# Lumpy jaw or tooth abcesses in goat



## bbgoats (Mar 27, 2012)

Hi,
My Nubian buck that I purchased at the end of February (and he was lump free on purchase with a good health record) has developed a very hard bony mass in his left mandible. It's about the size of a mini banana. He is still eating and drinking, but he seems less active than when I first got him. He is naturally a quiet goat though. My vet has diagnosed it as lumpy jaw, or Actinomycosis. His other thought is that it may be a tooth abcess. Today we took radiographs of the jaw and in the next day or so we are going to sedate him so they can take a better look. I was wondering if any of you have had a similar mass on your goats, and how they treated it, prognosis, etc...

My research has indicated that if lumpy jaw is not caught early, it will affect his ability to eat, and therefore he will die earlier. Any thoughts? 

I for sure it is not a CL abcess. Unfortunately, when you search "lump" in goats, the only thing you find research on is CL....
Any help is appreciated.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

I dont know but someone here should be able to help you, hang on!  
oops wrong thread but just the same....


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Can you get a couple pics? I am not familiar with "lumpy jaw". Could be something caught in his tooth and caused an abscess....maybe a saliva cyst? Is he having trouble eating?
I'm not quite sure...hopefully your vet will have an answer. Is he/she pretty good with goats?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I never heard of lumpy jaw either...pics may help..... :hug:


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## bbgoats (Mar 27, 2012)

I am trying to attach pictures, but I am having trouble. I add them - then the whole page refreshes, and nothing happens.... ?

The vets are not familiar with goats. They do a lot of cattle work. Lumpy jaw is common in cattle.

I spoke with another vet today to get a second opinion - one more familiar with goats. She said lumpy jaw has never been documented in goats - however, it has in sheep. 

I am taking him in to that clinic tomorrow to see if they have a different diagnosis. The first vet treated him today with 22mls of sodium iodide - to treat the lumpy jaw. We also discussed sedating and doing a debride and surgery next week. I just don't want to put him through all the stress if that is not necessary. It seems odd that I cannot find ANY research on lumpy jaw in goats - so I don't want to go gung ho and treat him for that, if we aren't actually dealing with that.

Thinking about giving him some Probios to keep him going with all the stress - he has been messed with a lot in the last few days and I don't want to mess up his rumen... any other thoughts?

Thanks so much for your help everyone.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

hmmm, it will certainly be interesting to see what this vet has to say. As for posting pics, I _think_ your posts have to go up to like 25??


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

You should be able to post pics. If you want, you can use www.postimage.org and upload your photos...don't need an account or anything...just upload...copy and paste the forum hotlink code in your reply.


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## bbgoats (Mar 27, 2012)

http://postimage.org/image/vu0636flj/

There is a picture of it.

I took him to a different vet today. They took more x-rays and then sent them down the to U of MN for a second opinion. The lump is calcification from a trauma. Most likely a broken jaw from getting rammed by my other goat. :-( poor guy. He will luckily be okay -it is not in a location that will affect his eating or teeth.

Anyway, I am glad I took him for a second opinion...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad it was found to be calcification...If I didn't know any better ...I would of thought it was Caseous Lymphadenitis..... :hug:


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## bbgoats (Mar 27, 2012)

Yes, first look at the lump and I thought that too! Then I felt it, and knew right away it wasn't. And I can feel his lymph node underneath it. Thank God.

Poor guy also has a bacterial infection though - had some nasty green snot while we were at the vet so they cultured it and it's only sensitive to Gentacin. So now he is on that too. I feel so bad for the poor guy... :-(


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Poor baby..... hope he gets better soon... keep us updated..... :hug: ray:


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