I have two month old kids that I noticed this morning have runny noses. One of them the snot is green the other is not. They are acting normal. Running playing and eating. Took there temp and it is normal one temp is 102.8 and the other kids temp is 103.3. Other then keeping watch on them to make sure they do not get sicker is there anything else I can do to help them get over this cold? I do have to junior does with runny noses and coughs and have started them on Biomycien. I know that these kids are to young to get biomycin but should I give them penicilin? Any advice would be greatly appricitaed.
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It sounds like that person is just repeating the old myth that you can diagnose something based upon color of nasal discharge. If you google that topic, you will find that all of the stuff written by doctors or on medical sites says that it is a myth.
Melissa Johnson said:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12480
Caprice Acres post 8/2/2011
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I can probably find the link - it was a goat forum site. In 3 years, that was the first time my goats had ever been sick. They have the same conditions as they have always had. It really threw me for a loop!
yes, that is what the person at the farm store said also - about the strains.... my barn leaks on one side - I fight it with plastic as a barrier. ;/ I keep the soiled bedding picked up with fresh, dry - and there is good ventilation, however, damp is damp. They do have one side that doesnt leak - so I keep their "sleeping bales" there so they are not so drawn to the damp side. Old barn, but thank God it is still standing.
On vaccinating for pneumonia -- there is a dizzying number of causes for respiratory infections in goats, and the vaccine only covers a couple, so it's not recommended unless you have a history of those types of pneumonia in your herd. Even if you vaccinate for those specific types of pneumonia, you still need to take other preventative measures, such as making sure your goats have fresh air in the barn to protect them from poor air quality, which could predispose them to getting one of the other respiratory infections.
I get email notification when responses go up, and I wanted to respond to something you put in your post before you edited it -- and that was that your vet said that Biomycin doesn't work well for pneumonia. The thing about the various brands of oxytetracycline and penicillin is that they're available over the counter, so far too many people will give their goats a shot of an antibiotic "just to be safe" when they see anything odd. A single dose of antibiotic doesn't kill much, but it does create antibiotic-resistant bugs in the goat. That's why the common drugs don't work for some people and they have to get prescription antibiotics from the vet when something serious happens. If a goat really has pneumonia, you should continue treating for two days after symptoms disappear; and if a drug is going to work, you will see improvement within a day or two. No improvement by then, and you either need to switch antibiotics or at least stop giving what you're giving. Pneumonia can also be caused by viruses, which antibiotics do nothing for.
Do you have the source that said green snot is a bacterial infection in goats? I know this is an old myth in humans and am wondering if someone is just perpetuating the same thing with goats.
I just read green snot and coughing was a very good indication of pneumonia or a bacterial infection. I had a run with pneumonia in the early summer here. I had two runs of dosing with Naxcel - (the doc didnt weigh the goat, guessed at her weight and underdosed) - the second time along with the Naxcel the Doc had me dose her with organic iodine powder - a natural expectorant. I had intended to vacinate for pneumonia this fall but never did.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I know this is a really old post, but I'm working on the health section of my goat book, and I was just reading in a veterinary book that a runny nose in kids can happen after they are disbudded. I was just wondering if these two little ones got a runny nose shortly after being disbudded. It can also be caused by a tooth problem, horn injury, or facial fracture ... basically anything that causes stress to a bone that is close to the sinuses.
However, since you had two other does with runny noses also, it leads me back to my original idea, which was dust from hay or perhaps living on a gravel road. Diseases of the Goat by John Matthews says, "Exposure to dusty conditions or moldy feed may result in an allergic alveolitis with a chronic non-productive cough in older goats."
Goats don't get a cold like people do. Usually a runny nose is related to something like dusty hay. If they sneeze a lot when they're eating, that could be the problem. Vet RX is a natural decongestant that would help them breathe easier. You just dab a little on their nose.