Cold Or Respiratory Problem

[stano40]

I have a young alpine wether, approximately 11 months old. He has been coughing some in the past but it was looking more like dust from the hay he was eating.

He is progressing to be laying around more and tearing streaks from both eyes. He also has fluid from his nose which looks clear when running but dries a tan color against his buckskin coat.

Could this be a common cold or respiratory infection?

Would a good probiotics work to help out his symptoms.

bob/Maine

 

[ksalvagno]

He probably has a respiratory infection. You need antibiotics. At least Penicillin. I'm not sure of the dosage for goats on that. If you get regular penicillin, it needs to be given twice a day for 10-14 days. If you get long acting penicillin, then you would only have to give one shot a day for 10-14 days. I have been using Draxxin which is very expensive but it lasts for 7 days so you are only giving 2 shots.

You really need to get some antibiotics in him very soon.

The probiotics are great supportive care but will do nothing for his infection.

 

[DonnaBelle]

I have a year old Nubian I am giving 1.1 ml. of Draxxen each week for pneumonia.

This year has been so wet that the bugs have been able to really do their thing on our goats and calves too.

When I got her she had a sniffy nose with clear snot and the occasional cough. I took her to two vets in my area and they prescribed other things.

I finally took her to the Oklahoma State University (3 hrs awa) and they tested her and diagnosed her with pneumonia.

She feels the best when the weather is dry and the humidity is low.

I don't know if she'll ever be completely rid of it, but I am sure trying. I hope she will get a lot better this summer, especially if we have some good hot weather like we are supposed to here in Oklahoma.

DonnaBelle

 

[stano40]

UPDATE:

Found penicillin G at our farm store, manufacturer was Duvet. Wasn't sure about the dosage so I called the manufacturer and they had no clue what to do with dosage for a goat.

My wife took our goat (Archie) to the vet's and found and upper and lower respiratory infection (pneumonia). They looked at what we bought and said it was OK to use.

He was put 5 cc of the pen-G and will be on it for the next 6 days. The vet said that this was most likely brought on by allergies. After she said that I remember how he would cough and sneeze from eating a dustier alfalfa hay.

We got him back a little groggy from the blood work up and the pen-G shot and had to give him a big hug and rub. While we were bringing in all the new feed Archie went over to the manna calf-pro bag and started feasting for himself. He loves opening those bags. He also liked the new barley flakes we bought for the new goat mix.

bob

 

[ksalvagno]

Glad to hear you got him to the vet and he is on antibiotics. I would think he should recover in no time.

 

[cmjust0]

UPDATE:

Found penicillin G at our farm store, manufacturer was Duvet. Wasn't sure about the dosage so I called the manufacturer and they had no clue what to do with dosage for a goat.

My wife took our goat (Archie) to the vet's and found and upper and lower respiratory infection (pneumonia). They looked at what we bought and said it was OK to use.

He was put 5 cc of the pen-G and will be on it for the next 6 days. The vet said that this was most likely brought on by allergies. After she said that I remember how he would cough and sneeze from eating a dustier alfalfa hay.

We got him back a little groggy from the blood work up and the pen-G shot and had to give him a big hug and rub. While we were bringing in all the new feed Archie went over to the manna calf-pro bag and started feasting for himself. He loves opening those bags. He also liked the new barley flakes we bought for the new goat mix.

bob

If he's an 11mo wether, I'm guessing he's probably in the 100lb range.. Something like that?

The dosage for PenG (Durvet's 300,000 unit/ML, for instance) is 1ml/15lbs, SQ, twice a day, for 7 to 10 to 14 days (depending on who you ask).. At least a week.. I use an 18ga needle for PenG because it's a suspension with big particles...

If I'm close on the weight, he'd need at least 6ml twice a day for a week or more to ensure his blood levels of PenG stay up enough to ensure it's effective.. Possibly 7-8ml, depending on how big he is..

At least, that seems to be the general concensus on PenG dosage for goats among goat people.

 

[stano40]

UPDATE:

Found penicillin G at our farm store, manufacturer was Duvet. Wasn't sure about the dosage so I called the manufacturer and they had no clue what to do with dosage for a goat.

My wife took our goat (Archie) to the vet's and found and upper and lower respiratory infection (pneumonia). They looked at what we bought and said it was OK to use.

He was put 5 cc of the pen-G and will be on it for the next 6 days. The vet said that this was most likely brought on by allergies. After she said that I remember how he would cough and sneeze from eating a dustier alfalfa hay.

We got him back a little groggy from the blood work up and the pen-G shot and had to give him a big hug and rub. While we were bringing in all the new feed Archie went over to the manna calf-pro bag and started feasting for himself. He loves opening those bags. He also liked the new barley flakes we bought for the new goat mix.

bob

If he's an 11mo wether, I'm guessing he's probably in the 100lb range.. Something like that?

The dosage for PenG (Durvet's 300,000 unit/ML, for instance) is 1ml/15lbs, SQ, twice a day, for 7 to 10 to 14 days (depending on who you ask).. At least a week.. I use an 18ga needle for PenG because it's a suspension with big particles...

If I'm close on the weight, he'd need at least 6ml twice a day for a week or more to ensure his blood levels of PenG stay up enough to ensure it's effective.. Possibly 7-8ml, depending on how big he is..

