# SICK KID Please help!



## balluba03 (Mar 14, 2012)

We have a 7 week old kid (purchased from another farm) who has had greenish diarreha for the past 3 days. I do not believe the kid was vaccinated from the first owner, and I was going to vaccinate him for CD-T this weekend. He is eatting, and I was able to get him to drink. I'm thinking it may be coccidiosis. He seems a little woozy too. Almost a little off balance and a little slow. I'm so confused as to what to give him (as far as an antibiotic or sulfa drug.) I've visited Jeffers Livestock pages and cannot find anything. Some guidance would be very helpful! I've separated him from the rest of the goat kids and adults for the time being. Please help!


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## balluba03 (Mar 14, 2012)

I dont know if I'm over-reacting or not.  yesterday when He was outside the pasture with the other 3 kids, he was fine. He was eatting pasture and running around. He (Sheldon) was brought to our home about 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. We had him castrated by bands on Friday the 9th, and that was also his first day eatting pasture. about 2 days after that is when we noticed he had diarreha. When I checked on him tonight, he seemed a little sluggish, almost like he was sleepy or tired. I was able to get him to drink and he has eatten some alfalfa pellets since bringing him inside for the night. So I'm not sure if he's just stressed from being moved/castrated and eatting grass, or if he is actually sick. I havent noticed any blood in his poo, and it is definatly green in color.


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## elevan (Mar 14, 2012)

Diarrhea for 3 days is bad news and needs to be treated right away.

First, get a bottle of children's Pedialyte (clear no flavor) and add it to a gallon of water and provide that as his only water source.  If he's being bottle fed then cut the milk off for 24-48 hours and feed only the Pedialyte.

Next firm up his poo by mixing a packet of Jello with just enough water to liquify and drench it (pour down his throat).

Next treat the potential problem:

Neomycin Oral Solution  1 ml/ 20# Continue treatment for 24-48 hrs beyond remission of disease symptoms, but not more than 14 consecutive days for bacterial scours

Treat for coccidia.  Get whatever you can from your local feed store - don't wait for an online order unless you can get it overnight.  Here's a list of meds to chose from:  http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2607-coccidia-goat

Then replenish the rumen flora by giving Probiotics (Probios or live culture yogurt).

Do all of this at the same time.

If he's super weak and you can get some Lactated Ringers from a vet and are comfortable giving Sub Q fluids then do that too.


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## balluba03 (Mar 14, 2012)

Should I also treat my other 5 goats for the coccidia?
Can I get any of the Albon, Sulmet, Di-Methox or CoRid at TSC?
I'm actually thinking of missing work to help my little guy.....should I?


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## elevan (Mar 14, 2012)

balluba03 said:
			
		

> Should I also treat my other 5 goats for the coccidia?
> Can I get any of the Albon, Sulmet, Di-Methox or CoRid at TSC?
> I'm actually thinking of missing work to help my little guy.....should I?


Treat any goats 2 years of age and under for coccidia.

You can probably find the Sulmet at TSC...the others are a toss up and probably depends on your local store.  Albon suspension is generally purchased from a vet (it's quite pricey and though we use it, we only purchase what we need at a time).

Missing work...that's totally your call.  Depending on your schedule you can most likely treat around your work times.


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## elevan (Mar 14, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> First, get a bottle of children's Pedialyte (clear no flavor) and add it to a gallon of water and provide that as his only water source.  *If he's being bottle fed then cut the milk off for 24-48 hours and feed only the Pedialyte.*


I wanted to clarify this...if he's being bottle fed then continue the bottle only use Pedialyte instead of milk / formula.


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## balluba03 (Mar 14, 2012)

No, he hasnt been bottle fed in about 3 weeks. I just checked on little Sheldon before heading to bed and he has fresh poo in his cage - WHICH LOOKS LIKE NORMAL POO! Its back to the small, round droppings. When I brought him inside for the night, I put down fresh bedding in the large dog crate that hes in, and I also gave him a bath because he had diarreha all over his back end. .....do you still think I should treat for Coccidia just to be safe? I'm definatly going to get the pedialite tomorrow and keep him separated from the herd for a few days. I didnt know how fast this coccidia acts, and I was thinking about missing work. BUt I think I'll go in now. Thanks so much for your advise so far!!


