Hey everyone! Over the past 5 months I’ve discovered a few lumps and bumps on my goats and I need some help figuring out what they could be. I have 4 different goats that I’ll tell y’all about.
First off is Alice. She is a 6 year old ND who delivered triplet doelings in February of this year. A week after the delivery I noticed a lump on her udder. It was just a soft, raised bump, I never saw any pus or anything. I don’t remember exactly how long the lump was visible, but I think it was gone within a month of when I first noticed it. I’m thinking it might have been like a clogged milk duct or something like that. But I am curious where CL abscesses are located on the udder? Could it be CL?
Next up is Candice. She is a doeling that was born in January. In May, I found this small little knot on her neck. I’m thinking it was an insect bite, the only thing is I never saw any sting marks or scabs.
Now onto Miguel, he’s the one I’m most concerned about. In early May I noticed a lump at the bottom of his scrotum. If the testicles were hanging the lump would be visible, but if I pushed the testicles up, there would just be scabby skin where the lump was. On May 17th, I saw that the lump had opened up (no pus or discharge, just an open hole). As of now the lump is no longer visible. And as you can see, the whole bottom of his scrotum is scabby and has lost a lot of hair. Some people have suggested it might be mites, but I don’t think mites could cause the lump. Do you think this could be CL, or just an injury?
And lastly is Dominic. (I know, all my goats have interesting names 😂) He was born in January of this year and is currently being housed with his sire, Miguel. Just a couple days ago, I saw he had a similar bump at the bottom of his scrotum. And then I saw this scab on the side of his testicles. I’ll post pictures of everybody down below. I’m just looking to see what other people think is going on. Obviously, CL is a big concern for me, but I haven’t noticed any traditional CL symptoms so these issues might be related to something else. Also, all of my adult goats have been tested negative for CL.
What do y’all think?
Replies
Hi Emma!
I know lumps and bumps are very scary. I personally don't think that any of these are related, and I will explain why =)
If you are nervous and losing sleep over these, you could certainly have your vet out to take a look and ease your mind.
For the surface lump on the udder that went away. I agree- it was likely a clogged duct that resolved on its own. The supra mammary lymph nodes are located up high in the back where the udder meets the body. From what I understand, udder CL lesions are considered internal and not something that is routinely obvious externally.
Candice- keep an eye on that spot and see if it grows or opens up. That could be where someone gave her an injection (weird spot, but possible) or she could have just gotten a little injury there.
For the boys- scrotums dangle and get caught on things and can get little injuries. That may be the situation with Dominic. We also have to consider insect bites since they lay on the ground.
It sounds like there may have been a mite issue on Miguel's scrotum earlier in the year, but the skin and hair growth that I see in the photo looks on its way to being healthy. When they have bad mites on the scrotum they are typically all over the backs of the lower legs as well. Mites burrow into the skin causing thickening of the tissue and scabs and the goat can also develop a skin infection, which may have been what you saw earlier in the year. That looks like new hair growing in, so I would suspect that the situation was self-limiting and has now been resolved.
If you have had time to review the attachments that Abby sent, you likely already feel better about your goat babies =)
Tammy
Hi Emma! This is Abby. I help Deborah respond on social media. I'll inform her about your questions. In the meantime, these articles might be helpful.
https://thriftyhomesteader.com/cl-in-goats/
https://thriftyhomesteader.com/testing-goats-for-cae-cl-and-johnes/
https://thriftyhomesteader.com/abscesses-and-cl-in-goats/
Thank you Abby! I'll look through those articles!
The first pic is Candice, the knot is right underneath my thumb. All the other pics are of Dominic, they are from Monday and this morning.
This is Miguel. The first 5 pictures are from May 9th, the next 3 are from May 17th, and the last 2 are from June 18.
The first picture is Alice the day she delivered, the next 3 are of the lump, and the last pic is how she looks now.