Sore mouth, or contagious ecthyma, is a contagious disease found in sheep and goats and causes scabs or pus-filled sores to form around the goat's mouth, lips, face, ears, feet, scrotum, teats, or vulva. Sore mouth is caused by the herpes-like parapox virus and usually lasts 1 - 4 weeks.
WEAR gloves when dealing with effected animals and during clean up. Its very contagious!!
There is no quick fix for sore mouth. It must run its course...
Old farmers say..”treat it and it will be over in 2 weeks, don’t treat it and it will be over in 2 weeks” Facts are we are not just treating sore mouth to speed recovery but to prevent secondary infection. I do believe treatment can shorten the life span of the disease by helping stop the spread.
Isolate infected goats away from healthy goats
Some feel once they have a goat with sore mouth they will expose the whole herd to it and let it runs its course and get it over with. Like chicken Pox in our human kids, once a goat has sore mouth they wont get it again, or so they say. I didn’t buy into a chicken pox party for m human kids and I don’t buy this. Sore mouth is painful. It can prevent a goat from eating or drinking enough...nursing kids with sore mouth can spread it to moms udder, making it painful to nurse and kids suffer. Its not something I want to purposely subject my goats to. Just because one has it does not mean the whole herd will have it..I have seen where only three out of a herd of 20 got it..owner isolated the infected ones and no one else had to deal with it...ISOLATE.
Treatment.
I recommend washing the effected area with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water or diluted Chlorhexidine. If any scabs fall off, wrap in tissue and put in a baggie to burn later. do this any time you find or wash a scab off! Scabs are contagious. Pat dry area and apply either Tomorrow mastitis antibiotic cream or diluted iodine ( weak tea look) 2 times a day. Other choices are tea tree ess oil or the protective blend such as On Guard. ( 10 drops in 15 ml carrier oil)
"The producer can do several things to minimize discomfort to Soremouth-infected goats. My preferred treatment is the application of Gentian Violet to the blisters and scabs. Soremouth is very contagious to both humans and goats, so use disposable gloves. Gentian Violet is an old-time inexpensive purple-colored liquid medication used in the past to treat fever blisters and impetigo. It is available without prescription from a pharmacy, but it may have to be ordered by the pharmacist and it probably will be behind the counter rather than on public-accessible shelves. Gentian Violet dries the blisters and hastens healing. Drying scabs sometimes contain staph bacteria or screwworm maggots. Gentian Violet kills bacteria that may cause a secondary infection. Systemic antibiotics are recommended if a secondary bacterial infection exists. The purple color of Gentian Violet gives the producer the added benefit of being able to see which goats have already been treated. Campho-Phenique is another good product to apply topically to blisters and scabs. Campho-Phenique Maximum Strength also has antibacterial properties." ` tennessee Meat goats
Supportive care
Vit c and fresh raw garlic are both immune boosters ..
B complex
Clean pens and water dishes feed dishes and hay baskets..rake pens well.
Its important to make sure the goat is eating and drinking. And don’t for get a little extra TLC...
WEAR gloves when dealing with effected animals and during clean up. Its very contagious!!
There is no quick fix for sore mouth. It must run its course...
Old farmers say..”treat it and it will be over in 2 weeks, don’t treat it and it will be over in 2 weeks” Facts are we are not just treating sore mouth to speed recovery but to prevent secondary infection. I do believe treatment can shorten the life span of the disease by helping stop the spread.
Isolate infected goats away from healthy goats
Some feel once they have a goat with sore mouth they will expose the whole herd to it and let it runs its course and get it over with. Like chicken Pox in our human kids, once a goat has sore mouth they wont get it again, or so they say. I didn’t buy into a chicken pox party for m human kids and I don’t buy this. Sore mouth is painful. It can prevent a goat from eating or drinking enough...nursing kids with sore mouth can spread it to moms udder, making it painful to nurse and kids suffer. Its not something I want to purposely subject my goats to. Just because one has it does not mean the whole herd will have it..I have seen where only three out of a herd of 20 got it..owner isolated the infected ones and no one else had to deal with it...ISOLATE.
Treatment.
I recommend washing the effected area with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water or diluted Chlorhexidine. If any scabs fall off, wrap in tissue and put in a baggie to burn later. do this any time you find or wash a scab off! Scabs are contagious. Pat dry area and apply either Tomorrow mastitis antibiotic cream or diluted iodine ( weak tea look) 2 times a day. Other choices are tea tree ess oil or the protective blend such as On Guard. ( 10 drops in 15 ml carrier oil)
"The producer can do several things to minimize discomfort to Soremouth-infected goats. My preferred treatment is the application of Gentian Violet to the blisters and scabs. Soremouth is very contagious to both humans and goats, so use disposable gloves. Gentian Violet is an old-time inexpensive purple-colored liquid medication used in the past to treat fever blisters and impetigo. It is available without prescription from a pharmacy, but it may have to be ordered by the pharmacist and it probably will be behind the counter rather than on public-accessible shelves. Gentian Violet dries the blisters and hastens healing. Drying scabs sometimes contain staph bacteria or screwworm maggots. Gentian Violet kills bacteria that may cause a secondary infection. Systemic antibiotics are recommended if a secondary bacterial infection exists. The purple color of Gentian Violet gives the producer the added benefit of being able to see which goats have already been treated. Campho-Phenique is another good product to apply topically to blisters and scabs. Campho-Phenique Maximum Strength also has antibacterial properties." ` tennessee Meat goats
Supportive care
Vit c and fresh raw garlic are both immune boosters ..
B complex
Clean pens and water dishes feed dishes and hay baskets..rake pens well.
Its important to make sure the goat is eating and drinking. And don’t for get a little extra TLC...