# Goat with large abcess in udder



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Hey all,
I have an unbred doe, never been bred, about 5 yo just diagnosed with an infection in her udder. Her udders look like she is pregnant and when the vet squeezed her teats, pus came out. Vet said she will need to be put down because the abcess will burst. He cannot remove nor lance it because of its size. He said he could do some other things like diagnose it, try to remove it but inevitably, it will just prolong the illness and result in infecting the other 8 goats.
This is so hard because she is otherwise fine. She is happy, eating and so loving. She comes up and puts her head on your shoulder for a neck rub, and is just so sweet....these are my 18 yo daughter's goats and she is just depressed and so sad. I know you goat people understand and know how we are feeling which is why I am posting here. 
I don't know how I am going to watch the vet adminster the first drug to calm her and then watch as the then lethal dose is given....yeah, I've done this before but the difference is, that goat was dying. We will have to first catch this one because she will know something is up. And then, will have to hold her down because she will be frightened. It is like putting down a happy-go-lucky goat. 
And on top of all this, we have another older doe about 12 who is dying. She keeps spitting out her cud and vet said he cannot see any mouth/teeth issues. But, she is malnourished...her winter coat is still on her. We are trying some things with her though to help her get some nutrients. I get putting her down but the other one is just so hard. 
Sorry for the depressing post but I know you understand and that this community can help us grieve. Thanks guys.
Joan and daughter Emily


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm so sorry. Why can't he just remove the udder?


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

You know, I don't know. I am away on vacation when vet came to my house so, my daughter was the one talking to him. Maybe he thought I wouldn't want to pay for such a procedure. Vet is away on vacation himself so, I haven't been able to ask. Is that a possibility? Can it be done?


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Other people have had the udder removed.


----------



## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok no experience here but I don't get why he can't lance it. I have 2 kids with abscesses on their necks and I was googling trying to see what the heck was going on. Came across one thing about it being a staph infection so I googled that and came across a YouTube video of a sheep with a huge abscess in her udder and they lanced it. It may have messed that half of the whole udder up for ever being any good but my question is why not lance or let it burst and just keep her away from the rest in a area that can be totally cleaned and bleached so it can't infect the other goats. Again no experience and may be a stupid suggestion but not even knowing what kind of infection it is just seems odd he would jump to putting her down.


----------



## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

There are members here who have goats that have had udders removed, lanced, drained, all sorts of things can be done in these situations. Don't lose hope, if you want to save her you absolutely can!


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Thank everyone for the hope Sometimes I feel vets just would rather we cull the herd but my goats are just pets. I will ask him, the vet, the particulars about her diagnosis. My daughter said she heard him diagnosis her with something with the word tuberculosis but that is a lung disease, right? He offered to take a Pus sample and have a vaccine made for the other goats. Vet is afraid the abcess will burst and infect others, I think. He did say he could lance it but maybe didnt feel it would help. I will talk to him Tuesday when he gets back from his vacation to get all the facts and see about Removing udders. 
Again, I appreciate your answers and thoughts. She is only 5 yo and healthy otherwise.
Thanks for the hope!


----------



## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Is he an actual goat vet? Can you afford a second opinion? Would antibiotics give any help at all while you figure things out? If she has surgery she'll need to have them anyway. 

I hope you can find a better alternative! Good luck!


----------



## ArborGoats (Jan 24, 2013)

CL is caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. If that is what he was thinking. It is contagious but without testing you really don't know. Good luck


----------



## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I wonder if he's worried about infecting your whole herd with CL, and assumes you feel the same way? Or thinks you don't want to spend a lot of money because it's a livestock animal?

If you weren't there I'd definitely call and speak to the vet yourself to get the scoop first hand and go from there. Maybe he's not comfortable doing the surgery but knows someone that would?

I would want to know if it was CL and if it was I wouldn't want the surgery done on my property and definitely wouldn't let it burst on its own.


