Do you think this is CL?

My ewe has an enlarged jaw. It isn’t just a perfect little lump like the pictures of abscesses online, it honestly feels like her bone. Not soft.

I showed the picture to our vet and he said it’s either an abscess or CL. And it it’s CL then she will die and so will the rest of our flock! I have been reading vet articles online and it looks like as long as it doesn’t burst you should be fine.

So should we take her in and have it lanced? She is also nursing twins, are they infected?

Anyone have experience with it?

If it were my sheep, I would first treat it as if it was an abscess. For me that would mean applying a mixture of mostly castor oil with a bit of tea tree oil mixed into it. I have been using that mixture for my dogs as well as for my children and my mother for about 30 years with great results. One of the good things about the castor/ tea tree oil combination is that the castor oil is rather thick so it stays on well when applied. If the bump isn't starting to subside within a couple of days, it most likely isn't an abscess. For the sake of your sheep, I hope it is an abscess.

I am in no way a vet. But I will share what little I do know. My understanding is CL attacks the glands.  Here is a chart of glands on a goat. https://www.google.com/search?q=sheep%20glands%20diagram

It looks to me that the location of yours is more of bad tooth or infected hay or something else jabbed through the back of the jaw. Around here some vets will test it for you rather inexpensively if the animal never leaves your truck bed.

Good luck

I am no vet. I could be misinformed. But having faced a potential CL threat and having a vet guide me through it here’s what I retained.

I call CL “Cheesy Lump” disease.  CL and abscesses are synonymous.  The difference is CL abscesses will be filled with a cheese like gunk.  And CL abscesses happen in lymph node areas.
 I had this concern with an Angora doe I brought in as a rescue.  She had a baseball sized abcess on her belly.  I consulted my local goat vet heavily prior to home treatment. I lanced the abcess wearing disposable gloves, in a area my other goats would never be living or grazing, over a tarp I was prepared to throw away.  If I popped that thing and cheese came out, CL for certain!  No cheese, not a CL abcess.  So said my wonderful  vet.  And it wasn’t cheese. She was just neglected and hair and grime was infecting the skin.  The theory with the disposable everything and lancing in a remote place is that if it is CL, the curds won’t spread around on and infect the environment and risk infecting other livestock.

I’ve since tested my herd and everyone is indeed negative.  CL is supposed to spread via abcess drainage.  So an infected goat who is treated or culled appropriately may have posed no risk of spreading to the other goats.  It can be managed but culling I believe is best.

I put off testing for years.  But I will admit, now knowing everyone is clean sure puts my mind at rest, and makes me think differently about bringing in just any old untested goat!

As to your jaw lump.  Could be CL. Could just be cheat grass in the gum, or a jaw tumor, or any number of things,  determine if it’s in the bone or flesh,  I’ve popped goat abscesses in the cheeks from cheat grass burrowing in!  argh!

Jen Rose wrote:I am no vet. I could be misinformed. But having faced a potential CL threat and having a vet guide me through it here’s what I retained.

I call CL “Cheesy Lump” disease.  CL and abscesses are synonymous.  The difference is CL abscesses will be filled with a cheese like gunk.  And CL abscesses happen in lymph node areas.
 I had this concern with an Angora doe I brought in as a rescue.  She had a baseball sized abcess on her belly.  I consulted my local goat vet heavily prior to home treatment. I lanced the abcess wearing disposable gloves, in a area my other goats would never be living or grazing, over a tarp I was prepared to throw away.  If I popped that thing and cheese came out, CL for certain!  No cheese, not a CL abcess.  So said my wonderful  vet.  And it wasn’t cheese. She was just neglected and hair and grime was infecting the skin.  The theory with the disposable everything and lancing in a remote place is that if it is CL, the curds won’t spread around on and infect the environment and risk infecting other livestock.

I’ve since tested my herd and everyone is indeed negative.  CL is supposed to spread via abcess drainage.  So an infected goat who is treated or culled appropriately may have posed no risk of spreading to the other goats.  It can be managed but culling I believe is best.

I put off testing for years.  But I will admit, now knowing everyone is clean sure puts my mind at rest, and makes me think differently about bringing in just any old untested goat!

As to your jaw lump.  Could be CL. Could just be cheat grass in the gum, or a jaw tumor, or any number of things,  determine if it’s in the bone or flesh,  I’ve popped goat abscesses in the cheeks from cheat grass burrowing in!  argh!

Thanks all! Jen, everything you said rings true to me. It seems like one of those things that is a rare occurrence but if their are sighs at it could possibly be CL you should just go ahead and treat it as such. We plan on lancing it tomorrow away from our flock and pretty much exactly how you did it. Thanks!!

You can NOT tell if it's CL based on appearance, and it is very sad that any vet would say that you could. You have to have it sent to a lab and tested. I agree this look more like the jaw, and as such, I would have just left it alone, although I would have kept her isolated until it was gone, if I did not want to have it aspirated by a qualified vet and sent to a lab for a definitive diagnosis.