eye rupture

[Shepherd Moon]

I have a 15-yr old angora goat who has had worsening problems. (I suspect she has CAE; over the past year she's developed arthritis, abnormal hoof growth, swollen warm udders, occasional paralysis and/or seizures.) Yesterday I found her rigid on her side, and unable to stand up. When I helped her to her feet, I noticed that she had apparently banged her head so hard into the ground that she broke her horn nearly off. More disturbing, when I took a look at her, I noticed that where her eye used to be was packed with dirt. The whole area is swollen and I've rinsed it to the best of my ability, but I cannot tell exactly how much is swelling around the eye making the eyeball look sunken vs. how much is ruptured eyeball. She used to have a blue eye and there is no sign of blue anywhere in there now, so I'm sure she's blind in that eye now, even if there is something left in the socket. Today it seems to be weeping with pus. I rush shipped some "pink eye" antibacterial, anti-fungal spray which arrived today, but reading the fine print, it says not to use on a ruptured eye, so I'm back to square one with no plan for treatment. (I'm also looking for some Bio-mycin, but again I really don't know if that's what I need for her.)

I don't have a goat vet and my horse vet has no idea what to do. A normal person would probably put her down at this point, but I'm not quite ready to give up on her yet. She doesn't seem to be in pain and is eating and drinking normally, so I'm thinking that if she's willing to hang in there, I need to be willing to try to help her. I give her aspirin regularly for the arthritis and hope it's also helping to keep her comfortable right now too. Infection is my prime concern, but how to clean and treat and bandage the eye is also a question. Any ideas on what I can possibly do for her? (By the way, her horn is pressed diagonally across her skull, mostly but not completely broken off, and I don't know what to do about that either.)

I would really appreciate some advice. Thank you!

 

[norseofcourse]

Welcome to BHY, and sorry to hear about your goat's troubles. Have you asked your horse vet if they know of any vets around who might have any experience with goats? Are there any people in your area who keep goats who might be able to help or advise you?

I've never dealt with a ruptured eye before, but there's lots of experienced people here so hopefully someone will post soon with some advice.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I am sorry to hear about that. She has to be uncomfortable. If her eye is ulcerated, it needs to be vet treated and probably removed before the infection spreads. That is not something I would ever take on as an at home procedure. I have to imagine that it would be a bit costly too, and you say she is 15 years old. You might need to do some weighing of options for her and decide what would be best for her and you. I totally understand not being ready for her to be gone so finding a vet to treat her is probably imperative. Can you call back the horse vet to as about removal? Or some cat/dog vets will do goats in a pinch. You could maybe get some referrals calling around too.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Agree with PP.... it's not always about prolonging life...it's about quality. I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope your goat can be helped, but if not I hope you can help her out of her pain. Sending best wishes for the best outcome.

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry for the reason you're here, but welcome to BYH none the less. Are we EVER really ready to let our animals go? I'm sorry, but I see it as a quality of life issue. From all that you've said, she's in really rough shape, and at 15, getting old for a goat. Just because you can keep her alive another short while doesn't mean you should... as you stated: "A normal person would probably put her down at this point..." Whatever you decide, I hope it's what's best for her, more so than you.

I have to agree with the others WRT getting that eye looked at by a vet. If it's infected with pus coming out, there's a direct path for that infection into her brain. I can do first aid/triage with normal cuts and even do stitches if needed, but I wouldn't even think about digging around in an eye socket... As for the horn, if it's broken at the base, that has probably/may have exposed her nasal cavity and should also be looked at by a vet. If she falls again, she may impact dirt in there as well. I've never heard of a horn being re-attached, so it will most likely have to be removed. There is at least one thread on here about a goat that had her horns surgically removed and the healing process involved (I believe it was 6-8 weeks or more).

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Shepherd Moon]

Thanks for all the kind responses. Admittedly putting an animal down is a very tough choice for me. It will come to that eventually, but I look at an animal and evaluate, "Would she rather be dead or alive?". Right now she's still taking pleasure in being alive; she was eager for breakfast, later devoured her banana slices (with aspirin and MSM pills hidden inside), and was very curious about my camera while I took a few pictures of her to post (but I cannot figure out how to create a URL link - but maybe nobody wants to see eye injury pictures anyway). Her quality of life has deteriorated, but I don't see her "suffering".

My son washed out her eye and trimmed the blood-matted hair this morning, and it looks better than I expected - not great, but gives me more hope. I don't know "eyeballs" but there's still an orb in there (it's convex, not concave), but I really think the cornea is gone.

At least 12 years ago I found a cow vet about an hour away to work on my other goat with a urethra blockage. She was the only person I could find willing to look at a goat (and she had expected to put him down, but instead we saved him and he's still doing great!). I will try to find her again on Monday, but am concerned about the cost (and success) of eyeball surgery.

I also found a past post here called "eyeball injury" (from July 2013) where someone (Straw Hat Kikos) suggested injections of penicillin IM and a penicillin eye flush every day. I could easily do that, assuming I can get some penicillin somewhere...

 

[Hens and Roos]

and that you can find the vet again to see what can be done for her

 

[Latestarter]

I'm not sure where you're located, but you can get penicillin and some other animal antibiotics (here in CO) at animal husbandry stores like TSC (Tractor Supply Co).

 

[Shepherd Moon]

I'm not sure where you're located, but you can get penicillin and some other animal antibiotics (here in CO) at animal husbandry stores like TSC (Tractor Supply Co).

I'm in California. I'll ask at my feed store, they have some stuff, but I know they cannot carry most anything a vet prescribes. But I'm thinking my horse vet probably has penicillin - right? (Maybe my dog vet clinic, but they aren't too willing to part with medicines except for the dogs/cats they are treating.)

 

[Latestarter]

@babsbag Can you help this lady? I know you're in CA too.