Abscess IN shoulder/joint infection?

[mygoat]

I just butchered a 10 week old buckling because for the past couple weeks he's had a swollen shoulder joint and was dragging around his front left leg. It arose practically overnight and I figured he broke his shoulder. It wasn't an area to splint, so I let him be. First I planned on letting him go for a week, saw no improvement. Then we had a week full of hot weather - too hot to butcher. Thankfully, he never seemed to be in pain, which I thought odd for a goat with a broken shoulder. He was still nursing and eating. Tonight I finally got around butchering him. He's now just a carcass on the counter. I took off his front leg and opened the joint separate from the body - thick slightly yellow pus came out.

So, I think he had a joint infection. Problem is, I have no idea how he got it. There was no entry wounds.

I did take a sample of it and put it in the fridge. I'm thinking to culture it - but I have two questions:

1. Should I even spend money to culture it? He was born here, from parents and herd mates that haven't had abscesses, his parent stock has tested clean and I've never had any any abscesses of any sort before this one on the property - on any animal. My new goats are isolated far far away, both from abscess free herds and they were all tested before I picked them up (Except the boers from Ozark_Jewels, they were just tested for CAE and Johne's before pickup... but I trust her that she is abscess free). Plus, this was in a JOINT, nowhere near a lymph node. Everything else was perfectly normal internally and behaviorally. Any other disease that it could be, that would warrant it worthwhile to test?

2. What lab should I send it to? WADDL is a bit expensive for my taste - plus I'd like to find a more local lab to send it too - MI, OH, IN?

[mygoat]

Bump!

[Rockytopsis]

I don't have a answer for you but would like to know the answer to your question.
Nancy

[lasergrl]

Couldnt it have come from his umbilical cord like in calves. Joint ill is an abscess in the joints, one or all.

[goatkid]

I once had a doeling with an infection in the shoulder joint. Like you, at first I thought it was an injury making her limp. It eventually became evident there was an infection and I took her to the vet. He drained and tested it. Not CL. He had me give her Biomycin to clear it up.

[mygoat]

Goatkid, How was infection evident in your goat? I'm trying to think if I missed any signs. I didn't begin to think it might be an abscess till I got his hide off... Then without seeing ANY trauma I began to consider it - confirmed by pus coming out of the joint. Being a buckling destined for butcher anyways, I wasn't going to go through the trouble of taking him to the vet and putting antibiotics into him, though.

As for navel infection - his navel was dipped in iodine. Isn't there usually an umbilical infection associated with that type of joint ill? He did not have an infected umbilical. Is 10 weeks a normal onset age for that type of joint problem?

[Cyngbaeld]

CL is encased in a tough, fibrous capsule. If the pus was oozing out of the joint without the capsule being cut, it is unlikely to be CL.

Bacteria can enter the body many ways, not all of them obvious, especially in an animal that may not have appeared injured.

[mygoat]

All abscesses will have a wall to them. It wasn't cottage cheese like, like I've read CL abscesses contain. My goats aren't shown, don't go anywhere with other goats except tested herds... As I said, I really don't suspect CL to be the culprit here at all. The only thing I can think of is injury somehow... I'm almost wanting to culture it just to see what bacterium it is.

Still don't know of a lab to send it to?

[danielsumner]

I've been waitng for someone else to ask, however since no one has I will. What did you do with the meat after you found the abscess? Just curious.

[mygoat]

The leg was separated from the body before the abscess was ruptured. I threw the entire front leg away. Until I get answers, he's in a bag in my freezer - Being only a 10 week mini kid, he fit in a 2 gallon freezer bag.

[Wonderland]

Maybe you could call local agricultural or veterinary colleges and see if they have a lab you could send it in to?

I hope you can find out what caused it.

[goatkid]

The kid was limping. Then, it would seem to get better for a day or two, only to have her limping again. Anytime a goat here limps, I check the leg and hoof. One day, I felt a swelling and took her to the vet. He said it felt like an infection and aspirated some of the pus with a needle for testing. I don't recall him saying it was from her navel, but he started her on antibiotics.
Your vet should be able to test the pus or tell you who can. If you have a veteranary college in your state, they most likely can do it there.

[ozark_jewels]

Sounds like a joint infection of some kind, but what kind I wouldn't know. Doesn't really sound like any type of abcess though, more like pus on the joint. You should have been able to find a pocket or wall if it had been abcessed off from the body.
Your vet should be able to reccomend a lab that could culture it.

[lasergrl]

I would not worry about it. I work at a dog/cat vet. Just a couple weeks ago a 4 month old bloodhound presented with a painfull swollen left elbow. It had been at the emergency clinic the night before. No fever. They said it was probably a fatal lymphadema. Scared the people to death. We tapped it and got bloody pus. Drained 3 dixie cups of pus out of it. It was cultured and was negative for bacteria (hence no fever). Animals can get sterile abscesses for unknown reasons. The dog is fine since putting a drain in it. Owners are VERY happy now.

[susanne]

i would not eat the meat but give it to the dogs.
uc davis does testing and so does msu