CL Vaccination - Thoughts and experiences

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Here is a question I posed to some vets one time and they never could agree on the results. If you inject a goat (CL or CD/T) and get a reaction site abscess, then thats the body trying to wall off that vaccine. If it does it and the body creates an abscess, does that mean the vaccine didnt get into the body? Or did just some of it? Or is it reacting to a carrier agent in the vaccine?...

[Nanno]

That's an interesting question and one I've wondered about myself. Because of this, I've avoided opening the abscesses on any of the goats except the ones that are really close to the surface and will rupture anyway. I left Finn's too long and he ripped it open himself and left that big, gaping wound. I'm hoping if they absorb the abscesses that they'll have a higher likelihood of getting those antibodies into their bloodstream, but like the vets you spoke to, I have no idea if it even works like that. I hope that the carrier has more to do with the reactions than the killed bacteria because then it seems like there would be a very good outlook for a better vaccine in the near future.

[Nanno]

I think we're finally over the hump with this thing. Jezebel never developed the horrible abscesses like Delilah did. She had her second vaccination June 2nd and has a small lump from it that looks like it's coming to a head, but it doesn't seem to bother her much. Delilah's abscess from the second injection is completely gone except for a small scab. Now she just needs to grow hair back on the spot. Finn's big wound still has a scab on it and there's a small lump still there, but I've pretty much left it alone for the last week or two and it seems to be healing slowly but surely.

Nubbin had no reaction whatsoever. She, Jezebel, and Cuzco have had less reactions than anyone. Cuzco had the one small lump that I drained. The second injection didn't have so much reaction and the lump is going away by itself. I guess their lack of response is because their immune systems are not as strong as the others. The two girls gave birth just days before their first injections and I know their immune systems take a dive because of the stress. Cuzco of course is just old.

Pac-Man, Snickers, and Sputnik all have lumps left from their booster shots. Sputnik's is almost gone, but Pac-Man and Snickers' lumps are stubbornly refusing to go away. They've gotten smaller but they stick out a lot more as they've come closer to the surface. I hope I see some more progress soon because Pac-Man's lump is particularly obvious with his short hair and it bothers me!