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## elevan (Mar 14, 2012)

I still think that you should treat as I stated above.  If he's back to regular poo then the only thing I'd leave off is the oral neomycin and the Jello...everything else would still apply.

I'm not saying 100% that you're dealing with coccidia but if he were here it's what I'd do.  And he's at the ripe age for coccidia so a treatment round as prevention won't hurt.


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## balluba03 (Mar 14, 2012)

sounds good. I will treat as you stated above. Can I still Vaccinate for CD-T while treating him? Or should I wait until I'm done treating him for the 5 days? Thanks so much for your help!


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## elevan (Mar 14, 2012)

You can still vaccinate.


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## Roll farms (Mar 15, 2012)

You want to vaccinate him ASAP before his parts fall off / he has an open wound.  Make sure you boost him again in 3 wks.

We use DiMethox to treat for cocci (7 days), then give them a 'prevention'round (5 days) 21 days later.  
If it stays warm / muggy, they get a prevention round every 21 days until they're 60 mos. / 60#.


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## poorboys (Mar 15, 2012)

I can't believe at 7 weeks his off the bottle, and then you say he has been before for 3 weeks, sounds kinda young to go without that milk,? Hope he get's better for you: yes treat for coccidia,


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## Hillsvale (Mar 15, 2012)

balluba03 said:
			
		

> I didnt know how fast this coccidia acts, and I was thinking about missing work. BUt I think I'll go in now. Thanks so much for your advise so far!!


I had a kid go from zero to dead in less than 12 hours with cocci... fine when he went to bed, eating, drinking, normal poo's... next morning couldn't stand... was dead by lunch time. I will alway make sure I treat the young kids and lambs as preventative from here on out!

Good luck with your little baby.


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## balluba03 (Mar 15, 2012)

the kid was fine when I woke up this morning, but the diarreha was back. I called my local TSC and they carry Corid so after work I'll be picking that up with a few other things, and I'll get him and the other little guys started on the treatment. The Corid has directions for calfs, what ratio should I use for this little guy? He's maybe 6 or 7 pounds. I'm going to get him started on some Pedialite as well.   Heres hoping.......


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 15, 2012)

The dosage I use for the already mixed corid is .5cc per 10 lbs of kid. twice a day for 5 days. You could just go ahead and give him/her 1cc twice a day.


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## balluba03 (Mar 15, 2012)

When we got the kids they were 4 weeks old and already eatting solid food. I thought that was WAY early too, but I wasnt going to mess with their diet once at our home. Sheldon is doing well today. Still diarreha, but we have him started on some meds. Still green poo, no signs of blood. I was able to get him to eat and drink today....so far, so good.


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## poorboys (Mar 15, 2012)

hope he gets better for you.


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## elevan (Mar 15, 2012)

Did you give the Jello to slow down the diarrhea?  You could also give scour halt a try if you want something a little stronger...but don't use pepto or anything that will stop the diarrhea - you only want to slow it down.


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## balluba03 (Mar 15, 2012)

my hubby bought some jello today, and I'm waiting for him to get home from school so we can give it to Sheldon. I think its going to take 2 of us. Sheldon seems like he has a case of Eeyeore. He doesnt really eat, so I took some alfalfa cubes, water (with Corid) and pedialite and made a puree. Ive been bottle feeding that to him all day, got about 4 oz total since this afternooon. We also got the other goats started on the Corid (they all seem to be fine). Also using the Neomycin like you recommended. Hopefully he'll turn around!


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## Mzyla (Mar 16, 2012)

Hope your goaties get better!
That's unbelievably short time for bottle feeding, wow!
My goats were drinking bottle till 7 months of age.


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## Hillsvale (Mar 16, 2012)

Mzyla said:
			
		

> Hope your goaties get better!
> That's unbelievably short time for bottle feeding, wow!
> My goats were drinking bottle till 7 months of age.


Yours kids would have been like the 8 year olds chewing on a soother having a complete conversation with someone! 

Of course my birth weight 15.5 pound ram lamb was still trying to nurse the day he left for the processor on his 6 month birthday....


