Ok- I have put a call into the vet and am waiting for a return call. One of the older goats still has the golf ball size- what I assume is an abscess. I also found scour in the house- again. This time it had tiny (1-2 mm) white- I assume- worms separate and in clumps. I just treated the little guy- again with dewormer on Saturday- so I am not sure if it is him again.
Question- I have only owned goats for about a month and have spent so much time and money on keeping them healthy. Is this normal? I am beginning to wonder if having goats is for me...
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I'm glad the little guy is doing better. It sounds like you're deworming on a schedule, and although that seems to work for horses, it really is not a good idea for goats and sheep. A lot of research has been done on this in the past few years, and most vets are unaware of the new recommendations. Wormcontrol.org has a lot of good info on parasites, how to know when you have a parasite problem, and the use of dewormers.
I hope things calm down now and you're able to enjoy your goats!
Deborah
Crystal Swindell said:
As a precaution with the worms, I did deworm all of the goats, since the older boys were close to due anyway. We were thinking that with all of the rain that we had, that maybe the worms came up from the soil, since we did not find any in the barn. All is well there now. We have some cold weather here, but no snow. What do you do with your goats in all of this snow? The goats are not happy with the cold, windy weather. I was hoping for some weather back in the 60s, but it does not look like we will get there this week.
I spoke with the vet. Since the abcess was localized, and his appetite and demeanor were fine, the vet said that I could administer the dimethox- since it was an antibiotic, and if I saw no improvement to bring him in after 3 days. I did a 5 day, 3 cc/ day dosage. After the 2nd day, the abcess burst on its own, with no odor in the drainage. Beasley is doing so much better now. We are continuing to spray the area with an antibacterial treatment, to prevent reinfection.
As a precaution with the worms, I did deworm all of the goats, since the older boys were close to due anyway. We were thinking that with all of the rain that we had, that maybe the worms came up from the soil, since we did not find any in the barn. All is well there now.
We have some cold weather here, but no snow. What do you do with your goats in all of this snow? The goats are not happy with the cold, windy weather. I was hoping for some weather back in the 60s, but it does not look like we will get there this week.
How's it going with the boys Crystal? What did the vet say about the abscess?
I hate it that you had such a rough start with being a new goat farmer. The only thing I can say is it puts you on a fast learning curve. you eventually have to learn it all, sooner or later.
I also had a thought, since you just treated Grover on Saturday then it could have been all the worms passing. I saw that once before, I knew a goat had worms and after a treatment, I saw the worms that passed.
Crystal, on my first kidding, the doe had to have ceasarian because the kid was too big to pass thru. 95 percent of kiddings are suppose to come easy!! so lol.
You are missing all the snow we are getting here in the foothills, up to about 6 inches so far!
You have had a harder than normal time of it. A lot of people get goats and don't go through any of this! Normally people don't have problems like this if they get goats from a breeder, which is why I don't recommend getting goats from the sale barn. Unfortunately, not all breeders are created equal.
If you see white rice-sized worms in your goat's poop, that's tape worms, and the literature says that (as in dogs) tapes need an intermediary host, so the goats probably have or had mites (external parasites). You need a white dewormer to treat tapes -- either a single dose of Valbazen or three doses in three days of Safeguard. Since you only have the three goats, I'd recommend the Safeguard, because you can buy a smaller, cheaper bottle of it -- about $10 and it will last you until it expires with only three kids.
Look through their coats carefully, and if they have external parasites, you'll need to treat those. I usually use Ivomec pour-0n for external parasites, but there are also powders you can use. If you want to try something natural and you have it on hand, diatomaceous earth (DE) should kill external parasites.
As for the diarrhea -- you should be able to figure out who it came from, because his back end should be messy. If not, then it could have just been a one-time thing if someone ate something that didn't agree with him.
Sorry I can't help you with the castration problem. I haven't come across that in my goat life. Let us know what the vet says.
Again, your experience is not normal. Once everyone gets healthy, it should be fun and easy. Goats are much easier pets than dogs.
Replies
I hope things calm down now and you're able to enjoy your goats!
Deborah
Crystal Swindell said:
As a precaution with the worms, I did deworm all of the goats, since the older boys were close to due anyway. We were thinking that with all of the rain that we had, that maybe the worms came up from the soil, since we did not find any in the barn. All is well there now.
We have some cold weather here, but no snow. What do you do with your goats in all of this snow? The goats are not happy with the cold, windy weather. I was hoping for some weather back in the 60s, but it does not look like we will get there this week.
I hate it that you had such a rough start with being a new goat farmer. The only thing I can say is it puts you on a fast learning curve. you eventually have to learn it all, sooner or later.
I also had a thought, since you just treated Grover on Saturday then it could have been all the worms passing. I saw that once before, I knew a goat had worms and after a treatment, I saw the worms that passed.
Crystal, on my first kidding, the doe had to have ceasarian because the kid was too big to pass thru. 95 percent of kiddings are suppose to come easy!! so lol.
You are missing all the snow we are getting here in the foothills, up to about 6 inches so far!
You have had a harder than normal time of it. A lot of people get goats and don't go through any of this! Normally people don't have problems like this if they get goats from a breeder, which is why I don't recommend getting goats from the sale barn. Unfortunately, not all breeders are created equal.
If you see white rice-sized worms in your goat's poop, that's tape worms, and the literature says that (as in dogs) tapes need an intermediary host, so the goats probably have or had mites (external parasites). You need a white dewormer to treat tapes -- either a single dose of Valbazen or three doses in three days of Safeguard. Since you only have the three goats, I'd recommend the Safeguard, because you can buy a smaller, cheaper bottle of it -- about $10 and it will last you until it expires with only three kids.
Look through their coats carefully, and if they have external parasites, you'll need to treat those. I usually use Ivomec pour-0n for external parasites, but there are also powders you can use. If you want to try something natural and you have it on hand, diatomaceous earth (DE) should kill external parasites.
As for the diarrhea -- you should be able to figure out who it came from, because his back end should be messy. If not, then it could have just been a one-time thing if someone ate something that didn't agree with him.
Sorry I can't help you with the castration problem. I haven't come across that in my goat life. Let us know what the vet says.
Again, your experience is not normal. Once everyone gets healthy, it should be fun and easy. Goats are much easier pets than dogs.
Best wishes,
Deborah