# coughing goat?



## kapfarm (Nov 2, 2009)

My pregnant boer doe has a long deep cough. Any ideas what it might be? or are there too many different things. Is there a cough that can be fatal?


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## zatsenoughcritters4me (Nov 2, 2009)

has she been wormed? that is the first thing, also does she have a temp? how is her poop, pellets?


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## Roll farms (Nov 3, 2009)

If it's lung worm, and enough scar tissue is formed, over a long enough time, it could be fatal.
A cough from untreated pneumonia could be fatal.
If it's dry where you are, it could be something as simple as allergies.

My first guess would be lung worm, IF she has no temperature.
I'd give her 1 cc per 25# of ivermectin, repeat in 10 days.  If the coughing lets up, you'll know that was it.

USUALLY I'd recommend a fecal to make sure you use the right dewormer on the worm problem you're having BUT....

Fecals for lungworm are 'iffy' b/c the eggs are so different from stomach / intestinal worms, even experienced vets miss them at times....so if I suspect lung worm I go ahead and treat for it.


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## kimmyh (Nov 3, 2009)

Lung worm treatment here is 1ml per 10lbs of liquid Safeguard daily for 7 days, stop for 7 and treat again for 7. Wait 14 days and test. Lung worm is a pain to test for because you need to spin it down, or let it settle for 8 hours, then use a pipet to draw up some of the liquid from the bottom of the champagne glass liquid and test it on a slide.


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## Mini-M Ranch (Nov 4, 2009)

Might not be lungworm.  My doeling was coughing and when we took her to the vet, it was diagnosed as a trachial infection.  Now the infection is gone, no worms, but she still coughs throughout the day.  The vet thinks she is allergic to alfalfa hay.


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## kapfarm (Nov 7, 2009)

Has anyone experienced lungworms in their goats? I am curious what the effects are. "ZATSENOUGHCRITTERS4ME" asked how her pellets are. Do lungworms effect their stool? cause fever? How often will she cough? If anyone has info on lungworm it would be appreciated. 

I was going to test her pellets last night but I didn't have any epson salt. I probably wouldn't have found anything anyway, as my microscope is a piece of junk, but I was going to look anyway!

She acts perfectly normal but for the cough. It has kind of a hacking sound at the end of the cough. Her pellets are completely normal or I think they are normal, they look like any other goats .

Maybe she is just allergic to being pregnant.(kidding)

She stands around staring at nothingness a lot. But I do that too.


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## ksalvagno (Nov 7, 2009)

I would talk to your vet about it. That could be a lot of things including lung worm, pneumonia, coccidia or allergies. Having a fecal done would be a good place to start. One of my goats had pneumonia and his stool was normal and he acted normal except for a cough. I took him to the vet, vet diagnosed pneumonia and gave him a shot of Nuflor. That took care of it. Fecal was negative.


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## cmjust0 (Nov 9, 2009)

kevin said:
			
		

> She acts perfectly normal but for the cough. It has kind of a hacking sound at the end of the cough. Her pellets are completely normal or I think they are normal, they look like any other goats .
> 
> Maybe she is just allergic to being pregnant.(kidding)
> 
> *She stands around staring at nothingness a lot*. But I do that too.


The "stands around staring" part sounds like pneumonia to me, if it's out of the ordinary for her..  

If she's still with us and hasn't gotten any better, take a temperature..  If she's running a fever at all, definitely start her on antibiotics.


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## zatsenoughcritters4me (Nov 9, 2009)

so is your goat still coughing?


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## kapfarm (Nov 9, 2009)

She is still with us. her cough is no worse nor better. 

A goat can become immune to dewormers right. the po's used safeguard. She was just dewormed the 28th of Oct. with safeguard. 

If she has lungworms, the safeguard should take care of it, right? unless she is immune to it?

Can I use ivermectin for the second dose?


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## Roll farms (Nov 10, 2009)

Here where I live, safeguard doesn't do much of anything anymore, especially for lungworm.

I give ivomec at the dosage I listed earlier in this thread if I suspect lungworm BUT...I also take their temps, watch for other symptoms, and have had the vet confirm lungworm here before.

I've given ivomec, safeguard, and valbazen to really bad-off animals daily and not killed one yet but...again, that's here.  

What works for one, won't always work for another.  "It could be" a lot of things, and it may be none of them.

Is there a reason you're not taking a fecal in to get tested so you can be sure?
Hard for us to diagnose definitively over a computer....a good goat vet would be a lot more help.

IMHO, asking for diagnosis / treatment help for something as vague as a cough online, w/out involving a vet, is putting the goat at risk.


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## zatsenoughcritters4me (Nov 10, 2009)

we had problems with safeguard being effective here also, we use the stuff from the vet cydectin (moxidectin) says oral drench for sheep it covers all the bad stuff!


