The Goat Spot Forum banner

Large mass/lump on top of head

3K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  jschies  
#1 ·
Yesterday morning one of our does was on the stand and we noticed a large-ish mass/lump on the top of her head, just behind where her horns would normally be...so kind of where the head meets the neck. It's very soft, almost like a water balloon...so it seems like it's mostly fluid in there. When we touch it and move it around, she does not seem to be in any pain or be bothered by it.

We've reached out to a few of our go-to goat folks here in the state, but their answers don't match with what I'm seeing. One suggested CAE, but it seems odd that it would come on that suddenly? We see this goat multiple times a day and it basically just popped up yesterday it seems. Her legs/joints do seem to be creaking quite a bit though, which also has me worried.

This doe has been aggressive lately and has been butting heads quite a bit, and after I explained this, our livestock specialist suggested it may be a result of that, and just an inflammation from that. She suggested Arnica on it and cold compress, which we have done, but it has not reduced in size.

Any thoughts??? The photo shows it fairly well, if that helps.
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Could it be a hematoma (large blood blister) from bumping heads?? They feel like a water balloon. If that is what it is, it will either need to be drained or maybe the body will absorb it. I had a dog that had one years ago after being kicked by a cow. I think that we took her to the vet and he drained it.