# can i give fluids sub q to him



## Budlady (Jan 28, 2011)

was just wondering can i give fluids sub q to him like they do for dogs and cats hes up and about hes not grinding his teeth as much now and hes doing his soft bleet the he uses to call me ill try and give him some more fluids from the sryinge


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## glenolam (Jan 28, 2011)

I'm not sure about fluids sub q, but maybe B12 given sub q will help.  Does he still have diarreah?


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

I wouldn't give the fluids any way but orally.

I agree a B12 shot could help give him a boost.


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## Budlady (Jan 28, 2011)

Thank goodness he drank some pedilite just a few ounces hes been sleeping on and off today he just got up a few mins ago and drank about 3 oz out of the bottle for me this morning i was reading about baking soda balls from another web site and gave him 3 of them till he fought me off lol he did poop just not its not watery any more just bright yeloow and mushy it looks like banna  pudding he did bleet for the bottle though thats the first time all day


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

Glad to hear it!

The poo color and texture concern me though.  If it were me I'd probably give him a shot of PenG (penicillin)


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## Budlady (Jan 28, 2011)

most of his poop was like frothy water its firming up some im going to have to wash him off he has it all over his legs and his tail but  im afraidf to wash it off i dont want him to get a chill or a cold on top of all this
even though hes in my kitchen lol where i keep it very warm


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

I would hold off on washing it off (as gross as it is).  If it's dry you can take a fine tooth comb and comb most of the crust out of his hair.

Wait until he's better before you think about a wash and only if you can get him dry quickly and nice and warm.  imo


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

Why wouldn't you give sub q fluids elevan?


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> Why wouldn't you give sub q fluids elevan?


I'm not comfortable with it.  Shots no problem - though I wasn't comfortable with those at first.

I should have put that was just me and that it wasn't completely out of the question.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

I see, I was just curious.  I keep lactated ringers on hand and I WOULD be inclined to give them, but if there's a downside to doing so in this case I'd be interested to hear it.  Anyone else want to weigh in on the sub q fluids question?

Edited to add: If you give injections then the sub q fluids are no biggie, elevan.  I have a cat with LPGS and when he crashes every three months or so I have to give them for a few days along with the antibiotics/steroid/surgery/etc.  It's just the same as an injection except that the drip does the work and you have to sit there forever.


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

I also do believe that getting the animal to drink on their own is the best course of action if it is achievable.  It seemed that all other options weren't eliminated prior to jumping to sub-q fluids.  The OP posted several posts trying to get a solution, so I was also looking at it from the other posts too.  I've not yet been put into a position that I've needed to resort to sub-q fluid (thank goodness).  If forced to face it, I would do it (anything to save my goats) but other options would be tried first.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

I don't see it as a "last resort" sort of thing in the case of possible dehydration.  But again, most of my experience with SQ fluids is with cats, not goats.  With cats it definitely isn't a last resort, it's the FIRST thing you do when they're not eating.

Budlady- I'm not saying you should go ahead with the sub q fluids.  Just trying to get additional info/advice about your initial question.


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## helmstead (Jan 28, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> I also do believe that getting the animal to drink on their own is the best course of action if it is achievable.  It seemed that all other options weren't eliminated prior to jumping to sub-q fluids.  The OP posted several posts trying to get a solution, so I was also looking at it from the other posts too.  I've not yet been put into a position that I've needed to resort to sub-q fluid (thank goodness).  If forced to face it, I would do it (anything to save my goats) but other options would be tried first.


A sick and dehydrated animal would only benefit from SQ fluids.  It would NEVER hurt.

And I disagree with the PenG.  I wouldn't treat any of the possible problems this kid is having.  I'm on the same page as Roll - upset tummy from the canned/powdered milk change.

I'm glad to hear he likes the Pedialyte!  Stick to that for the next 24 hrs, then gradually introduce whole cows milk from the store.

ETA - yellow poop is from the milk, it's milk poop.  It's a funny color because the milk was processed and so didn't digest the same way raw or even store milk would.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

helmstead said:
			
		

> And I disagree with the PenG.  I wouldn't treat any of the possible problems this kid is having.


Just pointing out a typo- I knew that you meant "It" (the pen G) wouldn't treat any of the possible issues but I thought it might be good to clarify since it changes the meaning a bit!

Kate, you should really go take a nap.


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## elevan (Jan 28, 2011)

Budlady - I don't know everything about goats...neither does anyone else on this forum.  Our "advise" is what we would do in your situation.  You cannot take any one person's advice for the "gospel"  Ask your questions and figure out what works best for YOU.  At the end of the day you've got to make the call for your own farm / animals.

