Goat abscess not CLA but I have a question

[Ana Robin]

Hi, all.

I took my goat to the vet a few days ago and had an abscess lanced and drained. I've followed instructions on care, including warm compresses morning and night. The darn thing scabbed over despite our efforts not to let it and it's filling back up again. Not sure what to do and I'm definitely not spending another $120 for a repeat visit to the vet. The goat is currently quarantined, even though the vet said she was pretty sure it's not CLA. Goat is very lonely and we are all growing weary of the issue. Any suggestions or tips on how to get this thing gone in a hurry would be greatly appreciated. Also, how long does it take for an abscess to go away on its own?

Thanks so much!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Hi, all.

I took my goat to the vet a few days ago and had an abscess lanced and drained. I've followed instructions on care, including warm compresses morning and night. The darn thing scabbed over despite our efforts not to let it and it's filling back up again. Not sure what to do and I'm definitely not spending another $120 for a repeat visit to the vet. The goat is currently quarantined, even though the vet said she was pretty sure it's not CLA. Goat is very lonely and we are all growing weary of the issue. Any suggestions or tips on how to get this thing gone in a hurry would be greatly appreciated. Also, how long does it take for an abscess to go away on its own?

Thanks so much!

I would lance it again and express the pus so it can heal. The length of time for it to heal will vary by size of abcess and the recuperative power of the goat. I would say 1.5 to 2 weeks.

 

[Zoomie]

I would lance it, or at least, open it up again. If it is Caseous lymphadenitis it will be very thick, like cheese. "Caseous" means "cheese-like". If you just have normal pus? No problem. It's just a normal abscess. Yep. They DO get them.

And... in my experience... if it is not CLA, the others will not contract it. I am not saying you should not quarantine, I am just saying, the goat is likely not contagious. I remember the vet checking my goat: he put in a hypodermic. He drew fluid out. He explained: if it was CLA, he would not have been able to draw out fluid like that.

You do need to keep up any antibiotics until the full dosage has been done. Don't stop, in other words. Try hot compresses, maybe with hot water... but not over a goat's body temp. So, 100F or so. You should be able to get it to open up again at the same place, hopefully without too much trouble. Try and really restrain the goat while doing so... it's bound to hurt. Poor thing. I expect it will start to heal up fairly fast now, once you get it open and clean again.

 

[Ana Robin]

Thank you very much for the advice! I hate that we need to reopen it,but hopefully this will do the trick.

 

[cassie]

I have dealt with a lot of abscesses. Years ago, like most breeders at that time, I had CL in my herd. I got rid of CL, but I treated all abscesses the same. It is very important that the abscess heal from the inside out. If it scabs over and just heals on the outside, it will probably just form another abscess and you will be right back where you started. Open the abscess and flush it out with strong iodine or peroxide. Do this every day until it is healed. This process doesn't take very long. Probably less than a week. You might get some WonderDust and puff that in. WonderDust contains alum among other things and it does a fine job of drying up the abscess and promoting healing. You can find it in the horse aisle of the feed store or livestock supply.

 

[Ana Robin]

I have dealt with a lot of abscesses. Years ago, like most breeders at that time, I had CL in my herd. I got rid of CL, but I treated all abscesses the same. It is very important that the abscess heal from the inside out. If it scabs over and just heals on the outside, it will probably just form another abscess and you will be right back where you started. Open the abscess and flush it out with strong iodine or peroxide. Do this every day until it is healed. This process doesn't take very long. Probably less than a week. You might get some WonderDust and puff that in. WonderDust contains alum among other things and it does a fine job of drying up the abscess and promoting healing. You can find it in the horse aisle of the feed store or livestock supply.

Thank you for the tip! We ended up taking her back to the vet. She had a pocket that had not been lanced so they opened it up and drained it. Now we are being super careful about not letting it close back up immediately.

 

[Zoomie]

Great news! I hope she heals up quickly for you.

 

[Ana Robin]

Great news! I hope she heals up quickly for you.[/QUOTE

Thank you!