
We had something that looked like this last summer. I sprayed it with blucote and also hydrogen peroxide (alternately). Be careful not to get blucote in her eyes, as it can cause temporary blindness due to staining. Put her in the milk stand to do it, or else just use peroxide. Soremouth is likely to spread to any open sores, her udder, and sometimes even her feet (if she scratches her mouth with them). Keep these areas cleaned and disinfect any scratches or abrasions she might have. It will spread for a week or two before she really starts to heal up.


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