# Navel Ill or Mycoplasma ??



## babsbag (May 19, 2012)

Sometimes with goats I feel like we just throw the whole medicine cabinet at them and hope that something works. 

My 5 week old little doeling has been sick for 2 weeks. The first symptom was a high fever, and we suspected pnuemonia. The vet ruled that out and though she wasn't sure what was wrong had me give her 3 days of Duramycin and Banamine. The fever was gone the first day, but she started to have tremors and walked stiff legged, I thought maybe BoSe would help, so 2 days of that with no change. She started to be a little wobbly so the next thought was thiamine. So we did 2 days of that, no change.

That is when I noticed that her front knees had become very swollen and warm. I did dip the cord when she was born, but probably 4-6 hours after as I was at work. She did get colostrum as she is dam raised, but as a friend pointed out, last year's kid was still sneaking snacks from mom so who knows how much colostrum she really got. (won't let that happen again). So my next thought was joint ill. The vet agreed that it could be that and has given me Penicillin and Gentamicin. The Pen is 2x day and the Gentamicin is 1x. I have had her on this for 2 days. I am also to give banamine but have been very careful with that because of kidney damage. 

The Gentamicin has to be given IM, which I hate. I have a hard time founding muscle on this poor little Alpine doe. I think I am turing her into a pin cushion 

Now I am worried that we still are not treating the right disease. I may have a culture done of the joint fluid if she isn't better by Monday. I have read that mycoplasma can settle in the joints and the symptoms are almost indentical to joint ill. I have no idea where it would have come from, but you never know. 

Has anybody dealt with mycoplasma that has been in the joints? 

Can anybody give me any good news concerning joint ill? I know it is tough.


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## elevan (May 19, 2012)

I've never dealt with either, thankfully.

I would probably give a few doses of asprin to help with the pain and fever and lessen the dependence on the banamine so you don't kill her liver and kidneys.  Probably would also get a fecal with a coccidia float just to be on the safe side too.

I like to give IM injections in kids in their inner thigh.  You kind of have to have a helper and flip them over to do it that way though.


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## ksalvagno (May 19, 2012)

I'm not sure why your vet would have had you only do Duramycin for 3 days. It takes 3 days for antibiotics to start working. If it has only been 2 days on the current antibiotics, then I would wait and see what that does for you and do a full course of them. I would even consider doing it a full 14 days if the vet hasn't suggested that already. Also, I would want to know the reason that Gentamycin has to go IM. I have always given it SQ and my vet has always said that only hormones HAVE to go IM, everything else can be given SQ. There might be a reason for it though since giving it IM gets it into the system faster.


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## babsbag (May 21, 2012)

What ever my little doe has/had she seems to be doing better. 

That is a good question about the 3 days on the duramycin, I will have to ask. I know I can't go 14 days on the gentamicin as it can cause kidney damage, at least in people. 

I had a friend over today that is my goat mentor and the first thing she noticed was that the doeling has an injured front let. She thinks that maybe the knee was injured when my boer slammed the baby against the barn the night she was so sick (the boer is leaving my place tomorrow...yeah). I told her that both knees had been warm and swollen and she says that they look like baby knees to her and that the good leg might be a little overworked as she won't bear weight on the injured one. We wrapped it. I can't give any more banamine so what would the aspirin dose be for a 30 lb. kid? How long can I give it?

She is alert, her appetite is good, she has no fever, so hopefully this is just an injury and not joint ill or mycoplasma.

My vet has kids that have the same ailments, even some with swollen knees. She has lost 2 of them and she is sending them in for a necropsy. She is thinking a virus of some kind. Hopefully we will get some answers to what is going on.


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## ThornyRidgeII (May 25, 2012)

I had success with joint/naval ill in a very young kid... the little guy grew up and is the picture of health and is now a beautiful/handsome and very studdly 5 year old buck!  anyway my little guys cord was immediately dipped at birth but apparently he caught something in the cord.. I noticed the symptoms after only a few days with your kid seems to be a bit older and I would think the naval area would be healing/drying up nicely by this time.. any my little guy went down hill quick.. started with him not showing interest at only a couple days old and then laying down alot not up nursing and I noticed to the warmth/tenderness to his legs-front especially.. he was not able to walk/stand well at all.. ran by vet and he suggested high doses of penicillen for several days.. I am thinking I did it for at least a week.. and if  I am not mistaken he got 1 cc twice a day.. seemed like a lot since he was soooo tiny but it worked!  He pulled through and after a couple days I noticed him well on the mend.. and again he is quite a beefy stud now!  He also got to keep his manhood after this incident and I didn't have the heart to put him through more pain plus he was nice looking and had good conformation!  Anyway Nibbles is well and I hope things continue to progress for your little one!


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## babsbag (May 27, 2012)

My doeling is still sick and I may have to have her put down. Her knees are very swollen, she has torn a ligmanet as well. She eats a little, nurses off of mom. There seems to be some neurolgoical problems as well. Saw a second vet and they basically said that she will never be sound and that I should put her down and have a necropsy done. Her dam was tested for CAE a year ago and was negative. But in kids you usually don't see the swollen joints at 3 weeks...

I am really leaning towards mycoplasma, which is very very scarey. A friend that lives about 30 miles from me (no contact with each other's herd) is fighting the same thing. She is waiting on necropsy reports but the preliminay looks like mycoplasma in her herd. She feeds pooled milk to her kids, and some of her does have been leased to a dairy so she has a much bigger problem than I do. She has a least 5 kids that have taken ill.

For me, for the weekend, I am treating her with high dose of Tylan 200. It is the drug of choice to treat mycoplasma. The sad thing is that it might be too late. Even if I can cure the infection, I think her knees are shot. 

This is such a confusing and complicated disease.


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## ksalvagno (May 27, 2012)

Hopefully she will make some sort of miracle turnaround for you. I'm sure you will do what is best for her.


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## babsbag (May 27, 2012)

It always seem to be the favorite...last kid from a certain buck, one you have high hopes from when planning breeding, only kid of a favorite doe that cries like crazy when you take her baby away. And then you start nursing them when they are sick and it gets even harder. I have read that mycoplasma will make them sick for about 3 weeks if it doesn't kill them. It will be 3 weeks on Tuesday so I will continue the treatment until then and see if she is any better. There is still the issue of her knees being messed up probably forever, but if she recovers and does not appear to be in pain I can baby her if I need to. Whatever I do, she will get every chance she can, and I will make sure she is comfortable and can live a normal goat life.

And she may be a carrier IF it is mycoplasma.


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