Last night when I went out to put everyone away for the night, Iris was coughing on and off. None of my goats have ever had problems with coughing except for one doe in 2011 and that was only for a single day. This morning Iris's cough was worse and non-stop with sneezing in between each couple of coughs. I gave her 5g of Probios and her coughing immediately subsided, with only a cough or two every 10 minutes or so.
I checked her eyelids yesterday and they were 3-4 on the FAMACHA chart so I dewormed her with Safeguard. Last time she was dewormed was 2-4-12 with Positive Pellet, and she was given COWP 11-24-12. Could it be lungworms? Should I dose her with Ivermectin or Levamisole? She is pregnant but not in milk as this is her first freshening.
Back to the cough... no changes have been made in her environment. I did just open a new bale of hay yesterday but it's the same hay I have always fed from the same hay man I have always gotten it from and it doesn't seen dusty at all. She is only kept in the barn at night and it is very well ventilated so I don't think it could be pneumonia.
So, does this sound like a case of lungworms?
Replies
Yes, she is eating and acting normally. I listened to her throat and breathing and it does sound clear - no rattling. I was just out there for 15 minutes with them and she didn't cough the whole time so I'm happy about that. I'll see how she sounds tomorrow. She just had/has me worried because it was so frequent this morning and my goats have never coughed consistently. Only when they get the occasional piece of food stuck in their throat.
If that's the only time you saw her coughing, it might be premature to consider that she's sick. All sorts of normal things can cause a goat to cough. Does she have a fever? Is she eating and acting normally? Do you hear any rattling when you put your ear up to her throat just above her brisket? If you have a stethescope, have you listened to her lungs?