Hi all. My goats seem to be having colds? Some of them seem to have congested/runny noses, and some are coughing a little. A little, like just a small "cough, cough" once in a while. Otherwise they seem fine, eating and drinking normally from what I can see.
It could be they're sick.
It could be the hay...I'm out of grass hay for a couple of days, so I've been feeding alfalfa from the hay racks. Of course, the leaf is fragile, and "crumbly", and I think probably gets in their eyes, and noses, and is a bit dusty while they're eating it.
Could be our crazy weather, warm and dry one day, cold and wet the next...
I've given them all some power punch, and taken all temps. They range from:
ADULT DOES
101.3
101.4
101.7
101.8
101.9
KIDS
102
102.2
102.5
102.7
103
Do these temps seem normal to you? Are kid temps higher than adult temps? Should I be worried?
I was supposed to be delivering three kids and a yearling doe to their new homes tomorrow, but I've told the buyers what's going on. One of them has opted to wait and see, and I'm waiting to hear from the other one.
What do you all think? Just need some opinions here to help me along...Thanks.
Replies
If you ever have temperatures below 0 when kidding, the does also seem to really like those sweet supplements then.
Deborah, your book can't come out soon enough for me! :) Thanks for sharing your experiences and expertise with us. Too bad I just spent a bunch of $ on both ketonia drench and goatade. It appears I won't be using either of them for anything but ketosis (and I hope not that). :)
You have really put my mind at ease for the night, Deb. One of the people I'm meeting tomorrow still wants to meet and get their goats, so I'm off on a trip in the morning. :)
Goat temps are incredibly variable, so the text books have ranges. I haven't seen any that differentiated between adults and kids, but all of those temps are totally within normal ranges.
As the vet professor at U of I said to me years ago, "I have a hard time getting excited if a goat is eating, drinking, chewing its cud, and walking around." Although there is a long list of respiratory ailments that goats can get (not a cold like people though), they get very sick when they have those illnesses. If you're just seeing a localized reaction, it is probably to something in the environment, especially if it is in every goat.
The interesting thing about PowerPunch and similar products is that there is no mention of them in the vet text books, and I haven't met a vet professors yet who knows what it is. If I ask about using it in a goat that is off, as soon as I tell them it has propylene glycol in it, they say don't. The vet texts just talk about using PG in cases of pregnancy toxemia (ketosis). A couple years ago, I had a buck that was off-feed, and I was giving it to him, and I took him in to U of I, and they ran a bunch of tests, including blood sugar, which came back at way over 200. Goats don't get diabetes, but their bodies just can't deal with a huge influx of pure sugar like we can.
If you want to give some minerals, vitamins, maybe use black strap molasses... and even that sparingly... lol but like you said. It's nice to feel like you're doing SOMETHING!
Oh, wow! I seriously didn't realize that. It sure doesn't specify on the bottle. It says on the bottle to use if for a bunch of stuff, including weather changes, weaning, handling, labor...I thought I was just giving them some extra vitamins/minerals. You know, because a goat mama wants to do SOMEthing! ;) I'll remember that, and thank you. I'm glad those are normal temps. I was actually worried that a couple of them might be low, as I usually see 102 - 104 stated as normal. Thanks again. :) SO, are kid temps higher than adult temps, as it looks from these?
Those are perfectly normal temps. If your hay is dusty, that's probably the problem.
FYI -- PowerPunch is for goats that are off-feed. After seeing what it did to one of my buck's blood sugar a couple years ago, I am much more conservative about using it. It's pure sugar and sends their blood sugar sky high.