Do goats get ear infections like dogs? My doe sometimes shakes her head like the dogs do when their ears are bothering them. I don't think that's really it, but she has been itchy, so I'm thinking allergies. I treated her for worms and lice when we got her (vet check, and he gave her something to treat both that was safe for a pregnant goat). A few weeks later her eyes were watery. The skin around them is still pink, as well as under her coat around her eyes. I treated her for pink eye, but I don't think that's it, either. She has no cloudiness, just itchy skin. No flakes, it seems more like an allergy (and we do have a ton of that pine pollen right now). If she has allergies, do goats get Benadryl?
I don't want to overdo it, but I want her to be healthy and comfortable at the same time. I'm confused though, because I read somewhere that goats don't get allergies (makes no sense to me).
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Kimberly Martin said:
Kimberly Martin said:
Thank you Deborah!
When her eyes water, she's been trying to rub her face on stumps, walls, me, etc. She doesn't have any flakes, and the feed she's on supposedly addresses all of their nutritional needs. Her eyes are normal otherwise (red eyelid, gold eyes, whites of the eyes are white..well a bit bloodshot at times). Maybe it is the duct, or just dust. We've had a rather windy March and April. She's better today, she doesn't look like someone who has been crying. I just feel bad for her, being huge and then miserable with the eyes, too.
Goats can get ear mites, but if she's not shaking her head frequently, it could just be that a piece of hay got in there or something.
When a goat gets pink eye, their eyeball actually turns blue. Weird, I know, but that's how it manifests in goats. If it's really bad, it turns completely white, and they're blind, although that's usually temporary. Watery eyes probably just means there is dust getting in her eyes. I've even heard of a blocked tear duct. You WANT their eyelid to be bright red. If it's pale, they're anemic.
I'm not sure what you mean by itchy skin. Is she scratching? If she has flaky skin, that's probably a vitamin deficiency -- zinc or vitamin A.
Humans have a lot of health problems that don't exist in livestock, and allergies is one of them. It's all about the immune system, and the immune system in livestock never stops amazing me. Humans look so utterly wimpy compared to them, but I think it has a lot to do with our "modern" life, diet, lack of exercise, etc.
Thanks Kare!
Maybe the headshake is just normal, but something is going on with her eyes at least. She looks like people do when they've been crying, but she's itchy on her head (but no lice, etc.)