Management of Risk Factors Associated with Chronic Oral Lesions in Sheep

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Oral injuries are widespread disorders of sheep that can cause significant economic losses in farms. These usually painful conditions prevent animals from feeding properly, leading to chronic weight loss and, very often, causing the final culling of the animals. This study analyses the management risk factors associated with the presence of mandibular and maxillary disorders in a representative cohort of sheep in Spain. These lesions are usually the external and final manifestation of underdiagnosed oral disorders. It was concluded that hard foods with sharp edges such as maize straw as well as acidic foods such as silages, favor the development of these disorders. Furthermore, the study shows that the use of mineral supplementation prevents the appearance of oral lesions. ABSTRACT: Oral disorders constitute a significant cause of weight loss in sheep. In a study of disorders of the oral cavity of 36,033 sheep from 60 meat sheep flocks in Spain, we looked for management risk factors associated with chronic oral lesions. Mandibular and maxillary disorders were assessed as an external manifestation of oral lesions by palpation, searching for tissue swellings, fistulae, or open wounds. The prevalence of flocks containing sheep with jaw disorders was 98.3%, with an average individual prevalence of 5.5%. The majority of lesions were located in in the mid-region of the mandible, and the most relevant risk factor was increasing age. Use of acidic diets based on silage and inclusion of hard foods, such as maize straw or hay, was associated with the occurrence of jaw inflammation. It was concluded that hard diets containing plant material with edges and sharp areas, plus acidic foods including silage, are more likely to cause lesions of the gingiva, enabling entry of pathogens to the oral mucosa that eventually establish locally in bony tissues, usually as mandibular osteomyelitis. It was also observed that mineral supplementation appears to prevent the occurrence of these lesions.