Don't waste time here, ask your vet! Tom

those bacteria are all opportunistic pathogens, meaning they are normal bacteria found on the skin and in the environment. They only cause infection if they have an opportunity, either through immune suppression of the animal, or trauma (breaks in the skin).

do your goats bite each other, or are there thorny bushes they are getting poked with? Any other sources of trauma (barbed wire, old equipment etc) in the pasture? Are they sick? Were they recently vaccinated, or given injections where the abscesses showed up?

I would add: Look for spots where they rub their heads and necks. The bacteria will be transferred from one to another this way. Especially if such places are rough, they will open small abraisions that can turn to big abscesses.

could be cheesy gland 2 of ours had abseses below ears
thats what the vet diagnosed

We have been working with a couple vets. They do not know what to do next.
It is almost impossible on the one hand that all of these goats could have gotten them and are coninuing to get them from cuts etc. , on the other hand why they are getting them at all is not explainable any other way either. They are not from an injection site. The goat have free run of woods also, but would that many get pricked like that? They never have before.
Oh well just trying to find if anyone has had a similar experiance.
I'll just keep plugging away to try to stop them.
Thanks

I have been told that when a goat gets an abscess you can inject Formaldehyde into it. This will not hurt the goat because an abscess is like a blister, it is only external there is a layer of skin between the inside of the abscess and the inside of the goat. The formaldehyde will dry up the abscess and it will not fall off. If it falls off it will infect other goats just like worms in manure. Definatly ask a vet.

Even with the negative results, it sure sounds like caseous lymphadenitis to me. The location on the animals, the contagion, and the percentages all fit. Is it possible that the cultures were exposed to the other organisms by contact with hair, feces or other material? I would reculture.
Have you checked for lice or other external parasites which may be spreading or causing the abscesses? You probably don't need to be told this, but do not inject your animals with formaldehyde.

I am not a vet, but the number of goats with abscesses seems too large to be coincidental injury related. I would also suspect CL. Since this can be tranmissible to humans, I would seriously consider getting a second test.

Have you recently added new goats to your herd? Or taken one or more goats off farm or to a show recently where they could have been exposed to CL?

If it is definately not CL they you need to do a serious investigation of your farm premises. Look for anything sharp from nails not quite nailed in all the way to exposed/broken fence wires, especially an opening where they could all be sticking their heads through to get to greener bits. Also check for glass bits turning up in the soils. Typically near barns and other buildings where during construction people leave bottles, cans, etc. around to get buried and turned up years later. You'll need to observe the herd for a few hours at different times of the day to see where they go and what they get up to...especially places where they all scratch/rub themselves.

What have your vet's done so far that they don't know what to do next? Unfortunately, vets that specialize in caprines tend to be hard to find. Typically with an abscess, the vet will lance it, drain it and give the appropriate antibiotics. Then you get a list of things to do to keep the site cleaned and draining as it heals.

I hope you solve this soon.

I had a similar situation, however, I had pigs with skin infections. The infection was caused by a staph bacteria and it showed up where there were bites, cuts, etc. This was new to our farm and several animals became infected. As it turned out, we had changed feed companies and the new feed was deficient in zinc and selenium. Approximately 2 weeks after we added back the zinc and selenium, the infections disappeared. This feed regime also seemed to improve the horses hooves. We also added lactobacillus (the stuff that is in yogurt) to the feed of the baby pigs and the lactating sows. Their hair/coats appeared much nicer, less coarse, and generally healthier looking, with the lactobacillus. I went through 3 different vets before I found a vet that I felt looked at herd health in a more holistic manner (rather than just antibiotics).

my small herd free range frequently and I have never had any trouble with abcesses. I did have one get a cloudy eye from an abrasion that was easily treated with occular antibiotic.
I'd test again, separate those with from those without to minimize further transmission of whatever it is.
Have you tried posting at goatworld?
Sorry to hear of you troubles, best of luck and please keep us posted.

we had a wethers come up with a lump on his neck, after we realized it wasnt going away by its self, we took it to the vet, she said cl, but she never tested it, she just lanced it and the cheesyist, foulest stuff came out, we had to squeeze out any stuff, and use a syringe and clean it out twice a day with peroxide and iodine solution, we didnt let the stuff that came out get on the ground, cuz its supposed to contaminate what ever it comes in contact with, and we quarantined him in a another pen, away from every one else. havnt had any more come back, and he got well, she also said the the mother could be a carrier, and he got it in the womb, i dont know about that, but she did have a prolapsed uterus,, that we had a time with trying to keep in her when she was pregnant. any way, just be careful, use gloves, and quarantine the effected goats untill you do find out for sure where ya might be getting it from. good luck
samm