Very worried over sick goats Log Out | Topics | Search
Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

GoatWorld 411 & 911 » Goat 911 Archives » Very worried over sick goats « Previous Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Maggie Leman
Moderator
Username: maggieleman

Post Number: 227
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 71.111.216.141

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Monday, January 02, 2006 - 04:42 pm:   

Not doubting you but have you actually weighed them? I was recently shocked to find out one of my not very big does weighed 92 pounds (okay she was pregnant but it was only one kid!) and one of my bucks goes 115 pounds. They aren't especially big for pygmies.

Try this formula, measure in inches the heartgirth (around the body just behind the front legs), measure the length of the body from the point of the shoulder at the fron of the body to the base of the tail. Then multiply heartgirth x heartgirth x length of body and divide by 300. This is amazingly accurate. Just want to be sure you are giving an adequate dose. Won't hurt to give an extra cc to be sure....
Maggie Leman
Goat 911 Capri Medic
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 152.163.100.138

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Monday, January 02, 2006 - 04:32 pm:   

I will give them a probiotic. My goats are small they only weigh about 30 for my buck and maybe 40lbs for my doe. Should I still increase the penicilin??
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Maggie Leman
Moderator
Username: maggieleman

Post Number: 226
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 71.111.216.141

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Monday, January 02, 2006 - 04:26 pm:   

Yes antibiotic treatment can cause loose stools. Any antibiotic treatment can affect the rumen microbes causing stool changes. I often give a probiotic or a couple of tablespoons of yogurt when giving antibiotics to help replenish the intestinal microbes. You may be underdosing the penicillin, I have 8 month old pygmies that weigh 30 to 40 pounds. Giving 2 cc of penicillin is only enough for a 30 to 40 pounds goat. It is perfectly safe to give 2 to 3 5 times this amount. Current recommendations for cattle is 1 cc per 10 pounds (for procaine Pen-G), doses for other ruminants is most often taken from the dose recommended for cattle. Be sure to give enough. I usually give 6 month old pygmies about 3 cc and adults anywhere from 5 to 6 cc twice a day.
Maggie Leman
Goat 911 Capri Medic
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 152.163.100.138

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Monday, January 02, 2006 - 04:13 pm:   

I have on last question their eyes seem to be clearing up now since I started the penicilin, however now they are starting to have lose stools. Could the penicilin be causing this??? I have been giving them 2cc twice a day.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Maggie Leman
Moderator
Username: maggieleman

Post Number: 218
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 71.111.216.141

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 07:22 pm:   

Do they get any kind of mineral supplement? A loose mineral works best for goats. It needs to be for goats, not sheep and goats. Sheep can't take much copper and goats need quite a bit. If you can't get a good one for goats look for a beef cattle loose mineral that has 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus, 900 to 1200 ppm copper and 3000 ppm zinc.

Goats should always have hay and forage as the main part of their diet, grain should be thought of as a supplemental feed. I feed mine about 1 cup twice a day about what they can clean up in 5 minutes or less. I have raised pygmies for nearly 15 years.
Maggie Leman
Goat 911 Capri Medic
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 152.163.100.138

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 05:58 pm:   

My first goat had more of the symptoms of polio or listeriosis she passed already. My current two are nigerian dwarf goats. They only have the eye discharge right now no nasal discharge or anything. I do have penicilin I will go ahead and start that right away. I will also phone the vet on Monday and see if I can get the naxcel. I am hoping they wont get as bad as my first goat was. I was wondering if the eye discharge was something else than everything else my first goat had. I just switched their diet as well. They were mostly getting a sweet feed and I have switched them to mainly orchard grass. Sweet feed as a snack more than their main food. Goats are new to me so I am still learning but I was very upset when I lost my goat this past Tues.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Pam Martin (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 216.79.251.205

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 02:07 pm:   

I'm sure Maggie will get back to you but in the meantime according to the information in front of me, you are dealing with listeriosis...classic symptoms. My info says treat with Procaine Penicillin every 6 hours for 3 to 5 days and then daily for an additional 7 days. Hope things go well there. 1 cc per 15 lb. subcutaneously.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Maggie Leman
Moderator
Username: maggieleman

Post Number: 217
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 71.111.216.141

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 02:04 pm:   

Sounds like two different problems but one could have led to the other.

