Strange lungs - red spiker

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Was out this evening with a friend and he shot a nice red spiker.

Checked the grollach and the lungs appear to have these white lumps. Doesn’t look like any of the text book examples we’ve seen of TB or pneumonia. Obviously some shot damage is normal.

Any advice ? Eat or skip ? Currently hanging in the fridge

AndrewT059 · Feb 20, 2026

What was the lymph nodes like?

lotuseater · Feb 20, 2026

I can see the whiteish sheen of the pleurae but no lumps?

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

AndrewT059 said:
What was the lymph nodes like?

Nodes were fine and no blisters inside the rib cage. Rest of the animal was fine apart from poor / deformed antlers.

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

lotuseater said:
I can see the whiteish sheen of the pleurae but no lumps?

If you look at the second photo between the ring finger and middle finger, appears to be a lump ?

VSS · Feb 20, 2026

Midlandstalker2024 said:
Was out this evening with a friend and he shot a nice red spiker.

Checked the grollach and the lungs appear to have these white lumps. Doesn’t look like any of the text book examples we’ve seen of TB or pneumonia. Obviously some shot damage is normal.

Any advice ? Eat or skip ? Currently hanging in the fridge

View attachment 461434

View attachment 461433

Is this the type of lump you're referring to?

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Yes

VSS said:
Is this the type of lump you're referring to?
View attachment 461445

Yes

Buchan · Feb 20, 2026

How did they feel? if they felt like an obvious change to the main lung, I would, personally cut into them. They could be lungworm, but are a bit big

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

VSS said:
Is this the type of lump you're referring to?
View attachment 461445

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Buchan said:
How did they feel? if they felt like an obvious change to the main lung, I would, personally cut into them. They could be lungworm, but are a bit big

Felt a bit rubbery, different texture to the main lung itself.

Buchan · Feb 20, 2026

If rubbery rather than solid, nudging to lungworm. If you cut into them and they are not full of cheese (parmesan to brie) it's probably lungworm

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Buchan said:
If rubbery rather than solid, nudging to lungworm. If you cut into them and they are not full of cheese (parmesan to brie) it's probably lungworm

Thanks, will open one or two up and see what it’s like. If it’s not lungworm would you suspect TB?

Oldstalker · Feb 20, 2026

1. In the words of Andrew Holliman vet' at the VI centre in Cumbria - "learn to recognise the variation in the normal". You must do that before you can spot the abnormal.
2 Are you planning to eat the lungs yourself or to feed them to your dog(s)? Or will they be going in the bin. Were they adhered to the chest wall? [This tends to be a sign of past rather than present disease but it can be ongoing.]
3 As per post #2 above - are the lymph nodes normal? Have you cut into the lungs?
4 Has the carcass gone into rigor mortis? If it has not "set" properly then by all means condemn it.
From the photos it does not look very abnormal to me; the length of time between shot and bleeding out can affect the appearance and texture of the lungs markedly; the longer the lumpier. But as @Buchan suggests incise the lungs and look for worms/cysts or other parasites, or for signs of infection.

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Oldstalker said:
1. In the words of Andrew Holliman vet' at the VI centre in Cumbria - "learn to recognise the variation in the normal". You must do that before you can spot the abnormal.
2 Are you planning to eat the lungs yourself or to feed them to your dog(s)? Or will they be going in the bin. Were they adhered to the chest wall? [This tends to be a sign of past rather than present disease but it can be ongoing.]
3 As per post #2 above - are the lymph nodes normal? Have you cut into the lungs?
4 Has the carcass gone into rigor mortis? If it has not "set" properly then by all means condemn it.
From the photos it does not look very abnormal to me; the length of time between shot and bleeding out can affect the appearance and texture of the lungs markedly; the longer the lumpier. But as @Buchan suggests incise the lungs and look for worms/cysts or other parasites, or for signs of infection.

Thanks, I’m still working my way through all the different variations of “normal” when it comes to deer stalking.

Lungs were going in the bin and weren’t going to be eaten. Personally I was leaning towards I would eat the animal but my friend had put some doubts to me about it, hence why I’m here looking for a wider consensus. The obviously a difference in comfort level with what I’m happy to eat myself and what I’d be willing to give to a friend or someone’s kid.

Rigor had set in, it was about 90 mins from shot to finding and bleeding. Animal was chest shot with a lot of damage on one lung, lot of blood in the chest cavity.

I’ll open some of the lumps this afternoon for a better look.

VSS · Feb 20, 2026

Midlandstalker2024 said:
Yes

Yes

I think it's pretty normal to find a some of those kind of lumps in the lungs. Most deer seem to have a few (in my experience).
I just put them down to wear & tear (eg, past pasrasite burden or infection, not current).
If all nodes were ok I would say that's a perfectly good carcass with nothing much out of the ordinary.

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

VSS said:
I think it's pretty normal to find a some of those kind of lumps in the lungs. Most deer seem to have a few (in my experience).
I just put them down to wear & tear (eg, past pasrasite burden or infection, not current).
If all nodes were ok I would say that's a perfectly good carcass with nothing much out of the ordinary.

Thanks for taking the time, appreciate the info and help. We’re in an area with a lot of bovine Tb with farmers complaining, so it’s generally the first suspect for any lung abnormalities appear.

VSS · Feb 20, 2026

Midlandstalker2024 said:
Thanks for taking the time, appreciate the info and help. We’re in an area with a lot of bovine Tb with farmers complaining, so it’s generally the first suspect for any lung abnormalities appear.

Very wise to be cautious then

Buchan · Feb 20, 2026

Midlandstalker2024 said:
Thanks, will open one or two up and see what it’s like. If it’s not lungworm would you suspect TB?

If it is cheese, yes

Midlandstalker2024 · Feb 20, 2026

Buchan said:
If it is cheese, yes

No cheese, opened up a few and they were just solid and rubbery.

Strange lungs - red spiker

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