Lump under ear, is it CL?

[FarmerDenise]

Our boer buckling has a large lump under his ear. It developed very suddenly. I groom him almost daily, since he loves having his face combed. I did not notice anything yesterday.

I have seperated him from my doelings (la mancha crosses).
I cut the fur over the swelling and marked the outline with a magic marker.

I have no money left, so a vet visit is out of the question. We are in survival mode.
We got Billy in order to get our girls pregnant. It has been extremely difficult to find male goats around here, so I did not have much choice, when it came to buying him. The owner said her herd was clean and has been a closed herd for 3 years, but she did not have them tested recently.

I really need to be able to sell Billy, and I don't want my girls sick.
Should I try to lance this. Could this be a spider bite. It just came on so suddenly, is that common for CL?
I am not going to sell him, if he could make people sick.

I am just figuring out what I should do, to keep everyone as healthy as possible.

I am not in the goat breeding business. I just want raw unpasteurized milk for myself and my family.

EDA: the date on my camera is off. I did just take that picture, today.

 

[ksalvagno]

I don't know a whole lot about CL so I don't know if that is a normal site for it. Is it on the jawbone at all? I probably wouldn't lance it unless it is squishy and ready to burst.

PM Roll Farm, she would know.

 

[babsbag]

That is one of the most common spots for CL. The only way to know for sure is a test, unfortunately. I had a doe and a wether with a lump there, the vet thought for sure it was CL. It went away on its own, never broke, and test said no CL. So you just don't know.

I hope it just disappears. I don't know how fast they show up as I wan't looking for them, the vet found them when we were there for another reason. Go figure.

Best of luck to you. I wouldn't lance it, at least not yet. IMO. Let it get nice and ready.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Could be a CL abscess or a salivary gland abscess.

There is a diagram of the common places for CL abscesses on this website:
http://goat-link.com/content/view/101/96/

 

[Roll farms]

There is no way to know w/out having it tested...it could be, and if I *had* to hazard a guess, I'd say yes, rather than "might not be" and risk infecting your other goats.

Get him gone before it pops.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Thanks RF.

Does that mean as long as it doesn't pop, chances are my girls haven't got it?
And Is it ok to sell him for meat?

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

What Roll said, get him out of there!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Is it common for CL lumps to grow this fast. I spent a lot of time grooming him 2 days ago. I know there was nothing there at that time, yesterday I was quick about the gooming, so I am not 100% sure.
Groomng the goats is a way for me to relax. So I try to do it every couple of days. And since Billy really enjoys it too, I tend to focus on him. He is a sweet and friendly little guy and it is fun to be around him.
I am just stating that, so you know that he is cuddled a lot and therefore I notice things more than I might otherwise.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Ok, I am trying to decide, can I sell him on CL or do I shoot him!!!
I need to make my money back, but I'd rather cut my losses, before I get my girls sick.

I really am at my financial end. We lost another big employer in my area this week. Jobs are just not that available. I have been looking. I really count my pennies. So I am hoping I can sell him for meat. I would certainly be upfront about this lump and that it could be CL.

Ok, I am going out to make Billy comfy in his lean-to. Poor little guy.

 

[helmstead]

Sure, his meat will still be fine. That's why you see so much CL in meat herds - it doesn't affect the meat, so they kind of 'let it go'.

I agree, I'd assume the worst on this one. It's in a classic presentation area. If you're going to confine him for ANY period of time, do it somewhere you will NEVER EVER have goats on your property, and away from heavy foot traffic areas. He could rub on something and rupture it prematurely...