# Goat with Lice Listless



## fiset94 (Apr 4, 2015)

One week ago I noticed that one out of my 4 goats had white flakes of skin on her...( We have never had lice here before)... I thought that It was dry skin. After doing some research... I believe it's lice.

I used the following treatment on her:

Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar on her back
Organic Spray- I can't remember what the name was.. It was for horses but the local co-op said that it would work great for her lice

Came Back on BYC a couple days ago because now I see the white flakes on all 4 of my goats and many members had some great suggestions----  I went with what I had on hand...

Ivermectin- Paste

and Ordered CYlence - Mailed Priority 2 day and will be here on Wednesday.

In the meantime... she has become VERY LISTLESS... Won't eat or drink... stands there with her tail tucked. When I put her on the milking stand the backs of her legs are missing so much hair... and her teats are all scaly and the skin is slothing off....

I took her temp and it was 105.4- Vet is closed and I will be contacting them ASAP....

I put Coconut oil on her teats.. gave her 1 CC of Penicillin, Gave her a squirt of Lamb and Kid paste, and a couple of squirts of Nutridrench... I also was able to get a couple Tablespoons of Molasses down her.

What do you think is going on??? Could Lice take down a goat?? - She does not have any nose issues... not sneezing... no Diarrhea.... She is just keeping her distance from the herd-not eating-and when I touch her body it feels *shaky* . Also, She had babies about 3 months ago and I have been milking her...The last two days.. her milk supply has been non existent. I'm not drinking the milk because I don't know what is going on with her.. but feel that I should still milk her because I don't want her to get mastitis. 

I need some suggestions that I can do  now... before the vet can see her... I don't want to loose her.


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 4, 2015)

NO MOLASSES OR DRENCH!!! It will make her temp go UP!

I"m milking right now and have a crappy laptop. I will try to get back asap!


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## Southern by choice (Apr 4, 2015)

How much paste did you use? And more than likely it is mites not lice, you can see lice. Lice and mites can cause anemia and wears the body down. So if their is severe infestation and high worm count there is an issue.

The fever says more is going on.

1cc will do nothing. You need proper dosage and proper weight of goat.

Check eyelids, inside, what color?
Any feed changes? Change of hay? Eating fresh green grass? etc...
How is her appetite?
Any grain? 
Milk is non existent? How much prior to this?

I would think maybe mastitis. Mastitis is infammation of the mammory so it does not always show strings, clumps, lumps etc. 
Do you have CA Mastitis Test kit?
When you say no milk  are teats clogged? Is udder hot or warm, red, discolored?

Is she drinking water? What does urine output look like and smell like?

Keep her in a warm draft free stall out of the weather.


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 5, 2015)

How is she this morning?

Hope she is doing better


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## fiset94 (Apr 5, 2015)

I will not give any more Molass. or drench... I had NO idea that could make her worse..  I forgot to mention in my previous post that I spent 3 hours in the barn earlier  giving it a purge... everything was cleaned out and all Goats were dusted with DE- along with the barn floor.

This was her first freshening- I only milk her once a day and she gives about 3 cups total... Now she is is only giving about 1/4 cup. Her udder is not hot or red..teats are not clogged...I do have a mass. test and I will use it when I am milking her out today.

She isn't really interested in eating any grain ( no changes have been made) Hay or water.  One thing that I've noticed is that it is uncomfortable for her to walk... she moves SO SLOWLY... and doesn't want to lay down.

She is still miserable this morning- tail tucked.. away from the herd.. and overall not a happy camper... Monday can't come soon enough!!

* I used the horse paste... for a 1200 lb animal.. so I only gave her one notch of the stuff... or at least tried to..she may have gotten 2 notches - that stuff came out fast!


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## OneFineAcre (Apr 5, 2015)

What' her temp now?
The temp from yesterday is indicative of some type of infection.
And SBC is right, the 1cc is not enough of a dose.
LA 200 would be better than penicillin
You can use pyretherin diluted in a sprayer for lice.
Or you can get Python dust works too.


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## jodief100 (Apr 5, 2015)

She is most likely stressed and that leaves her susceptible to all kinds of opportunistic CR@P.  Injectable Ivermectin, injected not oral will help with external parasites.  Some Python or Sven dust will also help.  

Isolate her, let her have lots of nice, quality hay.  Very little grain.  If there is no need to milk her, stop.  If her production has dropped I doubt she needs to be milked.  Give her injectable iron if you have it, Red Cell if you don't.  That will get the red blood cell count back up.  B  vitamin complex, injected sub Q.  That will help her feel better and stimulate her appetite.  Lots of TLC.  LA 200 injected, hopefully that will help the fever.  

Good Luck.  I will be thinking of you.


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## fiset94 (Apr 5, 2015)

I am calling the vet ASAP in the a.m... I tried to call tonight but they don't have even have a machine that you can leave a message.. sheesh!!!  She is still not feeling great... although I did get a bit more milk from her today... about a cup. I tested it and it isn't mastitis .... Her skin on the backs of her legs are peeling off... like a sunburn would be. She has little white flakes all around her eyes that weren't there yesterday. I cleaned out around her eyes and brushed out her coat... I did not take her temp today- but I know that is the first thing that they will do in the office tomorrow morning. Her teats look so much better after I rubbed Coconut oil on them...but she is still very miserable. 
Thank you for all the great advice and I will let you know what they say!

I will add LA 200 in my medicine cabinet as well as red cell... it seems that those two are staples for emergencies to have! I am so worried that what ever she has is going to get passed to the other 3 goats... and one of the three is pregnant with triplets..


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## frustratedearthmother (Apr 6, 2015)

Hope the vet can give you a good answer.  Please let us know how it goes!


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## fiset94 (Apr 9, 2015)

update... My girl is doing better.. but her skin is still SUPER flaky.. especially around the back of her legs. The vet did a couple tests ( blood-skin scraping) and said that they didn't *see* any mites or lice... but her symptoms all show that is what she has. Also- her white blood cells were elevated and they think that she was fighting off an infection. They gave me an IV bag and told me to give her an IV every day for the next 3 days- ( has B in it) and also to give her 4ml of Pen G for two weeks.- They also gave me some shampoo to try on her once the weather warms up. I asked them about Cylence and they had NO IDEA what that was... which doesn't surprise me.

So for over $250 I was told to give her B injections and Penicillin... Sound familiar?   But.. If I hadn't went .. I would of been sick with worry that I didn't do enough for her...


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## BlessedWithGoats (Apr 10, 2015)

@fiset94... Hope your girl will be okay! Best wishes!!


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