# Sore mouth



## citylights (Jul 3, 2009)

Has anyone here dealt with sore mouth in their herd? A friend of mine has a doe in to breed and it came down with what looks like soremouth on her rear end, from the underside of the tail all around the vulva and rectum. 

None of us have ever had it in our herds and this doe came from a 4Her who got it from someone who has lots of sheep as well as some goats. She came in June 6 and was exhibiting these sores around the 12th. No other goats in my friend's herd has any clinical signs and never have. BUT the pens are close enough that I'm sure they have all been exposed by now.

What do we look for, can we contain it, will it go through the entire herd, or what? Is it a big deal, or just part of goat life. Remember we raise pygmies, so they're pets, and we don't buy or sell very much.

BTW The breeder seemed to think the doe got it at Dorian's house - but her herd has never had it nor have they had any outside animals in i over 2 years. What's the incubation?(yes, Dorian has the WORST luck of anyone!)
Thx


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

The main signs of soremouth are sores that will appear on their mouthes, usually starting in the corners of their lips and if not treated immediately they will spread to all around their lips, and nostrils and we had some get bad enough that it was all up and down their nose and ears. They can also get sores on their teats and udders so pay attention. Sores usually start out as small and crusty looking, in varying colors, from dark red to black to yellowish nasty ***** looking sores.

We had sore mouth really really bad our second year of raising goats. We did not know of any treatment so we had to wait three weeks for it to pass, and I had milkers with it really really bad on their udders to the point there they bled every time I milked them because the sores on their teats were so bad. About two weeks after everybody was all healed up, I found a little blurb on the internet that said that if you take epsom salt and mix it with warm water and just dip their noses in it(where the sores usually are) it will help to dry the sores up in a much shorter amount of time, usually under a week. I've told this to several people who have had soremouth and this treatment does work and it works fast.

I'm pretty sure that the incubation period on soremouth is pretty short, meaning that if your friend hasn't had it, then it couldn't have come from your friend's place. It doesn't survive in the soil for very long. Incubation period in a goat can be a day or two to a few weeks. I had reserved a buck and a doe from a herd two years ago and before they were ready to ship her whole her came down with soremouth, long story short I couldn't ship the kids. I still bought and shipped kids in from her the following year and those kids did not have soremouth, and they did not give my goats soremouth.

On the upside of this, once the herd gets it, they won't get it again for a very very long time


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

do you have a picture?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

If it's a scabby rash on her backside extending down her udder area and seems crusty, it's a staph type infection. I used a triple antibiotic ointment after a good scrubbing on my 1 doe...she was the only one to ever have this, the other 5 never showed any sign of it. A pic would be very helpful.


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## cmjust0 (Oct 8, 2009)

I've seen descriptions (and pictures) that sound strikingly similar to this on other forums...to my knowledge, nobody's been able to figure out what it is/was. Basically, just like soremouth...but ends up being "sorebutt," as it were. 

No clue.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

use to have something like this happen with my kids -- tried everything in the book nothing worked. This year is the first in like 5 years no one has gotten it I am thrilled! but it lasts 2 weeks and then starts to heal up on its own.


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## citylights (Jul 3, 2009)

Thanks guys, I'll have her send me a pic to post. It's ONLY on her backside, but it's wet and almost looks like pus-filled lesions. SOme are drying up and look a little crusty. I've never had soremouth (thank goodness!), so I'm at a loss!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

To me.... it sounds like possible ringworm....


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Heres the post I had when I noticed the crusty spots on my doe 
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11179&start=0

She's not had a re-occurrance since and the gentled iodine really worked :wink:


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## speedy94c (Jun 1, 2010)

OMG, 
My doe Ive had for several years has what I thought got into a fire ant 
nest and got stung on her mouth. Looking at these posts and the pics 
on the other sites got me thinking it may be sore mouth. I just went outside to my herd and checked her and her kid (4 mos old) and the kid has it also but not as bad. I have 47 goats in my back field and she has been like this for a week maybe not but for sure 4-5 days. Is it too late to seperate them?
Thanks Steve


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## cmjust0 (Oct 8, 2009)

It wouldn't hurt to seperate them, let's put it that way. But if two or three more end up having already gotten it from her (which, I'd say, is almost a certainty at this point) then you're basically hosed. It spreads like wildfire.

What's the nature of these 47 goats? Are they young, home-bred animals you kidded yourself from a clean herd, or did the majority of them exist previously in commercial herds, having come to you via the stockyard, or..?

If they're commercials, there's a good chance that a number of them have already been exposed and won't be affected.. Getting it twice is very rare and requires a different strain of the virus, and even then the 2nd infection is almost always extremely mild..


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## speedy94c (Jun 1, 2010)

Update, another one of my kids has it today not bad but a couple bumps.

They are all different ages and sizes. Most are ones ive gotten in the last 2 mos. They are from all different places. I purchased 29 from one farm in Mo.
An elderly couple had been raising goats for years and he is 80 and wanted to 
sit in his rocking chair.
Most are Boer with a couple nubian does, (the 1st one to get it was one)
So as you said im probally hosed.
Thanks for the help


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

speedy...Sorry you are dealing with this mess, but if it is indeed soremmouth, it will run it's course in about 3 weeks from the onset of the blisters.
Also, if it's possible to confine your infected goats to an area they can't come into contact with as the scabs fall off...the scabs will come off after about 3 weeks and those scabs will contain the live virus for up to 2 years, possibly infectimng any new kids born there or any new goats you bring in.


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## speedy94c (Jun 1, 2010)

Ok I tried to post a pic of her, hope it works.

Look at it and see if that is what yall think it is.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Denise sounds like what i had with my kids

warning gross pictures
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/ ... 5th008.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/ ... 5th010.jpg

this is when it started to heal
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/ ... 7th001.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/ ... 9th002.jpg
and just about all gone
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/ ... 7th025.jpg


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

speedy94c said:


> Ok I tried to post a pic of her, hope it works.
> 
> Look at it and see if that is what yall think it is.


sorry that file path doesnt look like it will work right for posting a picture


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## Amyhis (May 4, 2013)

Sounds like staph. I had a buckling have the same pustules on his tail web. Mom goat had a few pustules on her udder. I washed them twice a day with Chlorhexidine (you can use fight Bac spray) It went away in about a week.


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