Good luck


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Second opinion. Ask around at some feed stores or even on craigslist for a good livestock vet. Then go foward how needed.


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Thanks for the CL clarificatin. That is the diagnosis he gave. I thought it was CL and I am sure I have at least two others that get the tale-tell CL abcesses by their mouths every summer which sometimes burst. So, the other 9 have been exposed to it their whole lives. And this goat was one who had those abcesses by her mouth every so often. Another vet had tested an abcess on another goat and said it wasnt CL but, it sure seems like it. So, if my whole herd already is in contact with it, is it that contagious anymore? Like I said, we dont breed nor sell goats for meat anymore so, they are just pets. The vet is a mobile one who does pretty much livestock only. 
I am thinking of a secnd opinion. Thanks everyone and I will let you know what I find out.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If they are just pets and everyone has it, then I wouldn't worry.


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Update: I found out from vet that the cyst is not in the udder but beside it. After coming back from a long vacation, I can now see how much the cyst has developed. It is big! I will take a pic to show ya'll at some point. The vet said he thinks I should just wait it out and that the cyst will burst. It looks like it will anyday now. Vet said it will be a cottage cheese pus coming out and lots of it. I am to power wash it out with a hose and then apply iodine and blue kote. He said maggots will probably form in it and it will not be pretty. He suspects CL and I concur since this goat always got the telltale lumps/cysts on her cheeks. I will wait and see what happens.


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

wow... you need a new vet. That is just ridiculous advice all around. I can not tell you how much that is the wrong thing to do. If it is CL the last thing in the world you want to let it do is "burst"! You want to lance it on a say a tarp with lots of iodine, plastic bags, gloves, paper towels, rubber gloves, the whole nine yards. And then you will want to wash that part of the goat when your done. Need to pack the abscess hole full of iodine soaked papers towels and replace them daily doing iodine flushing as you do. There shouldnt be maggots EVER in any wound that you are maintaining if you are keeping it cleaned the way you should. Maggots should only be seen on an already infected wound.

A few things to think about, gang green mastitis can do some nasty stuff like that. If the pus stinks bad it wont be CL. If it is CL you can expect to be doing this for the rest of the goats life as most develop into chronic cases. But regardless of what kind of abscess it is, you need to deal with it correctly NOT the way your vet is telling you to.


----------



## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

They have known CL already so I don't think they're concerned about spreading it to their other goats.

Edit: make sure not to spread it off the property of course.

But keep it clean, maggots are not ok. They start eating into the animal... Maybe the vet meant watch for maggots not that they were ok.


----------



## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

No a lot of people believe maggots to a point are a good thing. They will eat the nasty away (infection) BUT they will also eat flesh and we are not back in the day where there is no or limited stuff to treat a infection.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with TDG....that was wrong advice on so many levels!! just because the herd maybe already exposed does not mean we keep infesting our ground with it...work on keeping control of CL in the herd....here is a file on how to take care of CL...if you do this every time someone has an abscess, take care of it and one day you may not need to deal with it any more...but if you do..at least you are handling it correctly..

Best wishes

Lancing and caring for CL
CL pus is very contagious...wear gloves and goggles when lancing and flushing. 
NEVER lance a CL that is not ready...this can cause infection and relapse of the cyst. A ripe cyst will feel soft in the center and loose hair....
*Give a tetanus antitoxin shot*
pen infected goat away from herd...
Gather your tools..
*gloves and goggles
* a container to get a sample of pus if you want to test
*new Razor or scalpel 
*diluted iodine ...(saline/iodine to look like a weak tea)
*lots of paper towels
*a tarp to cover the work area
*a clean 6 cc syringe, slip tip works best
* gallon size zip lock baggie to dispose of tools and towels
* a strong helper
1-cover your work area with the tarp and wash the area to be lance with iodine solution
2-disinfect the blade..grab a wad of paper towels and slice into the cyst using a "X" through its thick wall,holding a wad of paper towels to catch everything..
3-squeeze some pus in your collection container then continue to squeeze the pus out as much as you can...go under the cyst and push up and out until you can squeeze no more out...cleaning as you go with paper towels. This is painful for the goat but important
4- draw up some diluted iodine and flush the cyst out several times, again, holding a wad of paper towels to catch all the drainage...
5- clean surrounding area well with iodine and let the goat rest...
repeat flushing 3-4 times a day for 4-5 days or until the wall of the cyst is thin and ready to heal...if the cyst scabs over to soon, you will need to reopen and continue to flush...closing too soon can lead to a relapse of the cyst. 
Once the cyst has healed where no seepage from its scab the goat is ready to return to the herd..
** if your goat is up to date on CD&T, with two shots then no need to do tetanus antitoxin**
When in doubt, your vet can do this for you and send pus out to be tested...when its just one animal, doing it off the farm can be helpful in preventing the spread...Good to discuss it with your vet..