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## ksalvagno (Nov 10, 2009)

Safeguard is still effective here but the vets are warning us to only use it when we have done a fecal and really need it. I only give wormers when they have something but some people still do a monthly worming with Ivomec and Safeguard.


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## cmjust0 (Nov 10, 2009)

I'm sorry, but...

Dude...Why ask advice if you don't take it?  And why should any of us _continue_ to give you advice about your goats when you obviously just disregard it?

Look...several people asked you to take her temperature to try and determine whether or not she has an infection, which could distinguish between pneumonia and something else..  Did you do that?  I don't see any indication that you did that..  Several people also asked you to have a fecal run to check for lungworms eggs, and even though finding lungworms eggs is supposed to be tricky at best...it doesn't appear that you've even _tried_.

So...what is it that you want, exactly?


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## kapfarm (Nov 10, 2009)

Her temp is 101.6. Pellets are normal all my goats inner eyelids are really pale pink exept for right along rim is red/pink.


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## Roll farms (Nov 10, 2009)

That temp is low-normal.  Their eyelids sound pale but....again, it's mighty hard to diagnose anything online, esp. w/ no pictures.
Take a fecal sample into a vet who KNOWS goats...  
(Call around if you have to).  Ask specifically for a lungworm float.
If you're unable / unwilling to do that, and have ivermectin available, hit her w/ that.  Repeat.  
What the heck, hit her w/ safeguard as well....


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## cmjust0 (Nov 10, 2009)

Ok, so it's probably not an infection then..  I notice that you're in Washington state, and "they" (whoever they are) say that lungworms are worse where the weather and pastures are wet a lot..  I have no experience with lungworms, personally, as the weather's generally not really conducive to either those or liver flukes around here.

If their eyelids are pale and they've only ever been wormed with Safe Guard, I'd probably go ahead and hit them with ivermectin...or moxidectin, or doramectin, or whatever other "clear" family of wormer you've got handy.

It wouldn't hurt to have fecals run, but frankly I'd be amazed and totally confounded if they came back indicating that they didn't need to be dewormed..  A lot of people go by coat condition and eyelids alone...I'm one of those people.  If they're pale pink, I'd deworm.  

The dosage we use for ivermectin 1% injectable is 1ml/33lbs bodyweight, drenched.  Since you're in a wet state, if I were you I'd probably get "Ivomec Plus" or some other ivermectin that includes the drug clorsulon..  The clorsulon will kill liver flukes, if they have any.

Good on ya for taking her temp.


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## kimmyh (Nov 10, 2009)

No, one worming will not handle lung worms. We worm with liquid Safeguard at the rate of 1ml per 10lbs every day for 7 days, then wait 7 days, then again for 7 days, then have a fecal done to confirm they are are clean 14 days after the last worming.


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## kapfarm (Nov 10, 2009)

I have absolutely nothing against vets, I would love to bring her to a vet but we are not able to do it right now.I gave a dose of ivermectin to her so we will see how she does. I only had paste on hand.


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## kimmyh (Nov 10, 2009)

Kevin, Safeguard is best for lung worm, Valbazen is second best. Ivomec/Ivomec+/Ivomectin are great for most other worms.


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## kimmyh (Nov 10, 2009)

And you don't need to take her to the vet for a fecal, just collect some fresh poop in a zip lock bag and take it to the vet. Ask for a parasite count including cocci, the typical worms, AND a lung worm screening. No point having to go back for each type of test. The whole thing should be less than $30.00.


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## kapfarm (Nov 10, 2009)

Where is your vet? I called the vet and they quoted me $75 min. to do poop samples.


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## ksalvagno (Nov 10, 2009)

Are there other vets in your area that you could call? Even if they are a little bit of a distance. $75 sounds high unless they don't do their own fecals and send them off to a lab. Even then, that is high. You may want to find out what all they are doing for that $75. See if they are running more than one test and how much is it for each test.

One of my vets sends all her fecals to the state lab and that runs about $50 per test. The other vet runs their own and it is about $25. Some worms have their own test so if they are running more than one type of fecal test, that may be the reason for the $75. If you are checking for parasites like crypto and giardia, those are tested as separate tests in addition to the regular fecal test.


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## kapfarm (Nov 10, 2009)

O.K. It really hurts to say this-I am flat broke right now-. I just have to be a vet on my own for a while till i can find work. I can buy feed and vaccines but if I want lab tests done I will have to do them myself.


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## kimmyh (Nov 11, 2009)

Kevin, it sounds like you need to do your own fecals, it is not expensive to buy the equipment, and then you really can be your own vet in this area. Ebay often has microscopes for as little as $1.00 with $10. shipping, you are set, then all you need are empty film cannisters (which are free at Costco/Sams) and a few slides. All in all, you could be set up for years with a $30.00 investment.


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## kimmyh (Nov 11, 2009)

And if you don't feel you can do fecals, call the nearest vet school, they will often do them for $3.-10.00.


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## kapfarm (Nov 11, 2009)

That sounds like something I could enjoy doing.


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