I noticed last night that there was a wasp nest inside of something we have hanging on the outside wall of the goat pen we have our mamma's and babies in. Directly underneath the hanging structure, we have a covered pail we use to put the goat feed in. We had let our girls roam a little bit in the yard last night and saw that the one that happened to climb on the covered feed pail. I went over to get her down and that is when I saw the wasp nest. We got rid of the wasps and the nest, but the goat must have gotten stung, because I noticed this afternoon, the area around her eye is all swollen. Is there something that I should be putting on this? Because it is around her eye, I am afraid to use just anything.
I've used Benadryl liquid (antihistimine) on my goats for respiratory allergies and other symptoms that included inflammation with good results at the children's dosage. Another breeder/friend in the southwestern desert uses it frequently for fire ant bites successfully. If you're worried about the swelling and an allergic reaction, give it a try. Mine love the taste and will suck it right out of a syringe, which makes it easy to give as well.
If she didn't have any allergic reaction from it by this time she will probably be fine. I usually don't do anything unless they are very uncomfortable. I use meat tenderizer paste just like I do on the humans for stings.
I was talking to my girls (goats of course) over the gate, and you guessed it, a wasp stung my finger. Them and their little party pad are gone. But I learned on a homesteading forum about squeezing it. I squeezed it as hard as I could, trying to force blood out of the hole, while I went to the house and had my daughter pour me a drink and give me two benadryl. I waited 30 minutes like the person said - sitting down calmly with my hand below my heart and squeezing it and it was a miracle! No pain at all! Though it was swollen some, it never hurt!
GoatWorld Note: I am currently researching the possibility of certain goats exhibiting an allergic reaction to a bee or a wasp sting. While these stings are perhaps the most common, there are other types of stings as well and these too will be the focus of further research. In particular there is an insect that very much resembles a wasp only it is solid black in color and is more common in the night time than in the day. It is the type of insect that flails at a porch light - called an Assassin Bug. I've had the misfortune of being stung by one of these pests and from my experience and from what I have read, the sting of an Assassin Bug is ten times more painful and powerful than a wasp. I often notice our goats acting giddy at night and I think it may be Assassin Bugs that are responsible.
|