doe lump on chest

[jlbpa]

Was up in a tree stand tonight saw a doe with a softball size lump on her chest. The skin look loose around it just kinda flopping around hanging there between her front legs   Thought about shooting her but didn't know about eating her so I let her go.    Any thoughts?

[Orion]

Likely the result of an old injury, possibly an arrow, but an infected bullet wound can cause it as well.  Have seen several like that.  The lump is usually filled with puss.  Meat on the rest of the animal is good, though.

[KSdan]

I would not eat it. Ask a rancher who has an injured cow.  They usually check the temp.- if there is infection it affects the meat.

Just 2C

Dan in KS

[Fischman]

Ditto KDdan, wouldn't eat her at all, too many good ones to chew on a nasty infected one!

[macksdad]

Definetly an old injury, I dont think I would eat it

[K.S.TRAPPER]

I don't know what cause's them but I have picks of deer every year with knot's of some kind and most of the time they go away on there own.

 Look closely behind this buck's front leg, Thats a huge knot!!



 Now here's a month later.    The buck on the left.



 Not the first time I have seen these knots on the jaw.



 I can't find the picks right now but her's is gone now too with a little scab were the knot was.



 Tracy

An abscess can form around any type of puncture injury as well-- even a thorn. It usuall will drain and heal at some point.

[lpcjon2]

Maybe its Pamela Anderson's pet deer.          
But in reality it may just be a tumor or old wound.If it is acting odd, take one for the herd.(in my zone in Jersey we can shoot endless does) If you notice any more on other deer contact your fish and game biologist and they may put it down.

[Orion]

K.S.: The buck in the top pix and the buck on the left in the pix under it sure don't look like the same buck to me.  Top buck is heavy racked with virtually no brow tines.  Buck on the left has long brow tines and a high, narrower rack.

[John Scifres]

I'm not sure why but that thread title made me do a double-take.

I'd have no trouble shooting and eating the deer.  That's pretty common stuff.   I once had a doe cross a field towards me and she had a basketball size cyst between her front legs.  Talk about Pamela Anderson...

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Orion, Your right kinda hard to tell from that angle but it's him. I will fix you right up tonight when I get home from work. Lots of picks of this buck from every angle you could want.

 So check back in tonight    

Tracy

[Orion]

No need, Tracy.  Camera angles can play tricks on one.  I went back and studied them again.  Didn't even see the brow tines on the top buck the first time around. That little kicker of the right side G-2 also confirms it's the same deer. Better get my bi-focals out.      

[K.S.TRAPPER]

No problem Orion, Bad pick on my part I was looking at the lump and not thinking about the rack. You can see his kickers and brows in this pick.



And here's another deer with a knot on his jaw too from last year. Looks like he has a big chew in. Lol!



Tracy

[Hess]

I shot a doe about 8 years ago with a volleyball sized 'thing' between her two front legs.  It wiggled and jiggled when she walked.  When I gutted her, I couldn't help but to stab it with the knife, it was filled with a clear interstitial fluid of sorts.  It seemed to be minor in the scheme of things in that she looked and tasted, for that matter, just fine.

But in hind site, I'd eat a road killed fox squirrell.

[Ray Hammond]

I just remove anything around those abscesses - deer get stuck running around the woods a lot and bucks get em from fighting too

Never saw any difference in any of them

[Shawn Leonard]

Yup, like Ray said. I would eat the meat for sure.Most likely a brisk cyst, they can be from getting jabbed with a stick or running into a fence or any number of things. Usually just a fluid filled sac. Shawn