Bladder infection

[gibbygoats]

My 1 1/2 year old pygmy doe has a bladder infection. She was straining to pee when I let her out this morning and it was only twickling out. I called the vet and he told me to give her 4cc of penicilin 2x day for 10 days SubQ.

My question is does anyone know what I can do to prevent this in the future? What about cranberry juice?

 

[cmjust0]

Are you absolutely sure it's a bladder infection? Trickling and straining to pee are also signs of urinary calculi, which I'll grant you are pretty rare in females...but it does happen.

Is she running a fever?

 

[gibbygoats]

I haven't taken her temperature, But in talking to the vet he said that since I saw her pee in a stream for about 4-5 seconds, but then continue to stain he didn't think she was blocked.

 

[kimmyh]

Does will attempt to urinate to show subservience and to show they are in heat. My guess is, your doe does not have an infection, but rather she is showing you that you are the herd boss.

 

[gibbygoats]

My vet did ask me if she was more vocal than usual,signaling she may be in heat, since she has'nt been vocal, he thought it was a bladder infection.

I am a little worried though, I just read that it is not ok for goats to eat chicken food. Although they eat mostly hay and goat pellets. I do have a chicken that lives with the goats and her food is always in with them.

Do you think the peeing problem could be related to the chicken food???

 

[cmjust0]

Constant exposure to feeds not formulated for goats (specifically the potential for <2:1 Ca, high magnesium, etc) could potentially be another strike in the UC column.

That it's a doe makes it significantly less likely, but it's not like females don't form urinary calculi just like bucks and wethers.. They do, indeed, and under the same circumstances as males. The difference is that the owner usually never knows it on account of a doe's urethra being shorter and wider and without all the crooks and turns and strictures and processes common to males which tend to trap the calculi on the way out..

If, however, a stone managed to become large enough in the bladder, it could still catch in a doe's urethra. Like I said, it's rare, but it happens.

Something else that occurs to me is that we're talking about a pygmy doe here...maybe I'm wrong, as I have practically zero knowledge of the anatomy of pygmy breeds, but I'd hazard a guess that a pygmy doe's urethra is probably smaller in diameter than that of a full-size breed doe.. But, again, I could be wrong.

Personally, I'd get a temperature on this doe. If she's got a bladder infection bad enough to cause her to strain and carry on, I would think she'd probably have at least a low-grade fever as well...if she didn't, I'd call the vet and let him know she didn't...see if that changes the picture at all.

As for the chicken feed situation....

It really shouldn't be that difficult to seperate the chicken feed from the goats, given that a chicken is much smaller than even a pygmy goat....just "creep feed" it. Put the chicken's feeder on the other side of a chicken-sized hole in a fence or stall door or wall or whatever and voila, the goats can't get into the chicken feed anymore.

 

[gibbygoats]

Thanks for all the great info, I'm relativly new to goats so I appriciate it.

If it is UC, would she have a fever?

Also do I need a special thermometor? I have a few that I use on my kids(humankids that is), can I use one of those or should I buy a special goat one?

 

[ksalvagno]

The "human" thermometer is fine. That is what I get for my animals.

 

[cmjust0]

Thanks for all the great info, I'm relativly new to goats so I appriciate it.

If it is UC, would she have a fever?

Also do I need a special thermometor? I have a few that I use on my kids(humankids that is), can I use one of those or should I buy a special goat one?

The one we have is an old glass type...which makes me a little nervous, frankly, but I'm not sure what else I'd use. Obviously, it does NOT go under the tongue, so whatever you use should probably remain a "special goat one" from that point on.

Urinary calculi would not present with a fever, to my knowledge. That's why I thought it might be of some value to run it by the vet if she did not have a fever because, again, I would think that a UTI would present with at least a low-grade fever (as most infections do)..

The penicillin is a good move, either way. I'd also consider some banamine -- or even good ol' ibuprofen -- for the pain and inflammation that's likely present in either case.

If it's UC...and I'm certainly not saying that it is!! I really hope it's not, in fact!!...but if it is, demand that dexamethasone be part of the treatment. Shoot for 100ml bottle if you can get it, but if not, get several correctly-dosed syringes and give it every few days. Treating the inflammation is crucial to any chance for success with UC.

Keep us posted!

 

[lilhill]

Also do I need a special thermometor? I have a few that I use on my kids(humankids that is), can I use one of those or should I buy a special goat one?

Go to Walmart and get the digital thermometer. The cheap ones work well. Just make sure you keep it with your GOAT supplies.