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Help/suggestions needed

2060 Views 53 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  toth boer goats
She has already seen a vet. I am hoping someone may have some ideas of natural or home remedies that could help our little doe.
We already lost her sister, probably to pneumonia, and do not want to lose her. We have a small family farm with limited resources. We love our goats but will not pay more than the whole herd is worth to save one baby. I do not want to come across as uncaring and I know most of you know we care deeply. But they are livestock, not pets; and we will not spend any amount to save one kid.

Snow White was doing fine leaping about and starting to hold her own running with the herd. She is 4 weeks old, weighs 12 pounds and is dam raised. She has had selenium and VitE since birth. She is only nibbling grass and hay and has not had any grain or anything.

On Monday we noticed she was a bit stiff and congested. Her temp was 104.5. We called around but it was late in the afternoon and no vets that see goats were even available; so, we were on our own to get her through the night. All we had was expired PenG and expired B1 but, out of desperation, we administered that. She made it through the night and in the morning her temp was 103.2. She was still nursing and peeing. We were able to get an appointment with a vet over half an hour away (so stressful car ride for a sick baby) and since we were wanting to establish a relationship to get meds to have on hand anyway, we took her.

The woman was totally unwilling to give us anything to take home and told us that any sick goats had to be brought in. So, $157 later she had been given a shot of Banamine IV and an injection of Nuflor. She said it was an upper respiratory infection and not pneumonia yet. We were told if she was not better by Friday to bring her back in. (To the tune of another $157. Or more.) That would just about exceed the value of this whole herd.

Yesterday we were cautiously optimistic as she seemed to be improving. Today she seems less steady on her feet, is doing more star gazing, and is stiffer in the hind legs. She is holding steady at 12 pounds and is nursing, nibbling and peeing. Only small bits of poop. She is laying around more rather than following Mom. Her temp is 103. I am trying to answer the questions that I know you all will ask.

We bought her mother pregnant from a questionable herd but had hoped to help them improve. They were definitely mineral deficient but they have been given SelE and a mineral block and have had loose minerals for over a week now. The mama with babies that were born there are doing fine.

The vet did not ask us any questions about her and seemed annoyed when we offered any information like we were supposed to shut up and let her do her job. She was very young.

We even called around to other vets but there is only 1 who sees goats and she is booked 2 weeks out for new clients. So I do not know if we will ever get to establish a working relationship with one and will be totally on our own again with no access to drugs anymore.

If anyone within a hundred miles or so from Central San Joaquin Valley has a vet that works with them we would be willing to make a couple of hour drive just to get someone to prescribe for us. At this point, a goat who gets sick after hours or on the weekend is a dead goat.

Thank you all so much in advance for reading this long post even if it turns out there is nothing more we can do at this point.
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So sorry you are going through this!
If you search under oregano as natural antibiotic, I have seen some people use it for that with success. But it is not my personal experience.
I hope she makes it.
💜
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Ive used VetRx to apply on thier noses, helps clear sinuses. Robitussin for congestion. Theres the 2020 Medicine Cabinet that has all kinds of info for disease, worming, and sickness. Have you looked their?
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I do have some Robitussin but she has had so much done to her. She really resists anything in her mouth but I will try. She has always refused a bottle so I can't sneak drugs in that way. I have some vetrx too.
I will check out Medicine Chest. I am afraid we're going to lose her. The vet would probably want to keep her overnight now. And my experience leads to preparing for another loss.
Our son is familiar with some herbal remedies so we will see what we can do.
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Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in soon.

If you have any human vitamin c powder or tablets you could give her that. Blending up a garlic clove with enough water to make it drenchable could be done multiple times a day. I'd also try drenching electrolytes too, just to be sure she's hydrated. How expired is your PenG? If it was stored well, many drugs are good well beyond their expiration.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. 😔

