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CL abscess?

19K views 41 replies 10 participants last post by  emmapal 
#1 ·


I shot a video of my 2yr alpine doe who about a week ago suddenly developed an abscess or cyst on her right cheek on the jaw directly under her ear about the size of a golf ball. What is the next step I should take to ascertain what it is? Vet? Cull? We were trying to breed her to my Nubian buck, but I do not want a CL animal in my herd.

It shows no sign of thinning skin or balding, is neither firm nor very soft. We are new goat owners of just a few months, and have never had any animals tested for CAE, CL, or Johne's. She was wormed recently, but has had no other medical care of which I am aware.
 
#28 ·
I have never tested my herd but I am 99.9% sure I have some running around with cl. I have had a few abscesses show up that fit the bill. My first doe had a abscess and it bursted in the main pen.....I had no idea about cl. I wanted goats so went out and bought goats. I sold a buck and some does he was new to goats so I told him it would be a good idea to test them till he decides if he wants to deal with cl and cae and they all came out clean. So with all that being said your goats are not 100% doomed. As for the formulin I used it on one doe and didn't seem to hurt her. It might be that the abscess wasn't in a sensitive spot but she seemed fine about it. I just found it a total pain going out and chasing her every day to see if its ready so find penning and lancing is more easy and less stressful for both her and I.
 
#29 ·
Can you describe what the puss looked like when the vet lanced it? I don't know a lot about CL but is it common for a cyst to show up an burst over nite? Maybe it does when the spot has just been lanced? The reason I ask is cause the doe I had tested had several lumps an they seemed to show up over nite an burst. Now that Im thinking about it the vet never did tell me what it was an I was so relieved it wasn't CL that I never thought about it, huh I need a kick in the butt for that!!
 
#31 ·
I don't have any lime, but I do have DE. What about spraying a dilution of formalin on the pen and leaving it unoccupied for a while? Any better than a bleach dilution?
 
#32 ·
I would not use formalin for anything. It is a known carcinogen, and you are leaving yourself and everything in the immediate area open to breathing it in, mist drifting and getting on your skin, and it's some very nasty stuff!
 
#33 ·
Not overnight, but I did not remove her from the herd since I have to tether her. I figured I would just use the formalin and would not need to have her tethered for more than a few days after the injection. But over Thanksgiving I was distracted by, you know, Thanksgiving, and it burst more quickly after I found it than I expected, just a few days.
 
#34 ·
Emma, cut yourself some slack! There is not a producer or owner that has not made this same kind of mistake at some point or another. You are human just like the rest of us. All you can do is learn from it, adjust how you do things going forward, and pick up the pieces. ;) :)
 
#35 ·
There is just no way I can do this! It is impossible to spray everywhere she might have been. There is not topsoil other than scattered about with rocks, heavy underbrush. Just impossible. I am bleach spraying the places they spend the most time, but this task is just beyond me.

What now?
 
#38 ·
Trying to erect a sick pen, sprayed bleach dilution as well as I could, and we are burning excess brush in the pen. All the animals' feet were sprayed with vinegar dilution, and the goats entirely doused with it.

Can you recommend which vaccine you prefer and how you chose which one? Can I vaccinate my doe once her lesion is healed?
 
#40 · (Edited)
The vaccine is like the flu vaccine..good for one kind of strain...the most effective vaccination is costly...they will need some of the puss from the cl to create a vaccine for the strain on your ranch...This is not cost effective for most producers...imo..your best bet is to do the best you can to clean and disinfect, It will take time...keep watch on all your goats ....CL can remain around for a long time..so do monthly rub downs checking for lumps...have your CL pen ready for any one who has a CL that is getting ripe...learn to lance and clean the CL yourself..be patient with each Goat..dont throw them back in the herd too soon...the CL should be completly healed. Most importantly...breath, take your time..know that this is going to take a while and make a plan of action...it took us ....oh 2-3 years to stop seeing CL...and we havent seen it since..5+ years now....Like Goatcrazy said, Dont beat your self up..we can only do what we can do!..Just do your best...pace yourself..
and I totally agree with Goatcrazy about formalin...I would never chance it....too many risks!!
 
#41 ·
Any way to test the pus to determine which brand of vaccine to purchase?

Do you bring pus sample to vet for testing, or can I mail it out myself somewhere?
 
#42 · (Edited)
The lancing and irrigating is no big deal, but washing it out every day is a huge pain for me since I don't have help to hold her down every day. My kids aren't strong enough, and my husband isn't available enough (he helps me, but can't do it every day; I haven't been able to irrigate it again at all since Friday night when I drained it). That is why the formalin approach sounds better to me if handled safely.
 
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