# Rescue Goat



## FunnyFarm (Oct 16, 2009)

I just rescued a little goat from a filthy back porch covered in feces & laying on a wet blanket. I got three different stories on where he came from & how long they have had him & how old he is. I took him to the vet within 2 hours of getting him. He had to get stiches in his rear to try to fix his distended rectum, he has hookworms, & is infested with lice. I have had him since wednesday. He now has loose stool. Which may be a blessing with his rear being in such bad shape. He was on just goat feed at the other place, I now have him on hay only. I gave him 2cc of Probios today. Does this sound right? He looks good, eats, I gave him some water in a syringe to make sure hes drinking. The vet thinks he is a Dwarf Nigerian about 4-6 months old. He weighs 14Lbs. Do you guys think he is a Nigi? Is he to small for his age? He is half the size of my 3mth old pygmy whether.


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## mossyStone (Oct 16, 2009)

Bless your heart for saving him! Poor little soul He is adorable!
I hope he has a speedy recovery now that he is in good hands.......


Mossy Stone Farm


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## Sweet Cheeks (Oct 16, 2009)

Poor little guy.  I hope he continues to improve.

Be sure to keep us updated.


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## cmjust0 (Oct 16, 2009)

I'm no expert on small breeds, but those don't look like 4-6mo horns to me..  

The scour could be from dropping him completely off grain too quickly and pushing him on hay, which it doesn't sound like he's ever had..  Drastic changes in diet are to be avoided, and it doesn't get much more drastic than going from all grain to all hay overnight.

If you haven't already, vaccinate him with C/D-T right now as he's liable to be a prime candidate for enterotoxemia if he's unvaccinated and going through a gut disturbance and bacteria repopulation..  That would be a prime opportunity for Cl. Perf. to bloom..

Worm the fire out of him, too.  If he's really anemic from the worms, you might want to hit him with a benzimidazole class of wormer (Safe Guard, Valbazen, Panacur, etc) for three straight days and then use an 'ectin' wormer (Ivomec, Cydectin, Dectomax, etc) when he pinks up a little and can handle a stronger wormer..  We dose injectable (1%) 'ectin' wormers orally at 1cc/35lbs of goat, so you're talking about a little less than 1/2cc.  

As for lice, permethrin dust generally does a good job.  Our TSC sells a dairy dust pretty cheap, and it wouldn't take much to dust him down all over..  Be sure to also treat wherever he's been with a safe insecticide, or they'll come right back..  They can't live on humans, though, and thankfully they can't even live that long without being on a goat..  No more than a week, if I recall correctly.

If he's really 4mo and 14lbs, you'll probably have little choice but to get him back on a little grain unless you can ease him over to a really good alfalfa or alfalfa/grass hay..  Don't overfeed grain, though, and make sure it's on-label for goats and is mixed at least 2:1, Calciumhosphorus..  If you can find one with added ammonium chloride, even better..  I'd also recommend a pelleted grain instead of textured, as you don't want him to get in the habit of cherrypicking things like corn and so forth...that throws the whole feed balance off.

Free choice loose mineral is important, too..  If you can find a loose mineral that's labelled for goats, that would be great..  If not, a loose cattle mineral that contains copper will do in a pinch -- but watch the magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium levels..  If it's labelled "hi mag" or "spring" mineral, steer clear..  Magnesium is a key component of urinary calculi, so the less additional magnesium you can add to his diet, the better..  Calcium allows phosphorus to be absorbed into the bloodstream instead of going out through the urine where it might combine with ammonium and magnesium to form "Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate" (MAP), or "struvite" stones, so try to get one that's got at least as much calcium as phosphorus.  Again, that 2:1 Ca ratio is ideal..  Good mineral is spendy...if it's cheap, the ingredients probably aren't as bioavailable as they should be.  

I know I'm missing a bunch of stuff here, but I'm sure someone will chime in with everything I've left off..

Just to stress this again...if he's not been C/D-T vaccinated, or if you're the least bit unsure of his C/D-T vax status, get him vaccinated.

He's a cutie..  

ETA:  ..as for the Probios, I'd have hit him with 5g, but that's probably more of a judgement call.


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## FunnyFarm (Oct 16, 2009)

The vet gave him a dewormer & vaccinated him for me. The hay I am giving him is an alfalfa mix. Should I give more wormer in addition to the vets dose? I do have Safegard on hand & I will give him a small bit of the pelleted feed I have for my doe. I mix the minerals right in with it. I have dusted him & his area with the permethrin so I think I've done most things right?

I don't think they were even giving him goat feed, honestly it looked like pelleted chicken feed with cracked corn mixed in.Ugh! So even if the change is hard on his system hopfully it will be a step in the right direction. 