@happybleats @toth boer goats @ksalvagno @GoofyGoat
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Shoot, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Can you order Tylan 200 from Jeffers or somewhere? I’d go a head and do high doses of vitamin c and maybe some Robitussin DM .My vets says pen g is good for at least a year over the expiration date. So I would go ahead and use it. Hope she feels better soon!
ug, bloody autocorrect! Edited from Tylenol to Tylan. Thanks @MellonFriend
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We bought it just before they took it off the market. The expiration is 2019. It has been refrigerated the whole time. It did not even have the seal broken as we never needed to use it.
I’d use it personally if it was a last resort since it’s been properly stored and unopened. I’ve used stuff that out of date before. it Might not work as well as fresh though.
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Sovereign Silver (collidial silver). 1 tsp every hour. Cured 3 of my cats with pneumonia. I would give every hour from about 7am to midnight. Done daily till they are better. Then I did do it like 5 times a day for a couple to few days after better.
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Can you order Tylenol 200
I think GG means Tylan 200. ;)
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The vet didn’t give you a weeks worth of Nuflor? That isn’t good vet practice.

Do you know any other people who have cattle or other livestock, who may have antibiotics on hand, you can buy off them, to be able to do a full course?
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We have called everybody we know. My husband even got a number from a lady at the feed store today who has had the same problem with this vet. The number she gave does not treat goats and referred us to a vet 2.5 hours away. Too late in the day now for any help as everyone is closed. We actually contemplated driving to Reno. (I know, that's illegal.) We haven't done it, just thought about it.
I asked the vet about more doses and she said it was long acting and to wait 3 days. We were not impressed with her or the clinic in a number of ways. I do not knew who's rules they are following but she said this is what "they" have to do.
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When I took Tink to my vet. He gave her a shot of Nuflor, sent a syringe with the next dose, that had to be given in 48 hours. And he made sure I knew to do that. He asked for me to call his office once I gave her the dosage. Hes a fantastic vet.
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As long as she is eating and walking, I will not give up on her.
We used to have a wonderful vet near us. He has long since retired and in all likelihood is dead by now. He was very old school and would say things like, "Well now, we don't want to spend $100 on a $50 goat." And he would prescribe accordingly. I do miss those days.
The vet we had for our last herd did not like to prescribe without seeing the goat but would to save a life. He no longer sees goats at all. We had an equine vet who would prescribe for us and said to call on weekends so they could say it was an emergency. The last time we called he said he could no longer do even that over the phone and would not help us cuz, no goats.
I hate feeling so helpless.
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Are you on any Facebook groups? I'm in a couple California goat groups on FB and I know we have many members up in Northern California. I've even bought goats from 2 different women who are also vets in NorCal. Maybe someone on one of the groups could recommend a better vet for next time.

It sucks that we have such poor access to medications here in california. I would continue to use the expired penicillin since it is your only option. I too am sitting on dwindling stockpile of expired meds purchased before they passed the restrictions.
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I think GG means Tylan 200. ;)
Thanks, bloody auto correct!
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Thank you all. We gave her Pen last night. She seemed to be improving and made it through the night. Her weight was down a few ounces and she is having trouble nursing so I syringed her with some of her mom's milk. We also gave her another injection. When I checked on her after breakfast she was resting comfortably and seemed less stressed.
We may have a line on some fresh LA200 but there is no Pen anywhere.
This is the first time I have dealt with upper respiratory/pneumonia issues so I don't know what is normal. Do they usually get stiff? The vet did not address that and made no mention of the things that come to mind like listeria and polio.
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Are you giving her B complex? I'd be giving B complex.
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Thank you all. We gave her Pen last night. She seemed to be improving and made it through the night. Her weight was down a few ounces and she is having trouble nursing so I syringed her with some of her mom's milk. We also gave her another injection. When I checked on her after breakfast she was resting comfortably and seemed less stressed.
We may have a line on some fresh LA200 but there is no Pen anywhere.
This is the first time I have dealt with upper respiratory/pneumonia issues so I don't know what is normal. Do they usually get stiff? The vet did not address that and made no mention of the things that come to mind like listeria and polio.
I know you're having trouble getting meds but maybe the Benadryl is something you have on hand.
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We have done Bcomplex but it is way past expiration. We are picking up LA200 and B today.
The vet had the nerve to call today to "check on your little goat." When my husband told her she was no better she sprightly said we will have to change her antibiotic.
He asked if there was something we could pick and up she said no. He told her straight that we could not put that much money into a $20 goat who our experience tells us is going to die anyway. She said she understood. I was like IF SHE UNDERSTOOD SHE WOULD NOT SIGN HER DEATH WARRANT!!!
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