Another lumpy goat question

[Ariel301]

I noticed this evening that one of my doelings has a lump on her face. It is right in front of the eye, right where the tear duct runs, it's a bump under the skin that's about as big as a quarter. Of course the alarm goes off in my head because we just put her mom down with CL. The eye seems normal, no discharge or apparent pain.

Any thoughts on what could be going on? CL doesn't pop up in that area, does it? Maybe something is wrong with the tear duct, some kind of blockage or infection?

 

[babsbag]

I don't think that is a typical spot, and if your kid is a youngster they tell me that it is not common to see an abcess in a kid. I am sorry that you are dealing with this. I know first hand how hard this can be.

The only way to know for sure is to test.

I lost a doe last year to an unknown ailment. She had a lump under her ear and the vet thought for sure she would find CL. 2 days later when my goat was dead we got the blood test results back and she was negative. So every lump in not CL. I also had a wether at the same time, with the same kind of lump, and his went away, it was a swollen lymph node, but not CL.

 

[PJisaMom]

if your kid is a youngster they tell me that it is not common to see an abcess in a kid. I am sorry that you are dealing with this. I know first hand how hard this can be.

The only way to know for sure is to test.

So every lump in not CL. I also had a wether at the same time, with the same kind of lump, and his went away, it was a swollen lymph node, but not CL.

Babsbag:

I have been looking for info on the "not common to see an abscess in a kid" thing... do you have a good resource for that other than experience?

Found a small lump on the front my doeling's shoulder/base of the neck area on Monday. Vet is coming out today to draw samples and test all my (3) goaties because I am freaking out about it. So, just though I'd ask what info you have on the age thing?

Ariel:

Sorry you have a concern about your doe... as you can see above, I know nothing, but hope you get it cleared up soon!

Paula

 

[()relics]

Insect Bite? you can give some benedryl if the swelling worries you, it won't hurt either way. Anytime I see an swelling I dose with benedryl, personal experience. A doe stuck her head into a yellow jacket's nest(?). Her face swelled and her throat was nearly closed...closed throat=no breathing. I double dosed benedryl and the swelling went down almost right away, she lived but may not have, so from now on swelling=benedryl, for me anyway... If the doelings dam was Cl positive then there would be no sense in testing the kid...She is more than likely going to be positive, as well.
Kids get abcesses on all parts of their body. Remember an abcess can be caused by many different things other than CL...and kids are out looking for things to taste and stab themselves with, and usually they can find something. If they have had their cd/t and have had it boostered they should recover from a puncture wound abcess.

 

[Ariel301]

I'm pretty sure this is not CL, I just freak out because her mom had it, and we know she was exposed, so we're waiting and watching with her, sort of in a tough place because I was intending to sell this girl, but now that I know she's been exposed to CL I worry about doing so, and I certainly don't want her in my herd if she is symptomatic, my other does are all clean...

It could be a bug bite, I didn't think of that. I'm guessing that if it was a problem with the tear duct, her eye would be irritated or watery, right?

 

[cmjust0]

I'm pretty sure this is not CL, I just freak out because her mom had it, and we know she was exposed, so we're waiting and watching with her, sort of in a tough place because I was intending to sell this girl, but now that I know she's been exposed to CL I worry about doing so, and I certainly don't want her in my herd if she is symptomatic, my other does are all clean...

It could be a bug bite, I didn't think of that. I'm guessing that if it was a problem with the tear duct, her eye would be irritated or watery, right?

If it's a problem with the tear duct, I'd expect her eye to be dry... Right? I dunno..

Have you tried pressing your thumb into it until either the goat struggles enough in pain to break free and run away, or the lump pops? I dunno if that's a good idea or not, of course...it's just something I can see myself doing.

I'm basically an idiot, though.

 

[Ariel301]

I haven't yet, but it is something I would probably try too lol. That or poking it with a needle. I'm waiting on my husband to get home from work and hold her down for me, she's really really wild and it takes both of us to handle her, even though she only weighs about 60 pounds. :/

I was thinking if it was a blockage in her tear duct, that the tears would be backing up and leaking out the eye instead of draining away normally...I've never dealt with it in goats though, so I don't know....I don't know if it even happens to them, I have only really dealt with that kind of issue in those small dog breeds with misshapen faces.

 

[cmjust0]

I had one with a swollen lip once and noticed a teeny tiny little scabby looking thing right where her lip curls under.. My first impulse was to straddle, grab, and squeeze...which I did...and OMG...copious amounts of cottage-cheesy looking pus came SHOOTING out of it.

I squeezed and squeezed until it was all squoze out.. ..and then I flushed the hole with iodine. She didn't like me much, but she was right as rain after that.

No idea what that was or what happened to cause it, but...man it was GROSS.

But, hey...that's life with livestock...sometimes you just gotta squeeze that puppy till it goes PFFT.

(that's not necessarily advice, btw...just an observation. )

 

[Ariel301]

Goats seem to be so particularly prone to abscesses and lumps...I never really had to deal with this stuff when I had horses.

I got ahold of her and had a good squeeze, it doesn't feel like an abscess. It's very solid and hard, it feels like bone. I couldn't tell if pressure caused it to hurt or not because she was so busy trying to get loose from my grip that she might not have even noticed the pain in her panic. I'm thinking now that maybe she got kicked in the face by one of the bigger goats, she likes to duck between their legs to get into the feeder and they don't care for that.

 

[cmjust0]

When I got knocked in the head as a kid (happened a lot, obviously), we used to get what we'd call "pump knots." That term may be exclusive to redneck vernacular, but I believe they're also called "goose eggs" by people with sense and tact.

Anyway..

I remember that my pump knots always felt really hard, like bone...just as you describe.

I wouldn't doubt a bit that's what it is.