Grabbed the SMZ-TMP from the vet last night (they left it out back with an invoice on it...pay whenever...they make mistakes sometimes, sure, but leaving meds for me to pick up after hours is just awesome), picked up some human food, more electrolyte, nutri-drench, a few cheapo $4 throw blankets at Wal-Mart for more clean bedding, and headed home..
The doe met me with a "MAAAAA!" when I walked in the door..
She was up and about and sniffing and investigating.. She had a few more small watery poos, but then it turned to sort of a 'jelly' poop.. Definitely more solid, which is good.
I saw her drink..and drink..and drink..and drink..would barely let us eat our dinner for wanting to sniff around and see if we had anything she'd be interested in.
Goats don't eat chicken fingers, though. I tried to tell her, but she insisted on sniffing anyway..
She ate a little here and there, stopping once to really chow down pretty vigorously for a good couple of minutes. Didn't consume a great volume of hay, but had a prolonged interest in it.
She burped up big ol' cheek-filling cuds for quite a while after that, then she and my wife laid down in the kitchen and fell asleep cuddled up with each other.
She got her 3rd of 6 Naxcel's this morning, and another shot of b-complex. Her rumen was pretty empty this morning, and her ears were chilly from inactivity.. She ground her teeth a bit, but that could be from one of many things bugging her right now...residual pain from the infection, an empty tummy, the shots, fatigue, who knows.. She did make more jelly poo this morning, though, and pee'd what seemed to be a gallon when she got up. What she needs right now is to EAT, which I suspect she'll do today.
I hope, anyway.
All in all, she seems MUCH better.. Given that her poo was starting to solidify and that she hadn't had a dose of scour halt in quite some time, I held off on the SMZ-TMP.. I think the Scour-Halt served to slow it down enough to allow hydration and nursing to keep her alive until the Naxcel could begin working..
I don't like that solution, though, because stopping her from pooping when there's a pathogen that's causing her damage is not exactly ideal.. Keeps her from dehydrating and going into shock, which helps her stay alive...but it's not something I'd imagine is very pleasant.
All I know is...her sister was 14hrs dead by this point in her disease progression, and this gal seems to be -- SEEMS TO BE (knocking furiously on wood!) -- going the other way so far. She's alive, alert, upright, bright, thirsty but hydrated, ploppy-poopied, and mildly interested in food. That's pretty good, considering what all she's been through.
What
sucks is that it's raining cats and dogs here...damp, and chilly. If it were warmer, she'd probably go out to graze and maybe get to spend the night in the barn with the rest of the goats.. I sorta think watching them eat hay might encourage her to eat hay, but I dunno. That's just speculation. As it is, though, looks like she'll probably be in the house a third night.
That's OK, though...she's above ground, and I'm pretty sure she'll eat when she gets hungry enough.
Oh...all the other goats attacked their hay this morning, so we're good there SO FAR.
I'm sure my wife will call with periodic updates today, so I'll keep y'all posted.
Thanks for everything, btw..
