AboutGoatlady Expertise Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats.
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Note: Keep in mind, the goat expert is volunteering her time to help other goat owners, she also runs her farm with her own herd of 100 goats and may not be at her computer at all hours. Questions are answered as soon as she can possibly read and answer them, usually within 24 hours.
Experience 18 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction. The information I have to offer is not only from personal experience and years of research updated often as new information is made available to me, but supported by many Veterinary Research colleges and all medications and information I have to offer on how the medications work and what dosages "I" use, is information I have acquired by discussing directly with the company's veterinarians and staff research experts.
Organizations 5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service
Publications United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™
Education/Credentials Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Question I have been doing a lot of research on goat pneumonia. I'm not so sure that is what my goats have, the more I read. We have about 30 Boer goat nannies (2-3 year olds) and one young pygmy nanny (she is coughing - no runny nose however). Several of them have come down with what looks and acts like a cold. This started about 5 or 6 days ago. Around ten of them now have a nasty discharge from their noses, ranging from clear to thick yellow/greenish. A couple of them seem to be having a hard time breathing through their noses. And a few of the same goats have slightly runny eyes. They all are eating, drinking, acting just fine. They are free range goats that we feed once a day with a little range feed.
We live in central Texas and lately the weather has been a bit typical, hot days but very cool nights. So I'm not sure, it could just be a reaction to the weather. But I'm so confused because there are so many different opinions listed on the web. Some say to use Vet RX to treat a cold and antibiotics to treat pneumonia. Can you tell me the best way to determine which it is? And what medicine would you suggest? I'm scared to death that they all are going to catch whatever it is and I will have an epidemic on my hands.... Thanks for any help you can give!
Answer Hi Lisa,
Goats do not get colds really - they get pneumonia or allergy-
Typically with a colored nasal discharge, you are looking at pneumonia and combine this with the weather hot in the day and cool at night - take some temperatures rectally and see if anyone is running a fever- BUT I have has cases of pneumonia with x and administer it no fever presented.
What you can do is get some of the VetRx and administer it in the nose- this is an herbal liquid much like camphor and will not hurt them- IF the symptoms go away then you have succeeded in solving the problem, but also have some tylan200 on hand which is an over the counter medication I use (I like this better than the more expensive prescription medications for treating pneumonia- and it is not the same as LA200)
An excerpt from my article on pneumonia:
Major Causes of Pneumonia:
The 3 main causative agents of pneumonia are: Bacterial, Viral and Parasitic.
High humidity, close conditions, drastic change in weather conditions, change in environment,feed, or kidding (Sometimes referred to as shipping stress), inadequate ventilation and dusty damp bedding are some of the most common antagonists for the beginning of pneumonia.
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
Treatment Choices:
Do not delay in treatment, early detection and treatment ease the seriousness of pneumonia greatly.
Different medications will work on different types of pneumonia. If you have not had a diagnosis by a Veterinarian, and are treating yourself- expect some improvement by the second full day of treatment. If you do not see this improvement, I would change the medication choice for treatment.
Benedryl given orally can help goats with allergy- if you see no improvement, then suspect pneumonia- I use the children's liquid and for an adult boer goat would use 3-4 ounces orally- or one adult capsule. If no improvement in 24 hours start antibiotics for pneumonia.