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## balluba03 (Mar 16, 2012)

So we got him on the Corid. And he's still eatting. His poo resembles dog poo today, since giving him the neomycin and jello. But He's not looking so good today. He's very tired and slow and has lost weight. We did vaccinate him and the rest of the herd today with the CD-T. Is there anything else I can do for him? He seems very dehydrated, so I've been syringing him water every half hour - which he takes happily. SHould I maybe give him some vitamin B? Or start bottle feeding him milk again??


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## elevan (Mar 16, 2012)

Don't give water...give pedialyte.  Water flushes all the electrolytes out of him and will make him weak if they are not given back.  I would start drenching him with _straight _pedialyte.

Vitamin B would be a good step.

Wait until tomorrow and if he's not back to runny diarrhea then you can give him half milk / half pedialyte.  Cut the milk if he starts runny diarrhea though.

Dog logs are still considered "diarrhea" though not in the traditional sense, so continue the oral neomycin until 24 hours after he's back to pellets.  Give the Jello once a day as needed to maintain at least dog logs for poo.


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## elevan (Mar 16, 2012)

If you can get your vet to give you a liter of Lactated Ringers and an IV line then you can give fluids sub-Q.  If you can give a CDT shot then you can give subQ fluids.  Just place the needle under the skin by the shoulder blades like you would with a vaccination, open the line for the fluid and allow a pocket of fluid to fill then close the line and remove the needle.  Repeat on the other side.  This is called saddle bagging.  Repeat when you can not longer see or feel the fluid pockets.  Continue to repeat until he's up and bouncing again.


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## elevan (Mar 16, 2012)

What state are you in?


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## nomad (Mar 16, 2012)

balluba03 said:
			
		

> I dont know if I'm over-reacting or not.  yesterday when He was outside the pasture with the other 3 kids, he was fine. He was eatting pasture and running around. He (Sheldon) was brought to our home about 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. We had him castrated by bands on Friday the 9th, and that was also his first day eatting pasture. about 2 days after that is when we noticed he had diarreha. When I checked on him tonight, he seemed a little sluggish, almost like he was sleepy or tired. I was able to get him to drink and he has eatten some alfalfa pellets since bringing him inside for the night. So I'm not sure if he's just stressed from being moved/castrated and eatting grass, or if he is actually sick. I havent noticed any blood in his poo, and it is definatly green in color.


Yes, diarrhea in a young animal over a prolonged period is troubling, however, I am not sure there is much to worry about here.  In looking at the stressful situations that he has encountered lately, you are fortunate that the diarrhea is/was his only problem.  Another consideration to add to the other stresses is the time of year.  Right now the grass is greening up which means that a lot of starch is being shoved up to the leaf from the root system.  When an animal eats a diet consisting primarily of starchy food, it will cause its' stool to soften quite substantially even to the point of diarrhea (this even happens to adult goats, sheep, and cattle).  More roughage is needed to balance out the diet.  If his diarrhea has disappeared, the body is indicating that what was bothering him has disappeared.  I would not treat for Coccidiosis personally since that is not the problem.  If their is no blood in the stool and it did not smell really offensive, then it is something else.  Our animals (particularly our lambs and kids) will over consume on the lush spring pastures on occasion and have diarrhea for a day or two and then it disappears after they figure out that they need to eat some more roughage (animals are usually pretty smart at knowing what they need).  Stress, any kind of stress as you mentioned, can also cause this reaction.  Think about how your body has reacted on occasion to whatever really stressful condition you may have encountered in your life - works the same in animals.  This has been my experience over the years with having raised hundreds of sheep and goats alongside a small herd of cattle.  

Also, understand that everytime you stick a needle with goop into him,  you are causing more stress so expect to see more adverse reactions.  I can remember not feeling well for a day as a child every time I got a vaccination or shot for something - came to think that my parents actually didn't like me (kidding of course).  Good luck.


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## balluba03 (Mar 16, 2012)

Hes been drinking a 50/50 mix of pedialite (with corid ADDITIVE). He wont drink from his bowl so ive been bottle feeding liquids. We also gave another dose of the neomysin today. He wasn't looking so great this morning but he sure has perked up this afternoon and evening. His pupils are normal and he is eatting hay again. His poo is also looking more goatlike each time. He is more responsive to us and walking a little more steady. I think he was just sooo dehydrated, we had to get him back to normal. He also seems to be putting on a little bit of weight. Hes banana skin and bones all week. I'm located in the thumb of Michigan.


