# lump on cheek



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

My one milking goat has a lump where her cheek is. Does that sound like something serious? BTW I returned my Malenoise to the kennel.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

I think more info will be needed. How big? Soft and moveable or hard?


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

I agree... more info needed.

My mini alpine had a huge lump on her cheek/jaw..... it was the size of a softball cut in half. 

I shaved the hair off & found a cactus thorn in her face.... Well, not exactly, it had broke off so after I scraped off the tiny scab, loads of puss & blood came out, & in that mess I found the thorn. 

My friend's Nubian had her face swell up.....she something stabbed into her gum that got infected so is check her teeth & inside of her mouth as well..


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

Could be just about anything. An abscessed tooth? A piece of straw or hay causing an abscess? Where exactly is it? If you push on it, does it spring right back or does it dent for a while? ?? Not enough information...


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

its where her cheek starts to come out, as if I took a golf ball and split it in half and glued it to her cheek. Its firm in the center but not hard, the edges are just skin. When I push on it it does not give. I think its smaller today but that maybe wishful thinking. On the milking stand she is as uncooperative as she has always been, but I did notice that she is coming up to me more often when I am in the barn, and looking up at me with those eyes. I will go out and shave the area and see if I see anything. Last time I lanced a thing on my dog it only came back worse, so I am very hesitant to do anything. What do you all think of getting some antibiotic?


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## Twillingate Farm (Oct 26, 2007)

Dorit, I hope everything turns out ok with this... it may be nothing to worry about as in my case... http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=17219.msg184140;topicseen#msg184140
Please keep us updated.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Allan, no acorns. I got her on the stand and tried to shave her but couldn't get her still enough. I felt inside her mouth and the lump was stationary, firm in the center, its gone down a bit now the size of half a gumball. But this new size has been the same for 3 days now. The inside of her mouth felt reptilian, is this normal? Since noticing this I started to boil the milk to 165 degrees. Do you think its ok to drink?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It has nothing at all to do with her milk unless the abcess/cyst was on her udder. If the bump has broken, I have never seen an real abcess burst into the mouth, only out onto the face. So this is likely nothing to be concerned about. It's why we buy from clean herds. 

The feeling inside her check, it is likely the side she chews cud on to feel this way. V


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Knowing that I got my doe from Tamara I was not panicking. However, I took 2 dogs to the vet today and asked him about it. He gave me a 16 gauge needle and told me to poke it, if cottage cheese comes out its CL if not then its just an abscess. Now that I did THAT, I know I can 'birth a baby'. Only blood came out, which of itself is curious. I would think that it would at least be puss. I called the vet and told to come by and pick up some antibiotics. Should I keep boiling the milk until its gone?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Nonsense, and do you really want a scar on the outside cheek of your doe? IF you want to find out exactly what it is than inject into it from the inside of the mouth, send in the exude to UC Davis. It is not CL if it is not up by her ear...feel where the lymp nodes are on your neck, up to the front of your ear, down the sides of your mouth....not on your check or near your mouth. Vicki


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

thanks, good info. What about the blood tests? I don't think I can draw blood from the jugular, my luck and inexperience she will bleed out. Should I put her on antibiotics for the lump? If yes then do I need to dump the milk? can I do it the same time I worm so I wind up dumping less milk?


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Vicki, saw your reply re blood testing on another thread, so no need to repeat it. Many thanks


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

No you don't need to put her on antibiotics. You really want to be seeing illness (fever) from something like this to bother with using antibiotics in the herd. You can't bleed out a doe by putting a needle into her jugular, it takes a scalpel to do that  Milk withdrawal for antibiotics is counted after you finish the course, so although it would not hurt to worm at the same time, it would be many days past your 36 hour withdrawal for most wormers. You also should be fecal sampling to see if you even need to worm, I haven't wormed my adult milkers or bucks once this year, since March. Vicki


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

If you're able to get any pus out of the abscess, chances are it's actinomyces (a/k/a arcanobacterium) pyogenes, a bacteria that lives in the mucous membranes (think inside of mouth) and will cause an abscess if the goat eats something that pierces the inside of its mouth. I've seen and dealt with 3-4 of these over the years and they're usually fairly easy to treat if you can drain and clean out the area (for us that has meant taking the does to the vet and letting them do the deed) and then following up with a course of penicillin injections. The thing you need to be careful of if your doe does have an actinomyces abscess is that the bacteria doesn't migrate into the bone as it can cause a chronic condition called lumpy jaw, much more common in cattle than in goats. So I have to respectfully disagree with Vicki about the antibiotics, as abscesses are caused by bacteria and bacteria should be treated with antibiotics. However, you need to know what kind of bacteria you're dealing with as actinomyces is resistant to just about everything except penicillin.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Hmmm, just when I thought I had a plan, well, what I will do is just watch the lump. She seems to feel fine, no behavior changes. My mentor said to worm becaseu we have super worms here, so I will follow her lead. Unless she kicks me out of the fold I will always do what she does. She has a very clean herd. Still good to know options and opinions


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's what the forum is for. It's not about what way is right...we share what works for us at our farms, on our goats over the years, it then has to be up to you to pick and choose what information you want to follow by asking questions. Vicki


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

Coming into this discussion a little late I just want to say that lumps or bumps on the face happen periodically. It's nothing to panic over, however, it is always prudent to exude the contents and send for testing to make sure. Vicki pretty much said everything I would say.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Solved the mystery! There is a rough spot on the stanchion where her head goes. When I was cleaning I noticed it and sanded it down, It fits perfectly where her lump is. dance:


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Be aware that A. Pyogenes can also, in the right circumstances, cause mastitis--a virulent mastitis characterized by painful, pus-filled abscesses in the udder. According to LSU it is not treatable and they only suggest culling the animal if this happens.


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