coughing goats and lungworm

[honeyb12]

My goats cough every now and then and sometimes sneeze and some have a little watery discharge from nose. Is this normal? They are all eating fine and gaining weight and seem otherwise healthy (shiney coats and tails up). The cough sounds a little loose to me. What are the symptoms of Lungworm and how serious is it? I dont even like the sound of it.

 

[neener92]

I'd like to know the answer to this as well, one of my goats has a loose cough sometimes dry (mostly when she runs and eats), she coughs about 1 time every hour. I drenched her with Ivermectin, and it hasn't really got any better. Perhaps you could try some Ivermetin an see it that clears it up for ya. I've been trying to research lungworms and haven't found anywhere that it describes the cough they get, if it's dry or loose. I'd much rather her have lungworms then CL!

I've gotten to be on the paranoid side, I'm always freakin' out over nothin'. Are you feeding dusty hay or dusty feed?

 

[honeyb12]

Thanks for ur info. We sound like we r in the same boat. Except for Im new to this stuff and still have much to learn. Can u use the pour on Ivermectin or do u use injectable? I have both, not quite sure of dosages. What exactly is drenching? (I told u Im new to this, but I learn quick..hehe!) I just hope my poor goats can put up with my inexperience. I also noticed my goats have lice..I have used DE and 7 dust, however was wondering if the ivermectin will take of those as well.

 

[honeyb12]

Yeah it definately could be the hay..it is on the dusty side. The feed is not tho. Didn't think of that. It does seen to happen more when I feed them.

 

[neener92]

I use injectable and a drench (given orally, if you go this way make sure they aren't chewing their chud! lol), I don't think you can use pour-on for goats.....others can correct me if I am wrong, but I would us injectable. The Ivermectin should kill the lice, but I use dust too, also I dust their bedding good! I'm not the most experienced either with goats that is ....but I've grown up on a farm and have been around all sorts of critters my whole life.

 

[Chaty]

Cattle pour on has a chance of taking the hair off them as their skin isnt as tough as cattle. With Lice I inject the wormer if the dust dont work well enough. I also would clean the sleeping area and use the 7 dust there also. I use the Ivermectin plus it seems to cover more types of worms. Also if the copper isnt good in the goats the wormers dont work as well. Some coughs are from worms and some are upper respritory infections. If its a odd cough and thick green snot I start with feeding medicated crumbles in their feed and this helps with some that dont show signs as fast as others. It wont take long till you get the hang of it.

 

[elevan]

There are members who use the pour on given orally. This is controversial so do the research and make a decision based on that research.

Goats are very sensitive to topical applications, so I wouldn't use the pour on as a pour on personally.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

I do not reccomend, neither does my vet or my herd care provider, using the injectable or pour on Ivermectin orally. Both of them burn the esophogus of the animal and cause more damage than help. If you can find anyone that still has some, the BEST thing for treatment of lungworm is Levamisole(Levisol)... however, you cannot order any anymore, because some idiots decided to use it to cut cocaine, and the resulting cocaine gave other idiots flesh eating disease... so it has been halted/pulled from the market. The next best thing is to dose the affected goats with Ivermectin Sheep Drench, if you slightly over dose the doseage for sheep it will be fine, and will work a better, as it has a reasonable margin of error. You give them 1 dose(per their weight - 3ml per 26lbs), and then dose them again 2 weeks later. They may continue to cough for up to a year after being treated/cured, but the snots will go away with the worms.

 

[elevan]

Please don't turn this thread into a debate.

Almost all goat meds are off label / extra label and a vet should be consulted prior to administering any med as such.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Not debating, just stating what I do not recommend and why. Also wanted to put out there for the OP what has been known to have the best result in treating lungworm, which is either Levamisole or Ivermectin Sheep drench.

Also, my vet had no issues with injecting Olivia with Ivermectin 1% Injectable(I also have a bottle on hand), which, personnally, I know it has to be done at times, but I can't watch it being administered again(poor Olivia screamed so horribly)

I also keep Safeguard on hand, though I need to check in my paperwork and verify what it is best at killing... I think it is tapeworms... I think.
They are all good for different worms/parasites.. even Safeguard. I agree that everyone needs to research all the different meds, don't rely on any 1 site to give you 100% accurate info, and run everything by a goat knowledgeable vet and a long time goat herdsman/woman. It is one of the reasons why I am building up a nice network of goat owners... for shared experience and knowledge. Learn what has worked and what hasn't worked for others. We are all on the learning road together, and we can't learn if we don't share our experience and our learned experience, right?