These people also had 2 bantam chickens in the back yard in a medium size wire dog cage in the freezing cold with a small piece of plastic on top that wasn't even close to being large enough to give them shelter & I think the only reason the water dish had water in it is because it was raining. No food. They were crammed in a corner trying to keep warm. I would have loved to take the chickens too but already have 60 of my own & nowhere to put these. If anyone in the Cincinnati Ohio area would take them let me know.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 16, 2009)

What did the vet give him for wormer?

My vet gave me dosages as follows (I'm in Ohio):

Safeguard: 1cc per 10-15 pounds
Ivomec: 1cc per 40 pounds


That is great that  you saved him. I'm about 4 hours north of Cincinnati so unfortunately can't help with the chickens. Too bad you couldn't take them just to get them out of there and find them a new home.

He does look like a Nigerian Dwarf.


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## FunnyFarm (Oct 16, 2009)

> He does look like a Nigerian Dwarf.


Is 14lbs too small for a 4-6 month old?

I'm not sure what wormer he gave him. Should I call & ask? He really didn't indicate he would need more.


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## kimmyh (Oct 16, 2009)

I would ask what wormer they gave and have a fecal done. If he only weighs 14 lbs, I'd almost bet he has a pretty good cocci load.


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## freemotion (Oct 16, 2009)

You are wonderful for taking him in.   I hope he makes it through his tough beginning.


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## nightshade (Oct 16, 2009)

I too think yes he does look like a Nigi. Good luck with him and I hope he improves well for you. My heart truly goes out to anyone else that is willing to take on unwanted creatures.  Bless you and please keep us updated with how he is doing.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 16, 2009)

Yes, 14 pounds is very small for a 4-6 month old. My Nigerian Dwarfs were over 20 pounds at 5 months. Plus this goat may be even older and have stunted growth if he came from such a bad situation.

I would find out what wormer was used. I'm guessing you will need to be doing more worming. 

Also, I would find out if the vet checked for coccidia when he did a fecal. My guess is he probably has coccidia and will need a different wormer.


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## FunnyFarm (Oct 16, 2009)

Will do. I will call the vet tommorrow. Thanks everyone for your input & advice.


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## goat lady (Oct 16, 2009)

You have a big heart. He is cute. I have a 5 1/2 month old nigerian dwarf and his horns are about that size. Maybe alittle bigger. My little guy is about 25-30 pounds. 

Bless you


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## JerseyXGirl (Oct 17, 2009)

My nigis are 7 months old, horns twice as big, so I would say 4 mths. looks about right to me.  Looks nigi, underweight.  Nigis are resilient goats.  Good Luck, he's a cutie


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## sc00ter4900 (Oct 18, 2009)

Humm I was wondering what do you do about the people who did this to the little guy? What are the laws for abusing animals? Is the law diferent for goats than dogs? Good for you for taking him in. Hope all works out. This just urks me that people can hurt a living thing like that. Thanks for listening  Scotty


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## FunnyFarm (Oct 18, 2009)

I was more concerned with the goat than getting authorities involved & was hoping to find the chickens he has, somewhere to go. I don't want him to get nervous & do something stupid with the chickens.

The people who had him live within a small village with it's own police force. He made a comment he has lived there for 20 years & the police saw the goat & told him just to keep it in the backyard behind the privacy fence. So they saw it, knew about it & did nothing. I really don't have much confidence in small town police forces. I think me just taking the goat & getting out of there is a better outcome than if I would have gotten the humane society or police involved.

I know it urks me too. But I feel like I am trying to make a difference even if it is a small one. And I really believe what comes around goes around & everyone gets whats coming to them someday.


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## sc00ter4900 (Oct 18, 2009)

All and All you did a good thing.


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## MissJenny (Oct 18, 2009)

I'm in Cincinnati... and my area is allowed to keep chickens... and I am a sucker of the first order. How can I help? Can you private message me. 

Jenny


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## FunnyFarm (Oct 19, 2009)

Just an update on the chickens, Miss Jenny offered to take them & I called the wife & she told me the chickens were gone already. But she was going to check with her husband & would call me if by chance they aren't already gone. Maybe the story will change as the day goes on because thats how it went with the goat. We'll see.


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## FunnyFarm (Nov 1, 2009)

So, after almost two weeks of worming, probios, delousing, & banding, looks like the little guy is gonna be okay. He has turned out to be a good weaning buddy for my 3 1/2 mth old pygmy wether. I swear, even though his little bloated belly has gone down some he looks like he has gained some weight in other areas. He is now used to all the sights & critters here & is fitting in nicely. Now that he feels better his sweet little personality is coming out & is always underfoot. "Nigil" has found his forever home here.


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## freemotion (Nov 1, 2009)

Yay, Nigil! How cute!  So glad he is doing so well, thanks to all your love and good care.


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## MissJenny (Nov 1, 2009)

Nigil! Perfect. He is adorable -- I'm so glad to hear this tale has a happy ending for all of you. Lucky him. Lucky you.

Jenny


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## norcal (Nov 1, 2009)

So cute!!


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## ksalvagno (Nov 2, 2009)

The little guy looks great! Good job on his care!


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