[BlueRibbonHill]

I have a 9 month old Nubian doe with a bad dry cough. I took her temp on Saturday. 102.8 and eye lids have good pink to them. I gave her probiotics and a vitamin drench on Saturday. She was still coughing, acting more lethargic, and had a noticeable weight drop by Sunday, so I went ahead and gave her a shot of Ivomec Plus (1cc). I also gave her probiotic paste and a vitamin drench again. She perked up a little and was following the herd Sunday afternoon but still coughing. She is still eating, especially if I give her feed. Whenever I get close she starts to eat pasture like she knows that's what I want her to do, but she is standing still and not moving or grazing most of the time. She is not chewing cud as often as normal either.

How long would the Ivomec take to make a difference in her coughing and lethargy? I made a quick check on her this morning before going into work and she didn't cough while I was in there, but she is still acting sickly with her tail between her legs and standing still.

We did have a recent ice storm, so the goats stayed in the barn for a couple days straight instead of going out to pasture. I gave them a protein feed and hay ration. I also put down straw recently for the colder weather. I was thinking maybe weather, food, or bedding change could cause the dry coughing but now with the lethargy and weight loss, I was thinking lung worms. Any other possibilities I should treat?

Thank you for your help.

 

[NyGoatMom]

Hi and welcome to TGS....I have also heard of goats getting pneumonia with no temp. Could that be possible?

 

[liz]

The dry cough can sometimes happen with weather changes, it could even be an irritation like dusty hay, dry air that causes it. Not always the result of lungworm or pneumonia

I would dose her with a B Complex injection, probiotics and maybe even a warm wet mash made of her feed to entice her to eat, be sure she stays hydrated too, mine enjoy a bucket of hot molasses water when the temps are cold.

 

[toth boer goats]

Welcome to TGS.

Losing weight may be worms or cocci.
Can you get a fecal done? Of course it won't pickup lungworms but, will let you know if she has cocci or other worm issues.

How are her gums and lower eyelid color, is is dark pink, light pink or white?

1cc of Ivomec seems really low dosing, if she is 9 months old and being a nubian, she seems quite small or dosage is way to low.
Ivomec is given at a rate of 1cc per 33lbs.
How much does she weigh?
Treatment of lungworms is given 3x 10 days apart with Ivomec orally.

If she is really small, I really suspect cocci, loss of appetite and dry cough, may be due to lungworms.
If it was wet cough, I'd be inclined to suspect pneumonia starting.

There can be silent pneumonia. it is hard to detect, if you feel she has this, then treatment should be given. Use your best judgement.


Temp is normal, her rumen may be off as well, probiotics and Fortified vit B complex(US) will help, give it for a few days.
Now, if you have to treat her for cocci with corid, do not give fortified vit B complex or thiamine with it, this will stop the corid from working.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

Thank you for the welcome.

I injected the Ivomec, so I did 1cc/40lbs. Is that the correct ratio? If i underdosed could I gave the remainder today or should I just restart with the correct dose?

I didn't think pneumonia since it is a dry cough and her nose wasn't runny. I guess it could be a possibility though. Temps were pretty low last week with ice, now it's back to 60s and sunshine. It has been very wet so dust is not a problem.

If she is still acting sickly when I get home tonight, I am gonna to have a vet come out for a diagnosis. I will check Famacha and temp again. So far both of those have been normal.

 

[toth boer goats]

Your welcome.

Orally is best for worms, only if her gums/ eyelid color is good.

Injecting Ivomec, is best when a goat is anemic or has mites ect.

So you are saying, the 9 month old Nubian only weighs 40 lbs?

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

She looks so small compared to all the pregnant Nigerians I have running around, so I might have underestimated. I will weigh her tonight.

 

[toth boer goats]

Get a accurate weight, so she isn't under dosed.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

I weighed her last night and she is 50lbs. So, I should have given her 1.5cc orally. Is it ok to give her the correct dose today or is that too soon? Her temp was 104.2 last night and she is not acting any better.

 

[toth boer goats]

I would give her 2cc orally, it is OK to give it now.

