# Coughing goat



## dhansen (Nov 14, 2010)

Once again I have a coughing goat.  She was been wormed with Valbazen for the possibility of lung worm, and she has good hay.  Not sure what else to do.  She does not have a temp and she acts completely normal.  Are their goats that have chronic coughs?


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## ksalvagno (Nov 14, 2010)

How often did you do the Valbazen?


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Nov 14, 2010)

Is she just coughing when feeding? Is the ground or air dusty at all?


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## warthog (Nov 14, 2010)

Is she a greedy feeder, inhaling the food?


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## ThornyRidge (Nov 14, 2010)

I have seen some goats seem prone to cough.. I have one that is perfectly normal but has hacking spells now and then.. could be something structurally in her throat area that sets it off.. this is what I suspect in mine.. or gulping too much air.  bad gag reflex etc.  i would not worry myself too much if all seems well and shows only coughing spell with no other symptoms.. there is a difference between choking and coughing so recognize that..when choking there may be some frothy stuff around mouth and cough does not seem productive.. much scarier than a simple cough.


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## dhansen (Nov 15, 2010)

This goat has coughed off and on all summer, but it seems more frequent now.  I gave her two doses of Valbazen, the 2nd dose was given 2 weeks after the first.  She definitely coughs more when she runs in from the field with the other goats, thus I was thinking lungworms.  She does not eat any faster than the other goats and the hay is not dusty.  They  all eat mostly what's out in the pasture.  Not sure I could ever sell her if she is coughing.  I just don't know what else to try.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Nov 15, 2010)

Try changing your wormer.... maybe you have some antibiotic resistant  lung worms.... just a shoot in the dark


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## dhansen (Nov 16, 2010)

What kind of wormer would you suggest?


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## cmjust0 (Nov 16, 2010)

You might try injectable Ivomec, if you're thinking lungworm.  I'd actually inject it, too, versus giving it orally as you would if treating gastrointestinal parasites..  The pharmacokinetic profile of oral ivermectin in goats is poor, at best, and you're going to need the ivermectin to reach the lungs -- not just physically splash against the cuticle of a worm in the gut.

After re-reading that ... :/ ... the cmspeak->english translation is....ivomec blood levels don't get very high when given orally, but it will need to be in the bloodstream to kill lungworms.  Therefore, injecting it should work better against lungworm.

FWIW, I've killed leg mites by injecting Ivomec at somewhere around the cattle-labeled dose of 1ml/110lbs -- and mites are pretty hardy critters.  

Just sayin'.


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## dhansen (Nov 17, 2010)

It's worth a try and I have Ivomec injectable and the syringes.  I usually give it orally though as that's what I've been told.


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## cmjust0 (Nov 17, 2010)

dhansen said:
			
		

> It's worth a try and I have Ivomec injectable and the syringes.  I usually give it orally though as that's what I've been told.


It makes more sense to give it orally if you're treating stomach and/or intestinal worms, as ivermectin kills them on contact.  Not much of it reaches the bloodstream when given orally, though.  Since it's not going to come into physical contact with a lungworm when given orally (hopefully anyway...unless they aspirate it!), it makes more sense *to me* to choose whatever route of administration is going to get the ivermectin in the bloodstream at the highest rate -- and that's by injection.


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## glenolam (Nov 17, 2010)

Annnndddd......should your little goat have any mites, injecting the ivomec helps with that too.  I found my little buckling was _covered_ in mites (ewwww).  Gave him 2 doses of ivomec injected right in the armpit area and voila...mites are gone!


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## gene88gr (Nov 17, 2010)

I do use Western Medicine when necessary. Under some circumstances  they are more useful than herbal treatments.I would worm them with the chemical wormer Ivomec.


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## dhansen (Nov 19, 2010)

Thank you all. I have given her Ivomec (injected) and will watch her.  Should I repeat it in a couple weeks?


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## glenolam (Nov 19, 2010)

follow up in 10 days to cover the life cycle.  I actually messed up on the dates for the mite treatment and gave the second dose about 13 days later & still had a good outcome, so don't worry if you miss by a day or two.


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## dhansen (Dec 7, 2010)

I gave her the 2nd dose at ten days and she is till coughing.  No temp, eating, acting normal...now what?


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## glenolam (Dec 7, 2010)

I'd just chaulk it up to a coughing goat.

Or bring her to a vet to have some tests run - another forum member had a bout with mycoplasma (or something like that) which is what was causing the coughs.

ETA: Here's the thread I was thinking of for mycoplasma 

IMO, if she's fine in all other respects then maybe she's just prone to it.  I have one that is as well.  Nothing wrong with her, just coughs...


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## Calliopia (Dec 7, 2010)

As an update to that..  


 That particular goat started coughing again about 3 weeks ago and just started another round of Draxxin.   


This is her last time though and if she doesn't improve or starts another round of coughing in 2-3 months she's getting culled as a typhoid Mary.    I'm starting to consider that her lungs are just too damaged from her previous situation and she may just never be a wonderfully healthy goat.  And I don't want to risk her continuing to effect the herd.


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## glenolam (Dec 7, 2010)

Calliopia said:
			
		

> ...just started another round of Draxxin....I'm starting to consider that her lungs are just too damaged from her previous situation and she may just never be a wonderfully healthy goat.


Is she coughing again because her lungs are damaged and she's prone to chronic cough from weather changes/dust/mold/whatever or because she has the mycoplasma again?


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## Calliopia (Dec 7, 2010)

She passed it to someone else so I'm going with mycoplasm.


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## glenolam (Dec 8, 2010)

Ugh - sorry to hear that!  I was hoping you'd say you weren't sure, but she started coughing again so you assumed it was the mycoplasma.  I hope she (and the herd mate!) get better for everyone's sake!!


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## Hollywood Goats (Dec 9, 2010)

My goat was coughing a lot, I gave her some of Molly's goat wormer formula 1 and she stopped coughing! I guess she had lung worm or something.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Dec 9, 2010)

When you give them an injection of ivermectin, do you just do it under the skin (Sub-Q) or in the muscle or in the vain? Sorry If I'm hijacking the thread, just wondering


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## glenolam (Dec 10, 2010)

I usually do Ivomec as an oral dose if I'm worming the goats, but if mine have mites I do it sub q in the arm pit.  CM has mentioned giving ivomec IM doesn't do much good and you risk paralyzing them or hitting an artery/vein (something like that..I am very medically challenged!)


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## cmjust0 (Dec 10, 2010)

glenolam said:
			
		

> I usually do Ivomec as an oral dose if I'm worming the goats, but if mine have mites I do it sub q in the arm pit.


Required dosage is much less that way, too.  I went like 1.5x the label dose last time (which isn't much Ivomec in a goat) and it worked beautifully..  Next time, I plan on using *only* the label dose and see if it works as well....I think it will.





> CM has mentioned giving ivomec IM doesn't do much good and you risk paralyzing them or hitting an artery/vein (something like that..I am very medically challenged!)


You're thinking PenG.


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## glenolam (Dec 10, 2010)

Hence the medically challenged part!


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