One of our little does is really starting to worry me. Shes always been the one that gets picked on by the herd. She is very small for her age, but we also have another small sibling that is a month older and only 5 pounds heavier, but is a little bruiser. Lately the doe seems to be hanging back even more. She just always looks cold and uncomfortable when I look at her out in the field, her back hunched up and tail tucked. Or she will just lay down and graze. The last couple nights I have been locking them all in the barn at night to make sure shes getting enough food, her in her own little stall. This morning when I went out to feed she had barely even touched the pellets I gave her last night. She picked at some this morning out of my hand, but shes just not ravenous like the other goats. It didn't appear that she ate much of her hay either. Do you think she could have a worm problem? or something else? I checked her eyelids and the color seems just fine. I am going to the vets office later today and could take a fecal sample. What else can I do?
Have you taken her temp? Give her some vitamin B's, even if it is in human pill form.....will help her appetite......what does her eye membranes look like, what color? Should be very pink to red. Is she pooping and peeing normally? Sorry, I just reread where you did check her eyes.....oops! Maybe offer her some baking soda, really warm water if her temp is low.....you could even add some molasses to it.
I agree.... get her temp.... if she is running a fever.... then start her on antibiotics.... she could have pneumonia.... normal temp is 101.5 to 103.5 ....I would get a fecal on her... just to be sure ...she doesn't have worms or cocci... to cover those bases...... If her temp is normal...stop any grain....give her some probiotic paste... as well as... baking soda....for 3 days... Vit B complex... is a good shot to give.... to boost appetite... If she is sub.... get her temp up .....put her in a warm stall....don't let her out in the cold weather if she is cold.... if you have a sweater or a heat lamp... I would use it... if she is sub..... depending on how sub she is ....you may have to give the mix of ...Strong Black Coffee, Whiskey, and Karo Syrup. mix equal parts together. Mix well ... warmed...not to hot... How old is she?
Checked her membranes again in better light, they are medium pink. Not as dark as I'd like, but not real pale anemic looking either. Her temp is a little high, 104. Shes out grazing fine, but her tail stick tucked down, just not as energetic as she should be. She is 7 1/2 months.
Forgot to ad, her poop piles from last night were half normal looking, and then half are clumped up together. This is the first time I've noticed them all clumped up and stuck together.
Depending on the weather where you are, I'd say that her temp is high, I would start her on antibiotics and have a fecal run ASAP, she's at prime age for coccidia, even if she's not showing the usual sign of diarhea, I would still have her checked for an overload. Keep her warm and in a draft free area, with a fever, she will chill quickly.
Took a fecal with me to the vet, she has a really heavy load of stomach worms. As well as a small count of tapeworms and coccidia. So now we are deworming everyone, as well as treating the 3 does from that farm for anemia. We haven't even had these does for less than a month, and couldn't regret buying them anymore You live and learn right?
So happy that you got the fecal done quick and now you know what your dealing with......hope she is feeling better soon!
The stress of going to a new home will bring on a worm overload and coccidia faster than you can imagine. A goat can go from a clean fecal sample to a worm overload in 3 weeks when stressed or exposed to a more resistant strain of worms. Always worm and treat for coccidia when bringing home new goats. It's always a good precaution to take both for the health of your new goats and for the health of your existing herd. What did the vet tell you to worm with and what dosage did he tell you to use? Just checking because I know in my area the vets NEVER give an appropriate dosage for goats. :doh:
So what dewormer did the vet have you start them on? I am so glad that you got this done, what are you going to do for the anemia problem? You know Red cell works great.
I am glad ...you took my advice and did a fecal..... now ....you can get your goats well again.... and know exactly what it is... and how to treat... :wink: What are you using to treat them and at what dosage....
The vet had given us Valbuzen. The bottle said 44cc/100pounds, but after checking pfizers site, it said the effective dose is 1cc/10pounds. So thats what I gave them. I have not done the 2 older girls or Homer yet, Homer was castrated today. And the girls may possibly be bred to him, so I can't give them the valbuzen, of course I wasn't thinking when at the vet. They are currently seperated from the other 6 goats, but the 3 wormy girls had been in that paddock when they came. What should I be asking for for the 2 bred does? I honestly cannot remember what the medicine is called for the anemia :chin: The vet's label appears to say "equnim". Does that sound familar to anyone? 6cc/100 pound. He said only to give that to the 3 young girls for 2-3 weeks. And Sage (the doeling I was worried about) is also getting Energy-Malt 30cc every 12 hours, and Double "A" solution 60cc every 12 hours. It seems like an aweful lot to give though?? If the goats are dewormed, but then just go back out on the same pasture are they just going to get re-infested? I don't have a pasture to rotate them onto at the moment. I do keep the barn very clean, and rake up the area around the barns every 2 or 3 days, but theres still going to be worm eggs out in the grass right? I do have them in the barn at the moment, should they be in there for 48 hrs or doesn't it matter as we obviously already have a worm problem? Sorry for all the dumb questions, we are just still new to all this. We only had the 2 older does for the last year before getting the new goats, so weren't really running into many issues and just reading books and articles is not the same as experiencing these things!
Good for you getting on it right away! Any of your mectins, Ivermectin Noromectin etc is safe for preg does. You can get it from the feed store. The clumped up berries if they were on the hard side were probably because she hadnt been drinking enough water. I dont know about parasites in pasture...I think they dont go more than 3 or 4" up the plants. What part of the country are you? A good freeze will kill everything till it warms up. These are not dumb questions at all & keep up the good work!
We are in eastern Pa. Everything has been freezin up at night here, I think its supposed to be 17 degrees tonight. Theres not much as far as grass in the pasture at the moment, just patches here and there. I had to use it for horses all fall, they are really hard at the pastures.
You'll be fine, the way the temps have been lately, I don't think you need to worry about re infection. And Nancy is right...ivermectin is safe for pregnant does, I use the ivermectin horse paste available at Tractor Supply. Doseage is according to the goats tripled weight and it does need to be repeated in 10 days. Valbazen is good for most worms including tapeworms. As far as anemia...I've never had the need to use it but many here have used Red Cell with success. TSC carries alot of what we use on goats...a good many are made for horses but they work with goats. If you choose to use the horse paste...get a couple 3 cc syringes too, I did alot of research to get accurate dosing so I'm confident that these work, I use the same dosing for my own when needed. 1cc of paste will worm 208lbs.....If you have a doe that weighs 100lbs, she'll need a dose for 300lbs.
Sage had really perked up this morning. She ran right out with the other goats this morning, her tail up high. I can see her out the window at the moment pigging out at the hay feeder with the other goats. Amazing how fast they can turn around.
So happy to hear Sage is doing so well, they can go up or down sooooo fast......right before your eyes.
I think I spoke too soon about Sage feeling better. She seemed to be doing good in the am, then shes gone downhill again. She barely ate any hay last night. Shes been grazing on and off in the pasture for a couple minutes at the time, then just stands there or lays down with her neck stretched out. Her temp is 104.5. Even the other goats are acting differently do her, the one that is normally most tormenting to her just keeps coming over and sniffing her back and has been sticking pretty close to her. The rest or just completely ignoring here, when they'd normally be chasing her around. We called the vet, he suspects she has a secondary infection or pneumonia? He put out some antibiotics that my husband is going down to pick up. I'm a little dissapointed he wouldnt' just come take a look at her.
