The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: maddy on November 25, 2015, 02:52:37 pm
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Hi my 4 year old female boer seems absolutely normal and eating well but yesterday saw that one side of her face was slightly swollen around her jaw area. Felt inside (carefully!) and couldnt feel anything and she didnt react. I always panic and think the worst - CLA - but am trying to just wait, watch and see for a while. It doesnt feel like an actual lump - just a little swollen. Do you think just wait for a few more days? I always seem to worry at the slightest thing with my goats - I suppose thats goats for you! ...
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If she is eating, drinking and generally acting her normal self I would wait and keep an eye on her. Check that the lump is not getting any bigger hard or hot. But if no change in a while, I would check out the possibility of anything more serious.
Given that AN's are prone to salivary gland lumps, maybe some Boers are too?
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Does the lump sit sideways or downwards on the jaw?
If it is sideways you should check if it's a pocket of food kept in the cheek. I have a Soay ewe that does that often (but not always). Took me a couple of months including a vet visit to figure out it was 'just' retained feed and not bottle jaw.
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Do they have access to hedges.
I had a dairy goat with a swollen jaw that localised into a more definite lump and then gradually cleared.
She had a scratch inside her mouth probably from some haw or blackthorn.
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The lump eventually had a little abscess on it and when I gave several prods a bit of sharp hay or similar poked out through the cheek!! Now all back to normal. Thank you for advice.
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Just watch for it recurring, my girl had to have ab's, (but it wasn't the virus CLE? they can get), she did rub her chin a lot on a wood partition. I was told to bathe it with hot water, poor girl hated it (obviously), but as i turned to refresh the cloth it burst, I could smell it before I turned back to her, cleared up after that.