Cough that won't go away

[manybirds]

I purchased a lamancha doeling (about 8 months old now) a few months ago. When I got her she had a little bit of a runny nose but was otherwise healthy and I attributed it to the fact that she was in a really dusty older barn when I got her. I kept her separate from my herd for a few weeks and she was fine other than the runny nose stayed (thick gross snot started after I got her home) and I noticed a raspy cough. Finally the runny nose cleared up and I just put her in with the other ones. Now I have had her for a couple months and she still has a raspy cough (no runny nose anymore). Is there any way to clear it up and why won't it go away? Other than that she's a little small and my dominant female knocks her around a lot she does good. No other goats get sick. She has regular heat cycles (I don't want to breed her until I know her coughs nothing to be concerned about), a shiny coat, eats fine (when the bigger meaner ones are done), is friendly and seems happy and has buddied up with one other odd ball in my pen. Is there anything I can do or is it just one of those things?

 

[Baymule]

I am not a goat expert, but I have a senior horse that gets a bad cough in the winter. I give her Transfer Factor 4-life Livestock Stress Formula. It is an immunity builder and it works. It is expensive, but less than a vet call and less than the price of another animal.


http://transferfactor-4-life.com/4life-transfer-factor-livestock-stress-formula.aspx

Perhaps another more knowledgeable person can come help?
@Southern by choice
@babsbag
@goatgurl

 

[goatgurl]

one thought is that parasites can cause a cough. have you had a fecal done? i would start there. i have one older doe that gets a snotty nose every fall. I've doctored her to no avail and decided she has seasonal allergies. nothing i do helps and as winter comes on she gets over it??? she is 5 now and has done it every year since she was a kid.

 

[promiseacres]

X2 check a fecal

 

[manybirds]

No fecal done, she seems healthy otherwise so I never thought about getting one for her (I did worm her when I bought her), but I will now just to check. As far as allergies, maybe she has an allergy to hay dust or something? Because its been snowing and such here so any fall allergy should of gone away?

 

[Latestarter]

I don't know personally, but would think the runny nose would indicate an allergy thing more so than a cough... or maybe both simultaneously... Maybe she's fighting a mild pneumonia? Past the nasal stage now and just lungs... Other goaties on here have dealt w/that before and could prob recommend antibiotics for it...

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Its always good to have a fecal run BUT if this is a parasite that is making her cough probably won't show up in a regular fecal anyway. You would need to have a Baermanns float. This test is still very very inaccurate, most say its better to treat the doe and if it fixes her great, if not keep on trying. I am not a fan of using a dewormer without knowing if the goat has parasites or not but when lungworm is suspected it is probably best.

When we fist got goats they ended up getting lungworm, some of the vets said not to worry because "goats cough". We didn't really like that answer so we kept going. Talked to the labs as well as other vets about the Baermanns float and decided it was better just to treat with ivermectin.
Do you know if the breeder had lots of snails/slugs on the property?
I'm not sure if this is the case with your doe.

Have you taken her temp?

Last year we bought some does that were just shown and they ended up having very runny noses and raspy breathing. We treated them with oxytetracycline and it cleared right up.

Like the others said, allergies can cause coughing but at this point you might want a vet to look at her.

Hope this helped

 

[babsbag]

I vote for antibiotics. I am not a "run for the drugs" person at all, but goats with coughs are often pneumonia. Yes, there are allergies, yes there are parasites (lung worm), but a cough that started with a runny nose and doesn't go away when the nose clears up screams pnuemonia to me. I had kids with coughs all spring and summer and not until a did a round of Biomycin did it go away. Biomyicin doesnt sting as much as Duramycin but it is the same drug...Oxytetracline.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I vote for antibiotics. I am not a "run for the drugs" person at all, but goats with coughs are often pneumonia. Yes, there are allergies, yes there are parasites (lung worm), but a cough that started with a runny nose and doesn't go away when the nose clears up screams pnuemonia to me. I had kids with coughs all spring and summer and not until a did a round of Biomycin did it go away. Biomyicin doesnt sting as much as Duramycin but it is the same drug...Oxytetracline.

That is what I was thinking too. It doesn't really sound like lungworm to me.

 

[Southern by choice]

I agree with fecal test.
Lungworm can also cause these issues. What kind of cough is it?

Something no one has mentioned is whether your doe has been tested for CL?

Another thing is do you know what happened during her birth?
Some goats have issues from being born breech and in the canal too long, lungs get mildly damaged...if there was fluid in there and despite best efforts wasn't suctioned good enough. Can cause them to cough when weather changes, dust etc... not always.
Kind of like people with asthma- damp, dust, exertion, weather change, as well as season changes can cause the coughing. But generally there isn't fever etc.