Lets talk about goats!

[cassie]

I was only offering advice based upon personal experience, which I was under the impression a forum is for. I guess I missed the part of my post where I mention that it is definitely CL and the barn should be burnt and the goat slaughtered. Since op doesn't state exactly where the lump is and if the goat is vaccinated, CL doesn't seem that out of the question. My goat didn't experience weight or appetite loss, but did have the exact same two symptoms as op discussed. If you have found a cure for CL you should share it with veterinarians because the popular consensus between them is that there is no cure.

I threw that in about the barn and the slaughter because of past experience with some hysterical goat people. It had nothing to do with you. I didn't mean to offend you and I'm sorry I did. Although the remark was meant tongue-in-cheek I have known people who did just exactly that. There isn't a cure for CL, per se, but you can certainly control it and prevent the spread to uninfected animals. There is a vaccine for CL available. It is for sheep but it works on goats. Back in the Dark Ages when I first got goats (1965) CL was so common it was rare to find a herd without it.Goats were routinely shown with unsightly CL abscesses and as long as they were not open and draining it was considered acceptable.

Most goats infected with CL will get just a few abscesses in their lifetime. Some will get abscess after abscess and those animals should be culled. As I said, I had CL in my herd and I got rid of it. This is how I did it if anyone is interested. If not, skip this post. I won't be offended.

The first thing I did was to vaccinate the whole herd. The vaccine will prevent infections in negative animals but it has no effect on the animals that are positive. It won't hurt them either, and since without testing I had no way of knowing which animals were positive and which weren't, I vaccinated everybody. The second thing I did was to make sure no abscess broke out in the pens and spread pus. The pus is highly infective. Any goats with ripening abscesses were put in isolation. When the abscess was ripe it was lanced and cleaned in such a way as to not to contaminate the premises. The goat was kept in isolation until the abscess was completely healed from the inside out. The animal would then be washed down with betadine or some other suitable disinfectant before being returned to the herd. That is essentially it. It worked for me and for several other herds with which I was acquainted although a friend with a large dairy told me they were unable to completely eradicate CL until they started pasteurizing all milk fed to kids.

If anyone wants detailed instructions on how to lance and treat an abscess, PM me. It isn't difficult, but it is messy.

 

[gonechickens]

I just came in from feeding everyone and giving fresh water. I noticed honey had a clump on her vulva. I went and cleaned it off. She has a white discharge. Could this be pregnancy related or possible heat? Here is a picture. There is also dried crust from the discharge on her tail.
t

 

[cassie]

Could be either one or neither. While a few goats will breed all year, most dairy goats are seasonal breeders. They will start coming in heat in September or so, and have the last heat in March or before. in addition to a discharge, which is usually clear, does in heat flag their tails. They tend to be vocal and are more restless. The tail flagging is the most obvious sign. At this point, your goat's vulva does not look like she is in heat or pregnant. That can change.

 

[moomoodiddy]

Well, a family friend's spoiled daughter learned i had a goat so she had to get one and bring it over to show off. The first thing i noticed was that the little doe's butt was abnormally dirty and her "area" was swollen... anything I should be worried about? She is only about 3 or 4 months old.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well, a family friend's spoiled daughter learned i had a goat so she had to get one and bring it over to show off. The first thing i noticed was that the little doe's butt was abnormally dirty and her "area" was swollen... anything I should be worried about? She is only about 3 or 4 months old.

Could the little one have scours? How long has she had it...may be from an abrupt feed change if they just got it.

 

[politicalcenter]

I just came in from feeding everyone and giving fresh water. I noticed honey had a clump on her vulva. I went and cleaned it off. She has a white discharge. Could this be pregnancy related or possible heat? Here is a picture. There is also dried crust from the discharge on her tail. t

the last time I had a doe with a white discharge it wasn't long before we had a baby goat. From my limited experience she looks close. Good luck!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@gonechickens
Maybe have your vet come out and check her...then you would know for sure!

 

[cassie]

Well, a family friend's spoiled daughter learned i had a goat so she had to get one and bring it over to show off. The first thing i noticed was that the little doe's butt was abnormally dirty and her "area" was swollen... anything I should be worried about? She is only about 3 or 4 months old.

What do you mean her rear was soiled? Was it manure or clear mucous? If it is manure she may have, or have had scours. The diarrhea can irritate the vulva. If is a clear discharge like egg white she may be in heat. Yes, doelings can come into heat when they are that young. I am not proud of it, but I once had a doeling kid at eight months which meant she had gotten bred at three months. Her name was Yoletta and I named the baby Yoletta's Surprise. Yoletta was not the only one that was surprised, I can tell you!! I don't think it is anything you have to worry about.

 

[cassie]

the last time I had a doe with a white discharge it wasn't long before we had a baby goat. From my limited experience she looks close. Good luck!!!

If you really really want to know if she is pregnant, you can do either of two things. You can take her in to a vet clinic that has an ultrasound and have an ultrasound done, or you can order a pregnancy test kit. Go onto google and put "pregnancy test for goats" on the search line. There are several available. Some you collect a urine sample and send it in and some are home tests. I didn't check the prices.

 

[moomoodiddy]

Could the little one have scours? How long has she had it...may be from an abrupt feed change if they just got it.

its not scours, she has only had it a few weeks tops