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Maggots are a great thing, when dealing with an already infected open wound. But you never intentionally allow a wound to become infected if you are treating it. Thats as bad an idea as letting an abscess burst. Preventing not treating is always the smartest way to go.


----------



## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

TDG-Farms said:


> Maggots are a great thing, when dealing with an already infected open wound. But you never intentionally allow a wound to become infected if you are treating it. Thats as bad an idea as letting an abscess burst. Preventing not treating is always the smartest way to go.


No I totally agree. Was just pointing out some people think great things of them and is not uncommon. I myself would rather keep washing/flushing it and putting antibiotics on it


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Maggots maybe a good thing if you buy the species selected sterile maggots that are lab grown for wound cleaning. We have maggots here that will kill your animals within a few days if they get infested.


----------



## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

goathiker said:


> Maggots maybe a good thing if you buy the species selected sterile maggots that are lab grown for wound cleaning. We have maggots here that will kill your animals within a few days if they get infested.


Agreed. Maggots are one of my least favorite things seen at the emergency vet clinic.


----------



## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

I used to work for a hospital in Phoenix that did maggot therapy and leach therapy. First you had to go get the sterile critters from pharmacy. Yes, definitely used for already infected nasty wounds, like pressure ulcers coming from a sub par nursing home. If the wound looks nice and red and beefy after the abscess ruptures, then I'd clean it with some gentle soap and water, pack it with gauze soaked in saline and tape a dressing over it. I'm not a fan of iodine for a clean healing wound. If there is yellow tissue lining the wound, then I might soak some gauze in peroxide to pack the wound. For a few days, with daily dressing changes. Once the wound bed looks beefy and red, stop the peroxide and use gauze soaked in saline. The reason behind this is that peroxide or iodine will kill nice growing cells along with any bacteria. If that top layer of the wound is trying to close and heal, you don't want to kill off those cells every day.


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Wow! Thanks for the advice! The vet said it would be a mess and something he would not do. I think I am going to have her put down because I cannot deal with an open wound and cannot stomach the 
lancing and pus. And I am sorry for the confusion on maggots; the vet was warning me that in the summer, there is a higher potential for maggots to infest the wound. I'll let you know what happens and thanks everyone!


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

I use peroxide to clean the flesh off of skulls. It dissolves tissue (good and bad). Other then a flush and rinse afterwords, I wouldnt use it on a wound.


----------



## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

It is a lot. Do what you feel is best for her.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with nicolemackenzie...you need to do what is best for your herd and the doe...

best wishes


----------



## jmalder (Sep 15, 2014)

Update: I did get a second opinion on my goat with enlarged udder. Is vet did a culture which came back for mrsa. So, it wasn't CL afterall. Vet said to let it run its course. So, goat is still alive and is back to normal grazing. Udder is still enlarged but no more drainage. We are going to just let it be and see what happens. Thanks for that second opinion!!!


----------



## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

I'm so glad that the light at the end of this goat's tunnel is looking less like a train and more like hope! Best wishes...you're doing a great job!


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Awesome.


----------



## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Great news


----------