Hope your kid is continuing to get better


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## helmstead (Jan 28, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> helmstead said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


<snort>  Yeah, suppose I should.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jan 28, 2011)

I'd also give subQ fluids if I thought an animal needed them.  It's easy to do, and nsmithurmond, I don't wait for it to drip. If I have to give a large amt I'd just give in multiple locations.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> nsmithurmond, I don't wait for it to drip. If I have to give a large amt I'd just give in multiple locations.


Good advice!  I think if I was giving them to a goat I'd go this route, too.  What size syringe do you use?  My cat gets to have me stand around twiddling my thumbs. 

The biggest reason I won't hesitate for a second to give my cat SQ fluids is that when a cat gets the "feel-bads" water consumption drops.  And, although it's totally counter-intuitive, the more dehydrated they get the less willing they are to eat or drink.  They just don't FEEL good.  Then they end up even more dehydrated.  Nasty cycle.  

The best way to get them eating and drinking normally is to rehydrated them SQ.  It perks them up enough (along with treatment of whatever's making them feel bad in the first place) to get them eating and drinking again.  I've seen dehydrated cats come in to the clinic I work at that would have seriously keeled over and died from dehydration before they'd drink on their own.  Actually, my cat is one of them.  Every three months.

If you're not comfortable giving fluids SQ, no worries.  This doesn't seem like a situation where you have to.  But, the original question was "can I," which I took to imply they might want to if it would help.


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## Budlady (Jan 28, 2011)

well hes up and about hes bouncing arround and trying to suck on my fingers he even got up to nibble on my pants while i was cooking dinner he gave me a good scare i want to thank every one for the advice im new to bottle feeding and i am grateful for everyones reply


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 28, 2011)

That's wonderful!

I had a kid not too long ago that slept with his eyes open, not just a little, I mean OPEN.  He also liked to sleep with his neck outstretched and his face on the ground.  He convinced me he was dead the first time I saw it and gave me a pretty good scare.  Not fun.


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## Budlady (Jan 28, 2011)

how often should i give him this pedilite and how much he will suck a whole bottle down if i let him i dont want to make him sicker oh yeah btw i am picking up shot for him tommrow i sold some of my game chickens a little while ago to the neighbor so i have some cash handy thank goodness


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## Roll farms (Jan 28, 2011)

What kind of kid is he (mini kid, like a nigerian or pygmy, or a full-sized kid like a Nubian or boer)?

If he's a mini, I'd feed him 4-6 oz, if he's full sized, 8-12 of the pedialyte before you go to bed...if he's willing to eat in the am, try half pedialyte, half whole milk and see how he does.   Warm it to room temp or so.

What shot are you picking up tomorrow?

Glad he's doing better.


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## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

im sorry hes a spanish boer cross what ever shots he needs i called the feed store and he agreed to let me charge till we get payed on monday the guy was realy nice he told me not to worry he would show me what he would need as far as his shots and wormer belive me i dont want him to be sick ever again so i want to be ahead of the game and have what i need here at hand


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## aggieterpkatie (Jan 29, 2011)

Glad to hear it is working out with the kid, Budlady.  And that's nice of the guy at the store to let you charge it!  





			
				n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> Good advice!  I think if I was giving them to a goat I'd go this route, too.  What size syringe do you use?


I use a 60 cc usually, something big.


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## Ariel301 (Jan 29, 2011)

I do use sub-q fluids if a baby goat is down and won't take anything orally. Those little kids can dehydrate FAST and dehydration is the last thing they need on top of whatever made them sick in the first place. 

I would not advise it to anyone who has no experience doing so though, or at least has given a lot of shots so they are competent enough to do it correctly. 

Lactated ringer solution is the thing meant for doing this, but I am not able to get it where I am...no vet will give it out without examining the animal, and our vets don't examine goats. (We lost our horse because the vet would not send her home with IV fluids for me to give her, they wanted to hospitalize her for them and that was going to run us over a thousand dollars, which we didn't have, so we had to just take her home to die.) Most mail-order companies require a prescription to order lactated ringers. In a pinch you can use unflavored Pedialyte sub-q. NOT IV. (At least, I don't know if it is safe that way) Using a large needle, inject a good size pocket of fluid over the rib cage on each side of the kid, it will slowly get absorbed into the system; it is like having an internal IV bag. Refill as needed. I only do this once the goat begins to get dehydrated though, because I don't like to stick a needle in an animal needlessly and have the silly baby start drinking on its own ten minutes later. I always try to get it down their throat by syringe first, or if the animal's stomach is working ok but it's just being too stubborn to drink, I will sometimes use a stomach tube to get food into a baby. (again, not recommended for a beginner to try alone without prior experience or an experienced helper, it's a dangerous thing to do if you don't know how) If the animal is unable to swallow on its own or the gut isn't moving, I will inject the fluids because at that point putting them in the stomach isn't going to get them absorbed fast enough. 

I'm not a vet, so don't take any of this for legitimate medical advice, but this is how I deal with this kind of situation.


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