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I've got a Saanen buckling who has had problems since he was five days old - I've posted in the 911 section. Rex has been kind enough to encourage me through two rounds of SEVERE bleeding from his horn disbudding burn. He's recovered, eating well, had a round of Pen G to ward off infection after his second bleed and recently completed a round of Sulmet for cocci. A few days ago he finally dropped the scabs from disbudding, although there was some very minor seeping on the side which had bled.
This afternoon I got home and found he had suddenly developed a lump the size of a marble on his lip and a lump larger than an egg on his head - both on the same side of his face as his bleeds. Another sudden trip to the only goat vet in the area revealed that he has awful abscesses. It looks like infection started from the horn site and traveled under the skin. The vet said it isn't my imagination, these things really can come up that size in only a few hours.
Soooo.... He's staying overnight to have the abscesses lanced and drains inserted and start a round of serious antibiotics. He is from a herd tested for CAE, CL, and Johnnes, but I told the vet that if when she lances the lumps she feels there is any risk at all of CL, to put him down. She doesn't think so - we stuck a needle into the large lump and immediately got a gush of gooey liquid pus, not cheesy (caseous) at all.
I'm pretty discouraged. When - and how - do you decide that a kid isn't going to grow up to be a good packgoat? He's much smaller than the other three bucklings, perhaps 2/3 or 3/4 their weight. He just isn't as robust as the others. The vet also commented that he seems underdeveloped for his age. If he were clearly dying it would be much easier to decide, of course. And if he were intended to be purely a companion pet, it wouldn't matter how small he was. He's already cost more in vet bills, first aid, stress and worry than all the others combined. How do other people decide? When do you quit?
This afternoon I got home and found he had suddenly developed a lump the size of a marble on his lip and a lump larger than an egg on his head - both on the same side of his face as his bleeds. Another sudden trip to the only goat vet in the area revealed that he has awful abscesses. It looks like infection started from the horn site and traveled under the skin. The vet said it isn't my imagination, these things really can come up that size in only a few hours.
Soooo.... He's staying overnight to have the abscesses lanced and drains inserted and start a round of serious antibiotics. He is from a herd tested for CAE, CL, and Johnnes, but I told the vet that if when she lances the lumps she feels there is any risk at all of CL, to put him down. She doesn't think so - we stuck a needle into the large lump and immediately got a gush of gooey liquid pus, not cheesy (caseous) at all.
I'm pretty discouraged. When - and how - do you decide that a kid isn't going to grow up to be a good packgoat? He's much smaller than the other three bucklings, perhaps 2/3 or 3/4 their weight. He just isn't as robust as the others. The vet also commented that he seems underdeveloped for his age. If he were clearly dying it would be much easier to decide, of course. And if he were intended to be purely a companion pet, it wouldn't matter how small he was. He's already cost more in vet bills, first aid, stress and worry than all the others combined. How do other people decide? When do you quit?
