**Well 2 goats with CL, What next?****

[Arabiansnob]

I just found of my breeding buck for this year and a brood doe has CL disease! I have never seen any kind of bump on them or abscess I found. I am worried my other goats may have it. I had them tested and everyone else was negative. They have all been with the positive doe since May, so I would think if any of them would have got it it would have shown up when I had them tested in the begining of October? Would this be correct? What should I do with the 2 positive goats?!?!?!

 

[ksalvagno]

Do a search on this forum. Rolls has posted plenty about it.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

This should really help. Read this, this, this, this, and this.

 

[Arabiansnob]

Well I am alittle worried now.......I have never seen them with any abecces but I was reading about it being air born, and that humans can catch it! also the ositive doe that has it, I picked up her babies after they were born lasy year and they were still wet.....can you catch it from that too? or cleaning there where they drink from? I am pretty worried acaully.....!

 

[bonbean01]

From what I read and if I am understanding this correctly, the most accurate test for CL is from pus from an abcess. They can have CL and the abscess could be internal, but the blood test for CL is often not accurate...negative positive/positive negative.

I also read that it is rare for humans to contract it from goats and sheep, but it does happen...most commonly from the pus of the abscess entering an open wound/cut of the human.

It is possible that the CL tests are not correct, but I would isolate them from the rest just in case and have them retested. Many vets won't test for CL with just a blood test because it is not that accurate. Of course waiting for an abcess to appear is not great either and then infecting the whole herd.

Take my post with a grain of salt because I've never had it here...just have been really worried that one day it might happen. Many people on here have true experience.

Point is...before you get too upset, read up on it more and the test result accuracy from a blood test vs testing the pus from an abcess. So sorry you're having to go through this

 

[Renegade]

Is it possible that either of these goats may have been vaccinated for CL? If so they will test positive.

Donna

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Well I am alittle worried now.......I have never seen them with any abecces but I was reading about it being air born, and that humans can catch it! also the ositive doe that has it, I picked up her babies after they were born lasy year and they were still wet.....can you catch it from that too? or cleaning there where they drink from? I am pretty worried acaully.....!

Calm down. CL is not that big a deal. First, there can be false positives so I would test again to be sure. Also it is not air born. Where di you read that? That's simply not true. The only way CL is transmitted is thru direct contact with the CL abscess' puss. It is not transmitted thru body fluids and that includes blood and milk. In order for a goat to get CL from an already infected goat is be oral contact or if the puss were to touch an open wound such as a cut or scrape.

If you have never seen a lump on them then the babies are safe because she have never come in contact with the CL puss. It is not transmitted sexually either. Just by direct contact with the puss either by mouth or entering a cut or any open wound.

Also, some have said that people may be able to get it. I don't take stock in that for a second and it has never been proved, as far as I know. I have never heard anyone give a valid explanation for how it could infect humans too. Besides, many many people have CL+ goats. So don't worry about that.

Like I said, re-test them and see what the results are. If it is still a yes then you make a choice. keep them or not. CL is not a big deal and the only thing is does is cause a lump on a lymph node. It is bacteria that is in the lymph system that builds to a high level and when it does, it forms an abscess that if left alone will open up and it will shed the puss. Nobody knows for sure how often they show up. Some goats may have it once and never again. Some every 5 months. Depends on the goat. We do know that the time in between does decrease as the goat gets older. If you ever have a goat that has multiple CL lumps then cull asap. That could be a sign of it going internal which is a different game. You don't want that and it is pretty bad. But internal CL is very rare in goats. It's a sheep thing. So CL doesn't really do alot of damage and it can be maintained very easily.

In order to maintain CL you must be able to lance and clean the abscess. When the goat gets a lump you must keep and eye on it. When the hair starts to fall off you must bring the goat somewhere where no other animal goes. Be sure to lay a tarp or something else down that you can throw away. Get a razor, iodine, alcohol and some syringes. Put the goat in a stand or find another way to restrain it. Lance in either an X pattern or straight down. Then squeeze ALL the puss into a container to either burn, throw away or sent to a lab. Then rinse with water really good. Then use 20 or so cc's of alcohol into it. Let that sit 5-10 minutes. After done look in and be sure it's all out. IF not then use your fingers to get it out and spray with water again. When done pour iodine in and around it. Be sure there is no puss on the goat or in it. Then put the goat alone in a dry lot and put iodine on once a day until it is healed, about 7-14 days. The lancing does NOT hurt the goat because the nerves that you would be cutting thru are stretched so the goat doesn't even feel it.

So it' not very dangerous. All it does is cause a lump and nothing really else. When they do get a lump it is very easy to take care of. Once healed you can put the goat back with the herd. It is not transmitted thru body fluids nor is it sexually transmitted. It can only infect another goat by direct oral contact with the puss or thru a body opening. It can't go to people. It is not airborn.

