Gabby
Chillin' with the herd
Hello everyone!
I have a tiny goat that seems to be prone to illness. She is a boer/nubian that is seven months old, but was in a set of twins and born very, very small while her sibling was born normal size. At seven months, she only weighs seventeen pounds. I was recently given a goat that was, surprise surprise, infested with parasites. While we tried to act quickly as soon as we noticed, the goat was too far gone when we got him and passed away. Because he shared the field with our herd before we noticed and quarentined him, the rest of our goats got infested. I dewormed with Ivomec and everyone seems to be doing good except for Bitsy.
We took her to the vet December 27th because I noticed she was suddenly just standing off to the side, looking scruffy, and not intereacting with me at all, while she had been 100% fine and playful the day before. By the time we got her to the vet, she was nearly dead. She could barely hold up her head, was severely dehydrated, and her glucose levels were way down. The vet and all the nurses told us that survival was unlikely and to prepare for the worst. By the next morning, by some miracle, she was all better.
I was instructed to bring her home, keep her very warm, give her a high quality pellet food with her hay, and make sure she's hydrated. Since our options for the goats are either A) In the field with a large metal structure as shelter or B) In an insulated barn with no field, I opted for the barn to keep her warmer. She has been in there since the 27th with a goat the same age as her, and she has done amazingly well! She perked up, her coat went back to normal, and she was running around and baaing. I took them off the pellet food three days ago and gave them baking soda and a small dose of corn oil, since I lost two goats to bloat (accidentally, don't feel my goats pellets any more) and really don't like giving any goats pellets. She has been supplied with clean water, fresh hay, a good warm layer of hay on the floor, and a friend, all the while being kept nice and warm.
This morning I went out to the barn and lo and behold, she was down again. She was laying in the hay bleating at me, and when I picked her up and put her on her feet she laid right back down instantly. I brought her into the house, and as I type we are laying on the floor together in front of the heater. She is on a large blanket and has a throw blanket wrapped around her. Throughout the time I was typing this, she has eaten an entire dog-food-bowl (sorry, don't know the measurements) of the goat pellet feed, which is a good sign, right? What can I do to help her? It's been a week, can I administer more dewormer? (Ivomec, though the vet gave me a different brand I'd have to find in the medicine cabinet) Is there anything I can feed her to help her? Normally I would rush her to the vet right away, but we live on a dirt road that just got hit with seven inches of snow last night, our truck is in the shop, and I am stuck with a tiny little Nissan that can't take on the snow and ice. I am about to give her water with an eyedropper to make sure she drinks and provide her with another bowl of food.
(Note: For whatever reason, whenever I would ask the vets or nurses what kind of worms she had, they would say "it's a parasite load" and not tell me what type, so I'm assuming that since it worked for all my other goats, Ivomec treats whatever it is?)
I have a tiny goat that seems to be prone to illness. She is a boer/nubian that is seven months old, but was in a set of twins and born very, very small while her sibling was born normal size. At seven months, she only weighs seventeen pounds. I was recently given a goat that was, surprise surprise, infested with parasites. While we tried to act quickly as soon as we noticed, the goat was too far gone when we got him and passed away. Because he shared the field with our herd before we noticed and quarentined him, the rest of our goats got infested. I dewormed with Ivomec and everyone seems to be doing good except for Bitsy.
We took her to the vet December 27th because I noticed she was suddenly just standing off to the side, looking scruffy, and not intereacting with me at all, while she had been 100% fine and playful the day before. By the time we got her to the vet, she was nearly dead. She could barely hold up her head, was severely dehydrated, and her glucose levels were way down. The vet and all the nurses told us that survival was unlikely and to prepare for the worst. By the next morning, by some miracle, she was all better.
I was instructed to bring her home, keep her very warm, give her a high quality pellet food with her hay, and make sure she's hydrated. Since our options for the goats are either A) In the field with a large metal structure as shelter or B) In an insulated barn with no field, I opted for the barn to keep her warmer. She has been in there since the 27th with a goat the same age as her, and she has done amazingly well! She perked up, her coat went back to normal, and she was running around and baaing. I took them off the pellet food three days ago and gave them baking soda and a small dose of corn oil, since I lost two goats to bloat (accidentally, don't feel my goats pellets any more) and really don't like giving any goats pellets. She has been supplied with clean water, fresh hay, a good warm layer of hay on the floor, and a friend, all the while being kept nice and warm.
This morning I went out to the barn and lo and behold, she was down again. She was laying in the hay bleating at me, and when I picked her up and put her on her feet she laid right back down instantly. I brought her into the house, and as I type we are laying on the floor together in front of the heater. She is on a large blanket and has a throw blanket wrapped around her. Throughout the time I was typing this, she has eaten an entire dog-food-bowl (sorry, don't know the measurements) of the goat pellet feed, which is a good sign, right? What can I do to help her? It's been a week, can I administer more dewormer? (Ivomec, though the vet gave me a different brand I'd have to find in the medicine cabinet) Is there anything I can feed her to help her? Normally I would rush her to the vet right away, but we live on a dirt road that just got hit with seven inches of snow last night, our truck is in the shop, and I am stuck with a tiny little Nissan that can't take on the snow and ice. I am about to give her water with an eyedropper to make sure she drinks and provide her with another bowl of food.
(Note: For whatever reason, whenever I would ask the vets or nurses what kind of worms she had, they would say "it's a parasite load" and not tell me what type, so I'm assuming that since it worked for all my other goats, Ivomec treats whatever it is?)
