Abcess causes in sheep/goats

[SteepedInSheep]

Basic question is: are there other infectious illnesses or perhaps deficiencies that would cause an abcess?

Several of our sheep have an abcess right on the corner of their mouth. I suspect CL and the plan is to get their blood tested but is there something else I should be looking at?
I know getting injured can cause an abcess but there are several of the sheep who have it in the exact same place so that's no coincidental injury.

We did have a ram 2 years ago that developed accesses: one under her chin, one on his cheek, and one on the corner of his mouth. We decided to put him down and hoped (wishful thinking, I know) that the rest of the herd would be unaffected as he hasn't been with them for several months.

 

[Baymule]

By all means, get them blood tested. Then you know where to go from there. If CL, you can vaccinate, it cuts down on the number of abscesses. Vaccinate the lambs, several generations later, sell the originals at auction.l for meat. I believe the protocol is 5 years of vaccination, by then the older sheep will be sold and gone.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

By all means, get them blood tested. Then you know where to go from there. If CL, you can vaccinate, it cuts down on the number of abscesses. Vaccinate the lambs, several generations later, sell the originals at auction.l for meat. I believe the protocol is 5 years of vaccination, by then the older sheep will be sold and gone.

You assume then that it is likely CL?
I searched online until I felt my brains were scrambled trying to find anything else that it could be but I'm just not having any luck.

How would you handle practical husbandry if they do have it? We've been working on our rotational past your grazing infrastructure for a while now and we are getting close to it being done... We will have a couple of separate pens, though the sheep will only be separated by fence.
I guess I'm wondering how practical it is to monitor everyone for absences and drain and clean them before they spread to other sheep...

I feel ashamed of my ignorance.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

I'm trying to ascertain if it's practical to even keep once that are positive. We are very small-scale meat sheep farmers… we were hoping just to raise enough for our family. This is going to be an expensive problem either way.

 

[Ridgetop]

If all the absceses are on the mouth it may not be CL. Mouth abscesses are often caused by stickers or sharp pieces of hay which cut the mouth when eating. Other things can cause abscesses, particularly mouth abscesses. Other abscess causes are from infection in cuts or openings in the skin, such as occur from shearing. Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) causes abscesses that normally occur in lymph nodes in specific areas of the body. If you pull up the disease on line there will be a picture showing the normal locations of CL abscesses.

With CL, as with a lot of diseases, the infective agent can get into your soil so no matter what you do it can come back in future in other sheep. Make sure it is CL before disposing of sheep. In addition, sheep that never have an abscess can be infected with CL and be carriers without you knowing.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

If all the absceses are on the mouth it may not be CL. Mouth abscesses are often caused by stickers or sharp pieces of hay which cut the mouth when eating. Other things can cause abscesses, particularly mouth abscesses.

What other things can cause mouth abcesses?

Other abscess causes are from infection in cuts or openings in the skin, such as occur from shearing. Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) causes abscesses that normally occur in lymph nodes in specific areas of the body. If you pull up the disease on line there will be a picture showing the normal locations of CL abscesses.

Thanks for the reply. That's ultimately why we'll be testing. I've looked at the pics of where the abscesses normally form and right at the edge of the mouth isn't on there.
But again, we did have the ram a couple years ago that had lumps in the right spaces for cl.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

We feed hay in a round bale that's surrounded by a cattle panel. This is the second year we've fed them this way. I wonder if the abscesses are from that? Weird that we wouldn't have noticed any abscesses sooner but maybe that's the answer.

 

[Mini Horses]

You can talk to vet. A sample of fluids take from the access can be taken to test for the bacteria ... You know what it is and how to treat. Not terrible expensive if you collect sample. Do you happen to have a State operated vet lab near you? They do testing for farmers very inexpensively.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

You can talk to vet. A sample of fluids take from the access can be taken to test for the bacteria ... You know what it is and how to treat. Not terrible expensive if you collect sample. Do you happen to have a State operated vet lab near you? They do testing for farmers very inexpensively.

I have no idea. I could look it up. What do I search, "state vet lab"?
Is testing typically not something a livestock vet does?

 

[Baymule]

Your vet can draw blood and send it off for testing.