# If A Goat Has CL Can You Give The Babies The Milk? And more CL?s



## KittenMittens89 (Apr 18, 2008)

I was wondering if CL can pass through the milk? I have a goat due any day and I need to know what I should do. Also if a goat has possibly has CL with a big abscess can you very carefully stick the needle in and withdraw the fluids to have it tested? If not why not?


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

What I've been told is that if the goat has an abcess in the udder, the baby could get CL from the milk and that she could hace an internal abcess, so it's not worth the risk. The babies should be caught at birth and fed the colostrum and milk of a clean doe.
I would not aspirate an abcess on your property as you don't want any pus to contaminate it. I'd take her to the vet to have that done.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I would NOT give the baby the milk if the doe may have CL, it is possible to spread that way, though not likely. Don't have the baby anywhere near the doe. 

You should not pop the abcess, because it can get the CL everywhere. You want the vet to do it and send it off.

I would treat her like she is radioactive lol.


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

if there is an external abscess, most of the time there will be internal abscess as well. if in the lung, kids can get infected from getting nuzzled from the dam. best would be to attend kidding and raise the kids away from this doe. 
i would not lance the abscess unless you can have her in an area where no other goats or chicken can go. if you can not afford to have this done by your vet, and you decide to do this yourself, take her out on the drive way with a big tarp underneath. put gloves on and after you have aspirated in a syringe for sending it to WADDL or UC-Davis, clean everything up and burn it. put the doe in an area far away from all others, maybe a little calf hut that can be disinfected with virkon or similar, until you get the result back. if positive......... i would put her down. talk to your vet or the people at the lab, about a vaccination program to protect your other goats.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

My conservative opinion: if it were my doe, I would pull any doelings at birth, isolate them completely from any place this doe has ever been, and put the doe down, then pen the kids in a new place, since the current one is probably contaminated.


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## KittenMittens89 (Apr 18, 2008)

I am going to pull the kids right away. All I am wanting is her colostrum then I would get them on something else. Also what do you do with her milk till I get the testing back? She will have to be milked out.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

This is just from what I understand, you can give the baby the colostrum if you heat treat it and you can give the milk if you heat treat it too. With the milk you could make soap out of it.


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## KittenMittens89 (Apr 18, 2008)

So I won't get infected with CL if I outwardly use the milk being that it is heat treated? See I just want to get colostrum into the kid/kids then I have takers for them. They would probably be fed cows milk from then on I am guessing. So then after the kids are gone I would use the milk if I could in ways I could.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

From what I've read you can heat treat it to 135* and keep it at that temp for an hour.


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

KittenMittens89 said:


> So I won't get infected with CL if I outwardly use the milk being that it is heat treated? See I just want to get colostrum into the kid/kids then I have takers for them. They would probably be fed cows milk from then on I am guessing. So then after the kids are gone I would use the milk if I could in ways I could.


i would not want to use milk from a cl doe. this is a zoonotic disease, and i know a farmer that has is. saw it with my own eyes. he was in the hospital twice last year for surgical removal of the lumps. very painful and not curable.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Don't use her colostrum. Don't even milk her. Get that abscess tested ASAP. 

Iso her in a small area that you can do a controlled pasture burn OR drench with disinfectant. She won't need pasture as long as you provide hay to her 24/7. Don't socialize with her - don't even go in the pen. Don't take her out of the pen. Watch ligs on her, checking 2x per day. When she's in labor, don't leave her, grab legs as the kids show, and pull them straight from the doe. Don't let the kids touch the ground in her pen. Clean up the kids, burn the towels and the clothes you were wearing. Immediately tie off the navel with dental floss and dip. Some even suggest washing the kids in a mild hand soap with disinfectant. 

Keep her kids isoed in another small burnable pen as well until at least 6 mon old, and blood test them. 

As for the rest of your goats, start testing the herd and iso-ing positives. Retest every 3 or 6 mon, whichever you can afford. Usually the disease shows in 6 months, so about 3 tests should tell.

It's up to you if you want to vaccinate the negatives. It can be an excellent way to prevent the spread of disease.


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