LUMPS

[WoolyBear]

Need some suggestions out there.

Over the course of the last year, several of our ewes have developed hard lumps on their heads.

They are all hard. None have started at the same time. All have been in several places. IE just below an ear, another under the jaw and forward, another under the jaw and back. A 4th has one just above the nostrils, and on the "ridge". Its only this last one that we think was caused by shoving the feed trough around to get spilt grain.

None of them ever had a temperature, none ever quite eating, all have raised healthy lambs, all have been in the same paddocks. All the lumps have almost always been perfectly symetrical. We have been Ivomec drenching about every 4 to 6 months.

ANY suggestion. They aren't life threating, just cosmetically annoying.

Thank you in advance..........

[cakadu]

What you are describing sounds suspiciously like caseous lymphadenitis, but we'll need to get a bit more information from you to say that it is or isn't. The location of the lumps as you describe them sound like they are along where the lymph nodes are - although there may be many causes for lumps appearing - as you've suggested, getting a splinter while looking for feed.

Do these lumps just disappear, or do you notice them bursting after a time, with pus coming out of them? If there is pus coming out of them, it generally tends to be "pasty" in nature and is typically odorless, with a whitish, creamy or greenish tinge to it.

As a rule, if the lump is non-caseous i.e. caused by a splinter or even getting into a scrap with another sheep and getting injured and it is infected, it will smell and be quite runny.

The best way to find out what it is would be to take a sample of any drainage from the lumps, if there is any, and the vet could make a definitive diagnosis for you. While nothing to panic about as it affects both sheep and goats, t tends to be highly contagious, so getting it under control is important.

I hope you've found this helpful and if you'd like more information just e-mail me privately and I'd be happy to talk some more with you.

Linda

[woolpuller]

Sunds like as above person said is CLA. These animals cannot be curred and if were here would be shipped. I would start using a vaccine "glanvac-6". It is 80% effective in preventing the cla.

[CattleAnnie]

Found out a lot about Caseous last year when the kids' 4H sheep had to be tested due to suspicous lumps under jaw. Fortunately turned out to be infected bee stings, as Caseous is a reportable disease in B.C.
It is highly contagious, and usually is spread when the pustule bursts and the pus comes into contact with skin lesions in uninfected animals, which is why shearing is one of the top ways it is spread.
It is a huge problem in Australia and N. Zed, not too sure how it's affecting the Can & US industry, but what happens is that these infections can turn into massive internal ones (thus ruining meat value).
It is also known as "Cheesy Gland" in some areas.
Anyway, if it's caseous, the symptoms can be treated, but it is incurable and very undesirable.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, the lump will have a greeny-bluey paste like pus inside it. Best bet is contact the vet. They can do a swab and diagnose it.
Good luck and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that your animals are clean.