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## elevan (Mar 16, 2012)

balluba03 said:
			
		

> Hes been drinking a 50/50 mix of pedialite (with corid ADDITIVE). He wont drink from his bowl so ive been bottle feeding liquids. We also gave another dose of the neomysin today. He wasn't looking so great this morning but he sure has perked up this afternoon and evening. His pupils are normal and he is eatting hay again. His poo is also looking more goatlike each time. He is more responsive to us and walking a little more steady. I think he was just sooo dehydrated, we had to get him back to normal. He also seems to be putting on a little bit of weight. Hes banana skin and bones all week. I'm located in the thumb of Michigan.


I'm glad he seems to be doing better this evening.

_I asked where you were because if you were close to me I would gladly have come to you and shown you how to give subQ fluids and brought you a bag._


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## balluba03 (Mar 16, 2012)

Ive been thinking that all the stress is what started this whole think. Sheldon is our smallest kid, even though all of them were born on the same day. And they were just introduced to the pasture 2 days before the dirrhea started. But if nothing else, hes been on the corridor for almost 3 days now......so it will act as a preventative for him. I am going to get some vitamin b for him tomorrow and see how he does. He seems to be doing muucchhh better tonight than this morning!


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## nomad (Mar 16, 2012)

I agree with your assessment about dehydration.  Dehydration in the young and old can kill very quickly.  A quick indicator of dehydration is sunken eyes (severe dehydration).  A little salt mixed in with water will help restore necessary electrolytes also if you don't have Pedialyte around.


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## balluba03 (Mar 16, 2012)

Thank you woo very much for the help, its too bad we don't live closer, I would like to learn how!


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## elevan (Mar 16, 2012)

In the past year I have saved a calf and my dog with the use of subQ fluids.  I didn't have a clue what I was doing when the calf went down but the vet walked me through it and he went from death's door to still with us today (that was last May).  Then just this past December my dog went down and it was the holidays so I gave him fluids until we could get to the vet (he had developed diabetes which took him down) and the vet told me if I had not given the fluids Boingo would not be with us.  So now I have 4 bags of fluids in my cabinet for if they are needed.  I would gladly share / teach to help someone in need.


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## redtailgal (Mar 16, 2012)

Saddle-bagging is another term for giving those fluids subQ, and I agree with Elevan on that.  We've saved many puny cattle and dogs around here by saddle bagging.

I'll second Elevan's recommendation on it.  If you ever have the chance, get your vet to teach you how to do it, before you have another sick critter if possible.  

We try to keep some fluid around here.  I keep LRS bags and an IV kit because I can start IVs on horses, cattle, dogs and cats.  I dont know goats well enough to start an IV, but wouldn't hesitate to saddlebag if I felt it was needed.  Besides, LRS bags are a little cheaper than the bottles around here.  They dont last as long though.

Edited to add: if you do get the chance to have someone teach you how to do this, ask about doing it with an IV kit as well.  I'll saddlebag with a SUBQ iv stick sometimes, if I have a very poor animal.  Its a slower method, but you get more fluid in them this way.


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## balluba03 (Mar 17, 2012)

Sheldon is doing much better this morning. Poo looks like raisinettes again!   He seems more alert today as well. The only thing is, hes very tired. So while out and about today I'm going to pick up some vitamin B and some probiotics.


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## elevan (Mar 17, 2012)

How is he doing after the Vit B and Probios?


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## balluba03 (Mar 17, 2012)

Better actually! Each time I go out to check on him hes doing better. But sometimes I'm not sure he can see the best. I know hes not blind, but sometimes he just seems a little lost. Ive been trying to watch his eyes to see if they're dialating properly. Is that something that is Common with coccidosis or severe stress?


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## elevan (Mar 17, 2012)

Vision issues aren't common with either issue.  BUT severe dehydration can cause the eye to dry out and become irritated and make vision a little more complicated.  Keep up the pedialyte to repair the dehydration issue and hopefully the vision will correct itself.


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## balluba03 (Mar 18, 2012)

Sheldon is doing muucchh better today. We actually moved him from the dog crate to an old horse stall. Keeping up on the Corid and the vitamins/probiotics. But he still is a little "slow", almost like hes handicapped or something! lol I hope it passes, but I fear that he may never be the same again.


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