Worms and other parasites can bring down a goat, making them very vulnerable to pneumonia.
Make sure she is in a nice warm barn draft free, thick bedding, with plenty of free choice hay. No grain until she is better.
Is she eating?

She is running a fever, start her on antibiotics right away, with a fever she may now have pneumonia. Can you get nuflor RX and Banamine RX?
Banamine helps appetite and brings down fever. Banamine must be used only when needed, should not be given for a long period of time. These are miracle drugs and work really quick if you can get them.
If not what do you have on hand?

I'd give her fortified vit B complex, 6cc's (US)helps with appetite and helps build her thiamine. This can be given daily with no worry of overdosing and is safe.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

She seems to only want the grain feed pellets. She chows down on those but hardly touched the hay. She will not touch the electrolyte water I put out and fought the drench all the way. I injected the penicillin and B complex. I mixed in probiotic powder with her feed because she wouldn't eat the paste. I am not watching her all day because I am at work, so hopefully she is taking in enough water during the day. Temp was still 104. She is not chewing cud at all while I was in with her.

 

[toth boer goats]

If her rumen is off, grain is not good for her now.
The vit B shot will help appetite and put thiamine in her rumen, probiotics is important, especially if she isn't chewing cud.
Do this for 4 days or so until she gets back to normal.

Can you get oat hay or allow her to graze if she will eat that way? I find my goats that love Alfalfa when they are not eating, will eat oat hay, or graze, it is really strange.

Otherwise if you can get Alfalfa pellets, soak them and blend it up, so it can go through a 30 to 60cc syringe easily, you can slowly feed it to her at the back corner of her mouth, with breaks in between. Don't get it into her lungs.
It helps to get feed into her and helps her rumen and keeps her strength up. Don't make to much at a time, just a little. Each batch should be made fresh. Go out a feed every 2 hours, have free choice hay and fresh water for her as well, monitor it so you can see if she has eaten or drank any. Try to offer warm molasses water.
You can syringe feed the powdered probiotics with eletrolytes, if she isn't drinking.

How much Pen did you give?

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

She was chewing cud this morning but still had a cough when she started moving around. She seems to be grazing with the herd. I will try to find some oat hay. I put out free choice Coastal during the ice storm last week because they weren't going out to graze at all for a couple days. I plan on maintaining the free choice hay through the winter. I did open up another acre that had never been grazed this week so they are mostly on that side all day since the weather is back to the 60s.

I gave her 2cc of penicillin, 6cc of B complex, and dry probiotics on her feed. I try to keep her in a seperate pen in the barn when I get home but her sister will jump the five foot fence to be with her, so it is hard to gauge exactly what she has drank and eaten overnight with her sister being in the pen too.

 

[toth boer goats]

PenG - 1cc per 25lbs, if she is 50lbs that is correct give for 5 days minimum or more if needed.

Glad she is grazing, that is a plus.

6cc's will help with appetite and her rumen, keep that going until she gets eating good. Probiotics too

Oh well, go ahead and put her sister with her. But try to peak on her to see if she is eating on her own (the hay).
Have plenty in there so the sister can't eat every bite before she gets to it. The little bit that she eats, is better than none.
I hope the oat hay works. Sounds like the sister love her sister.

Keep us updated.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

She is eating really well tonight. Both hay and pellets. I picked up some alfalfa pellets and tried those with her. I mixed in a little of the feed pellets she is used to with them and she picked those out and looked up for more. For some reason they all go crazy for those pellets. I bought the whole herd and they were living off that feed and not much else, so I guess that's why.

Anyway, she seems to be doing a little better. She is hanging with the others fighting for food instead of standing in the corner, so her energy is up. I will keep you posted.

 

[toth boer goats]

Good to hear.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

She has had a normal temp the past two nights. She is still scrawny looking and has more of a wet cough now. Should I keep giving her the penicillin until her cough is gone?

 

[ksalvagno]

I would do at least 7 days of the Penicillin and reassess at the 7th day depending on how she is doing.

 

[BlueRibbonHill]

Still a cough once in awhile and not as bad. I think tonight will be her last shot of penicillin. I can watch her all day tomorrow and make sure she is good to go.

Thanks for your help!

 

[toth boer goats]

Good to hear.

I agree, keep an eye on her.