Where did your doe come from?
I ask as if she came from a bio-secure farm, it is most likely not that. I know people who have infected their entire herd with it from one goat from an auction. It usually will not kill them but it is not something you ever want to have and sell.
"Until proven negative by culture, all abscesses should be treated as if they were CL. Bacterial culture is the most reliable test for determining the CL status of an animal with abscesses. It is possible for infected animals with active abscesses to test negative on serology due to a delay in antibody production (there is a delay in antibody production after initial infection). Many environmental bacteria can cause abscesses via traumatic wounds, but unlike CL these are sporadic and not readily transmitted from animal to animal. Animals with CL abscesses should be quarantined until the abscess has completely healed or be culled. If an abscess is lanced, it should be over a hard surface that can be disinfected (concrete) or thrown away (tarp). If an abscess ruptures in a pasture, the organic material (soil, grass) is contaminated, and the pasture should be rested for a prolonged period of time; CL has been shown to survive in soil for 8 months."
You should get a vet to drain and test for CL
With that being said it could be other things if on the moth or jaw
Tooth can get abcess
A stem can pierce the cheek or gum
I have one with a knot on her jaw now and I know what happened because I saw it
She some how got the plastic hook on a bungy strap caught in her mouth
Greetings and welcome to BYH. Sorry you're having an issue with one of your goats brought you to us, but glad you're here! There's a wealth of info and shared experience in the various threads. Please browse around and make yourself at home. We also (as you can see above) have a great group of very active and knowledgeable goat folks! I don't have my goats yet but you say the abscess is near her lips, which to me would indicate she got "stuck" with something and it got infected... If it's near her lips, it's not a typical place for a CL abscess to form. CL is a lymph node issue. If you can't physically get your goat to a "qualified" (read livestock vice "pet") vet to have the abscess lanced and tested, the next best thing would be to lance it yourself and send a sample off to a lab for testing. Of course if you lance (edit to add; the abscess) yourself, please follow proper bio-security to avoid contamination of your property and other animals in a worst case scenario.
As with virtually any injury or issue/question, a picture is virtually always worth 1000 words. so true... Another thing to consider is location is also very important. You might consider putting at least your general location in your profile so folks don't have to ask you in cases where the answer depends on climate. Nice to have you with us!
I AM NOT thinking CL. Most hear "lump" and jump to CL. Most of the time that isn't the case.
Start prepping a pen far away from where you keep your other goats and get her quarantined. If it bursts you don't want it around your other animals until you know what bacteria you are dealing with. An abscess can look okay one night and burst by the following morning, the sooner you get the goat the better.
When you lance it, do it over a tarp (away from animals) and collect the contents. If you don't have experience doing this- have a goat vet do it. I would be best to have your vet do this in the first place anyway, Have your vet send out the contents for testing. I recommend you spend the extra $ and try to figure out what the bacteria is, IOW don't just test for CL- try to find out what it is.
Don't get totally stressed out yet- wait until you have some answers.
We've had 2 abscesses in our herd, both that didn't turn out to be CL.
The first one was a buck with a large abscess by his ear that we took to the vet to drain and test for CL. I'm not sure what bacteria it exactly was, but we think he got poked by a fence wire that came undone.
The other was a doe who abscessed in a site where she had a vaccine, but we didn't know for sure, so we drained and sent off to WADL I believe.
So, not all abscesses are CL, but CL is a zootonic disease that you definitely do not want.
How big is the cyst? Have you googled soremouth or orf?