[Jacob-list] mouth marbles...

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/17/02 5:42:54 AM Central Daylight Time, 
oberlef at supernet.com writes:


> Need some advice from the list...  A three year old ewe here has something 
> that looks like a marble in her cheek.  Or more like at the corner of her 
> mouth.  Looks like she has a lump of tobacco or snuff in there!  I reached 
> inside with a finger to see if it is an abcess on the inside but didn't 
> feel an open sore or anything.  Haven't been able to actually roll back the 
> skin and check it yet.  Doesn't seem terribly sore,although she doesn't 
> like me messing with it. Any experiences with anything like this?  I 
> thought about an infected tick bite or something...but don't think so.
> Katrina, Chicory Lane Farm
> 

First, I would suggest quarantine for the ewe.  I can think of three 
possibilitiess: (1) perhaps it is no more than a bee sting or snake bite, add 
the element of 'three years of age', (2) a sharp edged molar may have abraded 
the cheek lining and an infected area is present, (3) a bacterial infection 
called caseous lymphadentitis.  If a bee sting or bite it might 'disappear' 
within a day or two, if (2) or (3) it will persist.   If it persists, take 
the ewe to the vet.  You do not want to monkey around in a sheep's mouth 
feeling molars for case (2) ... sort of like a horse's wolf teeth and when 
the jaw closes (it hurts),  and you do not want to trisk opening an abcess.  
If (3) caseous lyphadentitis (green cheese disease), you do not want to break 
the abcess.  This is contagious if the abcess is broken the 'green cheese' 
can be picked up by others.  It is not 'lethal' but wasting and can spread.  
Cure for this is not very effective.

Fred Horak  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20020517/e75780e5/attachment.htm