At least, that seems to be the general consensus on PenG dosage for goats among goat people.

Your darn close on the weight. He weighed in at 117 lbs and his age is 11 months old. He's my baby boy and I have to hold him for his shot. He cries when he gets it and sulks afterward until I hug him.

I think the big reason my wife finally decided on the vet was the lack of information from Durvet and the feeling that "don't call me, I'll call you" attitude on the phone she took him in for the proper treatment.

bob

 

[cmjust0]

Your darn close on the weight. He weighed in at 117 lbs and his age is 11 months old.

Ha! I'll have you know that I almost said 115-120...birth weight (5-10lbs) + (10lbs/mo * 11mo) = 115 to 120lbs.. Musta been 7lbs at birth.

He's my baby boy and I have to hold him for his shot. He cries when he gets it and sulks afterward until I hug him.

Are you giving the shot IM or SQ? Vets all-too-often instruct PenG to be given IM, but it's really not necessary....and can actually be deadly, if you hit a vein. Or cause a debilitating injury if you hit the sciatic nerve in the leg.

SQ -- much easier. I try to use the armpit area - just behind the front knee, toward the front of the ribs -- for SQ injections. The hide up high around their back is TOUGH...I've had them cry and squirm when giving shots there.

Typically, they hardly notice if you give it in the armpit area.. I rarely even ask for help holding them anymore, actually...just straddle their neck facing backward and lock their head in, grab up some loose skin and go to work. We're talking a matter of seconds..

I think the big reason my wife finally decided on the vet was the lack of information from Durvet and the feeling that "don't call me, I'll call you" attitude on the phone she took him in for the proper treatment.

bob

That's a good thing. I always like to hear stories of people who care enough about their goats to seek professional help when necessary.

Still...to reiterate...the dosage I use -- the dosage that was recommended to me by my own vet, and the dosage I've seen most frequently referenced for goats -- is 1ml/15lbs, 2x/day for 7 to 10 (or 14) days..

Just sayin.

 

[stano40]

Your darn close on the weight. He weighed in at 117 lbs and his age is 11 months old.

Ha! I'll have you know that I almost said 115-120...birth weight (5-10lbs) + (10lbs/mo * 11mo) = 115 to 120lbs.. Musta been 7lbs at birth.

He's my baby boy and I have to hold him for his shot. He cries when he gets it and sulks afterward until I hug him.

Are you giving the shot IM or SQ? Vets all-too-often instruct PenG to be given IM, but it's really not necessary....and can actually be deadly, if you hit a vein. Or cause a debilitating injury if you hit the sciatic nerve in the leg.

SQ -- much easier. I try to use the armpit area - just behind the front knee, toward the front of the ribs -- for SQ injections. The hide up high around their back is TOUGH...I've had them cry and squirm when giving shots there.

Typically, they hardly notice if you give it in the armpit area.. I rarely even ask for help holding them anymore, actually...just straddle their neck facing backward and lock their head in, grab up some loose skin and go to work. We're talking a matter of seconds..

I think the big reason my wife finally decided on the vet was the lack of information from Durvet and the feeling that "don't call me, I'll call you" attitude on the phone she took him in for the proper treatment.

bob

That's a good thing. I always like to hear stories of people who care enough about their goats to seek professional help when necessary.

Still...to reiterate...the dosage I use -- the dosage that was recommended to me by my own vet, and the dosage I've seen most frequently referenced for goats -- is 1ml/15lbs, 2x/day for 7 to 10 (or 14) days..

Just sayin.

No problem, that's a lot of good advise and I'll show this to my wife since she is the one giving him the shots.

The vet did an IM shot and showed her where to do it. She used to have to give her Grandmother her diabetes shot sometimes so is a little familiar with the needle.

Yea, Archie didn't like it in his rump so she just might choose to try the SQ shot area. That sure would be easier to hold on to him.

We had to give Archie his shot pretty much after dosing the 2 pregnant does with selenium gel for their delivery sometime around the end of this month. They didn't like it much and it was harder to hold with their horns intact but it got done with a lot of dirty looks from them afterwards.

bob

 

[cmjust0]

The vet did an IM shot and showed her where to do it. She used to have to give her Grandmother her diabetes shot sometimes so is a little familiar with the needle.

Figures...vets love IM shots, without considering how much more intimidating they can be to newbies than SQ shots.

Yea, Archie didn't like it in his rump so she just might choose to try the SQ shot area. That sure would be easier to hold on to him.

We had to give Archie his shot pretty much after dosing the 2 pregnant does with selenium gel for their delivery sometime around the end of this month. They didn't like it much and it was harder to hold with their horns intact but it got done with a lot of dirty looks from them afterwards.

bob

I've always found that horns make really good handles. They don't tend to very go far without their horns.

It used to really aggravate me when animals were wiley when I was trying to give shots -- still does sometimes -- but what I came to find is that you kinda have to learn to appreciate the times when they fight with you.

When they don't fight you anymore...when they just stand there, or more often lay there, and show no reaction to being jabbed at because they're really bad-off sick...that's when giving shots really sucks.

So...if he fights with you, just smile and know that's a good thing.