 

[Arabiansnob]

Well I am alittle worried now.......I have never seen them with any abecces but I was reading about it being air born, and that humans can catch it! also the ositive doe that has it, I picked up her babies after they were born lasy year and they were still wet.....can you catch it from that too? or cleaning there where they drink from? I am pretty worried acaully.....!

Calm down. CL is not that big a deal. First, there can be false positives so I would test again to be sure. Also it is not air born. Where di you read that? That's simply not true. The only way CL is transmitted is thru direct contact with the CL abscess' puss. It is not transmitted thru body fluids and that includes blood and milk. In order for a goat to get CL from an already infected goat is be oral contact or if the puss were to touch an open wound such as a cut or scrape.

If you have never seen a lump on them then the babies are safe because she have never come in contact with the CL puss. It is not transmitted sexually either. Just by direct contact with the puss either by mouth or entering a cut or any open wound.

Also, some have said that people may be able to get it. I don't take stock in that for a second and it has never been proved, as far as I know. I have never heard anyone give a valid explanation for how it could infect humans too. Besides, many many people have CL+ goats. So don't worry about that.

Like I said, re-test them and see what the results are. If it is still a yes then you make a choice. keep them or not. CL is not a big deal and the only thing is does is cause a lump on a lymph node. It is bacteria that is in the lymph system that builds to a high level and when it does, it forms an abscess that if left alone will open up and it will shed the puss. Nobody knows for sure how often they show up. Some goats may have it once and never again. Some every 5 months. Depends on the goat. We do know that the time in between does decrease as the goat gets older. If you ever have a goat that has multiple CL lumps then cull asap. That could be a sign of it going internal which is a different game. You don't want that and it is pretty bad. But internal CL is very rare in goats. It's a sheep thing. So CL doesn't really do alot of damage and it can be maintained very easily.

In order to maintain CL you must be able to lance and clean the abscess. When the goat gets a lump you must keep and eye on it. When the hair starts to fall off you must bring the goat somewhere where no other animal goes. Be sure to lay a tarp or something else down that you can throw away. Get a razor, iodine, alcohol and some syringes. Put the goat in a stand or find another way to restrain it. Lance in either an X pattern or straight down. Then squeeze ALL the puss into a container to either burn, throw away or sent to a lab. Then rinse with water really good. Then use 20 or so cc's of alcohol into it. Let that sit 5-10 minutes. After done look in and be sure it's all out. IF not then use your fingers to get it out and spray with water again. When done pour iodine in and around it. Be sure there is no puss on the goat or in it. Then put the goat alone in a dry lot and put iodine on once a day until it is healed, about 7-14 days. The lancing does NOT hurt the goat because the nerves that you would be cutting thru are stretched so the goat doesn't even feel it.

So it' not very dangerous. All it does is cause a lump and nothing really else. When they do get a lump it is very easy to take care of. Once healed you can put the goat back with the herd. It is not transmitted thru body fluids nor is it sexually transmitted. It can only infect another goat by direct oral contact with the puss or thru a body opening. It can't go to people. It is not airborn.

the me



It was on a website that I read........and it made me really worried. How have you figared out all this knowlege? not to question it, because im thankful you have shared this with me. Have you had alot of goats with CL?

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

It was on a website that I read........and it made me really worried. How have you figared out all this knowlege? not to question it, because im thankful you have shared this with me. Have you had alot of goats with CL?

I did many, many hours of reading and researching. I had a goat with a lump and thought the world was going to end and that it may be CL. I had always heard that CL was so bad and this and that bla bla bla. Those people don't know what it even is!! People who don't know about CL just think it is some killer disease and it's so bad. Those people don't know anyhting about CL. With some research you can figure out the things I said. While sure it is better to not have it because it is less work and they don't have a disease but I honestly do not belive it is a big deal. I hope you make the decision based on what you feel but imo it's fine. many people have CL+ goats and it's quite alright.

I've also talked several people that have had CL in their herds and I have talked to Suzanne Gasparotto of Onion Creek Ranch. She has the most useful and some of the best goat articles and management I've seen. She's been doing goats for over 23 years and has the worlds top Myotonic goats. http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/

 

[Roll farms]

So you've never actually dealt w/ CL, then Straw Hat? Your goat ended up not having it?

After 8 yrs, believe me...if I had it to do over, I would have culled the 3 does who had it in the beginning and started over, rather than still be dealing w/ it 8 yrs later.

Never lost one to it, it hasn't spread like wild fire, and it's not the end of the world some folks make it out to be, no..... but it is a PITA and it's nasty to lance and it's a bother to isolate does w/ open abscesses, etc. I haven't seen a lump in a year, we may have finally licked it...if not, I assure you, the next lumpy doe will be culled.

I can't think of a nice way to say what I want to about Suzanne G...so I won't...but think long and hard about injecting formulin, a poison, into any animal that may end up in the human food chain.