Sick Little Goat

I recently purchased a doe and she has been sick since I got her. The breeder transported her to a show she was attending the night before I picked her up and before I got there the next day she had scours from the stress of leaving home and being at a show. The breeder DID give me the option of taking her or not and I chose to take her. Thinking it was just Coccidia brought out from the stress she went through and thinking I could clear it up with little problem. Well I was wrong. She has not improved after doing a Cocci treatment and has actually gotten worse. I think part of the reason contributing to her sickly behavior is she was a liter of six and likely has a weakened immune system because of it. She is small for her age (13 lbs. at 4 months old). And has been through a lot in the last couple weeks with the big move and trying to find her place in a new herd of goats. 

She has had scours the majority of the time that I have had her (a little over two weeks) and recently (within the last few days) developed cold like symptoms (Runny nose and Runny eyes). The last "problem" of hers is she has a very large abdomen. She appears to be bloated all the time (She's not). I have give her a round of Cocci treatment (Sulmet) and she seemed to be improving after that but then went back down hill. I wormed her the day after I got her as well. After much discussion with the breeder I got her from she advised me to put her on a 5 day treatment of Safeguard at the rate of 1cc. per 25# and Biomycin. I started her on both yesterday and haven't seen a whole lot of improvement. I am not surprised though as it has only been a day. I also took her temperature today and it was a high 104.(a number I can't remember, it was above 5 though). After telling the breeder her temp she advised me to give her Banamine, and some electrolytes in case she is dehydrated.  She also wants me to give her Nancys Yogurt for her tummy. She thinks the tummy problem may be from a worm (Whipworm?) Apparently were having some problems with them in this area. 

I think I covered all of her problems and what I am doing to help it. Now I just wanted to hear what you thought about what I am doing and if you have any suggestions. 

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Replies

  • There is no science to back up a five day treatment of Safeguard. It is used for three days to treat tapeworms, but any other intestinal worm should be killed by one treatment. If it did not work, then the worms are resistant to it, and you need to use a different dewormer, such as ivermectin (drench). A big belly is a sure sign of worms.

    I really hope this kid was not dam raised as one of six, but based upon your post, that is what it sounds like. A doe cannot feed six kids, so she is probably severely malnourished, which is why she is so small at four months. I would be unhappy if I had a 2 month old kid at that weight. More on that topic here:
    http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2014/04/how-many-kids-ca...

    Ditto on what Julia said on avoiding the banamine. It will just mask the symptom of fever, so you will not have a true picture of what is going on.

    What drug and dosage did you use for coccidiosis? There are issues with resistance in those drugs, just like antibiotics and dewormers.
  • Since she has a fever, I would suspect she has an infection probably brought on by stress which taxed her immune system. If it were me, I would try antibiotics. Some you can get at the farm store or from your vet. I would also give her probios along with the antibiotics as they will make her tummy even worse. The probios will help sooth her rumen. Banamine is just going to mask the fever and without having a super high fever, I would not use it. The fever helps the body fight the infection.

    Also, getting a fecal would be a good idea just in case she does have a worm load. That way you could tell what kind of worm is causing the problems and treat accordingly. Have you looked at her eyelids to see if she is anemic?

    Poor baby, I hope you get her well soon. 

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