Expert: Goatlady - 9/3/2008

Question
Hi,
I have had my two goats for about 4-5 years now. They are Boer/Spanish cross does and are simply pets.

They live in a dry-lot situation with a shelter and are fed twice a day.

Feeding consists of-
A couple of flakes of coastal hay
About a cup or so of Wendland Sheep and goat feed

All has been great for all these years until just yesterday evening Piccadilly was acting listless and had little interest in eating her pellet food (grain) She never even touched it. I felt sorry for her and gave her a couple slices of bread to help maybe if her stomach didn't feel good.

Today now (Wednesday) she is the same. Tail down, very quiet and not much enthusiasm for food at all. She just barely nibbled the pellets today.

She has been spending time laying in the barn also which is worrying me because that's not normal, usually she is outside laying on the ground.

The other Goat, Beatrice is doing great.

I didn't want to make this really long-winded and complicated I a brief question would enable you to give some recommendations or suggestions.

I hope you can help and thank you!
Susan.

Answer
HI Susan,
Usually when a goat goes down it is either worms, pneumonia or coccidiosis. The first 2 things I would check for are worms and pneumonia:

Hold off on too much sweet feed or grain as this is difficult to digest when a goat is sick. Take her rectal temperature- normal is 101.5 to 103.5 - most of the time  when a goat has pneumonia,, it will run a fever but not always- most of the time it will have a runny nose or cough but not always. Fresh hay, apples, banana and a lot of water with electrolytes in it plus molasses or corn syrup - I use 1/4 cup molasses to a gallon of water- a full grown dairy goat will drink a gallon a day.

This article has a color chart for checking stages of anemia caused by wormload in your goat:

http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=46



Ivomec PLUS and Valbazen are my choices of anthelmintics (dewormers)  - both get liver fluke as well as the nasty stomach worms that cause anemia. Valbazen is not safe for pregnant does or those who "may" be pregnant as it causes birth abnormalities. But Valbazen is a great dewormer for kids because they are more likely to have tapeworms which the Ivomec or Ivomec Plus does not kill.



Valbazen is a liquid suspension given orally at the rate of 1cc/10lbs of goat body weight.



Ivomec and Ivomec Plus are injectable cattle dewormers that goat owners use "off label" or "extra label" -meaning it has not been approved for use in goats but through experience by goat owners is commonly used safely.



I use Ivomec and Ivomec Plus successfully at the rate of 1cc/40lbs goat weight SUbQ injection for most goats. If they are severely wormy- I use 1cc/30lbs and ALWAYS SubQ in this case because of the possible bleed out from using it orally as explained in the BottleJaw Article in this website. If you are doing a routine deworming of your herd an none of the goats is  anemic, oral administration of Ivomec Plus is fine to do.  But keep in mind while it works  quick it also leave the system quick- whereas injections work at a slower rate and stay in the body longer.



There are 4 stages of larval development and in order to kill all 4 stages (which have an approximate developmental period of 10 days) we deworm 10 days apart for a consecutive 3 times- so you will deworm , then in another 10 days and again in another 10 days - then again one month later and then on an as needed basis.



I have an article with photos on deworming goats:

http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=46



Take her rectal temperature t see if she is running a fever which is what happens usually with pneumonia-  or below normal which happens if she is anemic- normal for a goat  is 101.5 to 103.5.

I do have an excellent article on pneumonia:

http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=100&Itemid=91



Most Common Clinical Signs of Pneumonia:

1. Weight loss

2. Cough

3. Nasal Discharge

4. Fever present sometimes not always

5. Raspy breathing

6. Difficult breathing

7. Anorexia

8. Scours



Medications that are used to Treat Pneumonia in Goats

This will show you which different Antibiotics and Medications you can use for treating pneumonia in goats, this is not to say you use all of them but depending on what you may or may not have on hand a quick reference guide to which are used and how much to use:

OTC = Over The Counter- you can find this usually at feed stores or online vet supply houses

(Rx) = Requires vet Prescription



  The Antibiotics of choice, listed in order of my personal preference:

  1. Tylan200 (OTC) 1cc/25lbs every 12 hours SubQ 5 days, Stings but works very well on upper respiratory.



  2. OR Nuflor (Rx) 1cc/25lbs daily for 3-5 days SubQ- Use 18Ga Needle as this is thick

  3. OR Oxytetracycline -LA200 or Biomycin (OTC) 1cc/25lbs 5 days SubQ

  4. OR Penicillin Procane G (IF you have nothing else) 1cc/20lbs 5 days every 12 hours SubQ

     Remember with PennG to ALWAYS draw back on the syringe plunger to see if you hit blood, as this can be fatal gotten into the blood stream! If you do, removed needle from goat, express blood and restick goat in a new place to inject

  5. Additional Drugs to help with Pneumonia Expectahist antihistamine/decongestant (Rx) and Expensive to relieve congestion 1cc/15lbs SubQ twice a day

  6. Benedryl for children (OTC) to relieve congestion, 1 tsp for tiny babies, up to full 8 ox bottle for adult goats- hard to overdose this , but will make them sleepy

  7. Banamine-(Rx) reduces fever, swelling and pain relief. 1cc/100lbs once a day SubQ

     A newborn kid should receive 2/10 of a cc (two-tenths of a cc) of Banamine

  8. Human Aspirin (Not tylenol or advil but real aspirin) In place of Banamine for fever reduction and pain relief. 1 325mg aspirin for an adult goat or 1/4 to 1/2 baby aspirin for a baby goat

  9. Electrolytes to help with dehydration given orally according to package

I doubt she has cocci but just in case compare what you are seeing there to this article on coccidiosis:
http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=155

goatlady

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