The eye and nose discharge sounds like pasteurella pneumonia. Are they breathing faster? do they tend to stand with their head hanging rather than lay down ? Do they have a fever of 104 to 106? It is pretty common for a stressed goat to get pasteurella first and pass it to the rest of herd a week or two later. Check their temperature if you can.

Giving oral antibiotics really dosesn't work well with ruminants. Terramycin is oxytetracycline and shouldn't be given to adult ruminants as it kills the rumen and intestinal microbes. Other oral antibiotics either greatly upset the rumen microbes (this could have caused the first goat's neurological symptoms...) or the same microbes just digest it as just another source of protein. Terramycin is usually used for digestive problems in pigs.

You can use penicillin, oxytetracycline or tylosin to treat pasteurella pneumonia, but I prefer to use Naxcel. The first three are available over the counter, the Naxcel is only through a vet. First be sure to keep the penicillin in the fridge, if you leave it out even for a couple of hours it loses potency. The dose for penicillin is 1 cc per 15 to 20 pounds by SQ injection twice a day for at least 5 days. The dose for oxytetracycline (LA 200, do not use this with penicillin they cancel each other out) is 1 cc per 30 pounds once a day by SQ injection for at least 5 days. The dose for tylosin (Tylan 200) is 1 cc per 20 pounds by SQ injection for at least 5 days. The dose for Naxcel is 1 cc per 50 pounds twice a day by SQ injection for at least 5 days. It is okay to start with penicillin and switch to Naxcel if and when you can get it. Giving banamine at 0.1 cc per 10 pounds once or twice a day will bring down the fever and make the goats feel better. If you can't get banamine you can use Liquid Children's Motrin at 1 cc per 10 pounds every 4 to 6 hours for fever and pain relief.

The drooling, paralysed on one side, falling down could have been listeria or polio. Listeria, by the time these symptoms start has a very poor outcome even with treatment. Listeria requirs both thiamin and antibiotics, both in fairly high doses. For polio The ONLY effective treatment is thiamin in adequate doses early enough in the course of the disease to reverse the symptoms and support the goat long enough for the rumen microbes to begin manufacturing it again. When using B Vitamins (like B Complex injectable) to treat either polio or listeria you have to look for the content of vitamin B1 (thiamin) and dose according to that as it is the vitamin that is needed. The others will be eliminated in the urine. The dose for using thiamin when treating both listeria and polio is 5 mg/pound. For the first 24 hours you need to give it every 4 to 6 hours then you can cut back to 2 to 3 times a day for 5 to 7 days. Penicillin isn't needed when treating polio, but as it is sometimes hard to tell polio from listeria so most people treat for both by adding penicillin at 1 cc per 15 to 20 pounds on the same schedule as the thiamin. You can get Fortified B Complex which has 100 mg/ml of thiamin over the counter. Straight thiamin is by prescription only.

Start treating now for pneumonia with the penicillin.
Maggie Leman
Goat 911 Capri Medic
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 205.188.116.198

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 01:23 pm:   

I posted last week that I had a very sick DOE she sadly passed away still not sure exactly what it was. Now my other two goats have started having runny eyes yellow and green stuff coming out of their eye and than it crusts over this is how it all started with my other goat. I bought some powed terramyacin? They were out of the injection but I also bought a new bottle of penicilin. I was wondering which I should give them I dont want the same thing happening to them as my other one eventually started drooling and staggering and became paralyzed on one side and than she passed away we gave her penicilin and vitamin b shots. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Topics | Last Day | Last Week | Tree View | Search | User List | Help/Instructions | Program Credits Administration