HELP! BABY GOAT LOST LOTS OF BLOOD!!

[goatyyymama164]

This morning we came outside to bottle feed our 2 week old nigerian dwarf kids and while we were feeding our other kids one of our doeling snagged her head and ripped open her wound on her freshly disbudded head. She started gushing blood and we ran to our milking parlor and grabbed a paper towel to try and stop the bleeding but she still lost a LOT of blood. We put corn starch on it and it stopped. We also gave her some nutridrench and lots of milk. Her eye area is very swollen. and all of the cornstarch is just globbed and stuck in her head. She is in a playpen in the house with one of our calmer kids, should she be by herself? Anything else we should do? We really want her to get better fast and we are worried she will rip her scab open again or get it infected. HELP!

 

[animalmom]

First off a Big Hug. There always seems like oceans of blood from a head wound... not to say your wee doeling doesn't have a problem.

Stopping the bleeding fast, like you did, is the first thing to do. Once you are sure the bleeding is stopped then you can gently wash her face to see exactly what you are facing.

Could be she hit her head at a disbudding point and didn't really tear her scalp. If she really did tear her scalp then I think a vet visit would be in order. A call in for the vet would be a good idea anyway especially once you get a clear look at her head. The vet may suggest some antibiotics.

I think you keeping her inside with a calm buddy is the thing to do until you can calmly check out the damage. Goaties don't like being alone and a buddy may help to keep her calm.

Please keep us posted as to her progress. Good luck, but I'm confident you and the mischief maker will do just fine.

 

[Alaskan]

With such a serious wound, especially if she is at all droopy ... I would call the vet.

But yes,keep her isolated for now so that she stays quiet.

 

[goatyyymama164]

She seems pretty fine now. We drove her over to our goat mentor and they washed her head and it was just a small little cut. This is the 3rd time she had tried to kill her self, lol

 

[Legamin]

This morning we came outside to bottle feed our 2 week old nigerian dwarf kids and while we were feeding our other kids one of our doeling snagged her head and ripped open her wound on her freshly disbudded head. She started gushing blood and we ran to our milking parlor and grabbed a paper towel to try and stop the bleeding but she still lost a LOT of blood. We put corn starch on it and it stopped. We also gave her some nutridrench and lots of milk. Her eye area is very swollen. and all of the cornstarch is just globbed and stuck in her head. She is in a playpen in the house with one of our calmer kids, should she be by herself? Anything else we should do? We really want her to get better fast and we are worried she will rip her scab open again or get it infected. HELP!

One thing in your favor is that it is a young healthy animal. Though head wounds are quite alarming, because of the incredibly complex blood flow to the head area outside the skull, even minor wounds are likely to bleed profusely. Without pictures it is difficult for us to understand how much ‘lots of blood’ is exactly. But if the wound in stopped you are headed in the right direction.. if you have a suture kit…or have a farm store available to you…it would not hurt to clean thoroughly and stitch any wound that has an opening of 3/16” or greater (width) and it an inch or more in length…(of course this is also highly dependent on the depth of the wound as well). If it is closed and there is no hair caught in the opening of the wound where clotting is occurring you should be fine. The corn starch is a good solution but if you are going to continue to apply it you should put it in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and bake it at 250F for at least ten minutes. Then let it cool in the oven to keep germs/bacteria off as much as possible and without touching it put it into a new, clean container that has been wiped out with alcohol (and dried thoroughly). With this you can apply a sterile dressing of corn starch. One product I would recommend you keep in stock always is a product (though marketed for horses) called ‘Banixx’. It is a spray on product for wound care. It is disinfectant and mild but nothing short of miraculous in helping wounds heal. I have also used this on pink eye and had it clear up in three days. But once the wound is secure…not weeping, seeping, leaking or ‘wet looking’ and the blood surrounding it has darkened, apply an a antiseptic spray. I would also, as a longer term treatment for possible infection, spray an antibiotic topical spray such as ‘BLU-Kote’ on the wound liberally….but avoid the eyes…and this can be done by covering the eye with your finger or putting a piece of tape on the closed eye while you spray. It will not blind her but it can cause temporary discomfort and irritation…who needs that on top of a wound!?
Keeping up fluids for 24 hours is a good thing. Keep the electrolyte balance at a good dilution so you don’t cause an imbalance in the rumen which can cause gas/bloat. If she can be encouraged to eat some finely shredded hay or a little bit of grain it will be a good indicator that she is feeling better.
Waiting for improvement is the hardest thing to do. Checking in every 15 minutes will be a bit of torture to you…because very little improvement happens in that time…but it will tell you immediately and in a timely way (so you can effect treatment) if she starts losing ground.
Finally, if you have an antibiotic like simple Penicillin a shot of that IM to the shoulder (the thickest muscled area) with a 3/4” -20g. Needle (1/2” for tiny goats) once per day for at least 3-5 days would be advised to keep down any possible infection. Increase the first dose by up to 50% to improve effectiveness…the recommended dose is often slightly less than fully effective) If you don’t have these things you should consider building up a stock for the future…BUT! You kind of lucked out on this wound because head wounds bleed profusely and this is by design by nature. Being so close to the brain and eyes and ears..any infection would likely become fatal quickly in nature. So nature has built a perfect system where, if the wound is not too severe, the animal’s blood itself gushes quickly out to wash the wound clean. Then the system works quickly to shut down the blood supply to the capillary system so that it can slow and clot. In essence, nature herself provides a sterile solution and bandaid!
Check your records to make sure her Tetanus (CDT) vaccine is up to date and if she seems slow or confused try getting a bit of sucrose, 10ml per hour for up to three hours, (warm sugar water-up to 20% sugar dissolved by volume into warm water-) into her even if you have to tube it into the stomach. This will help her rumen kick on and make her hungry. If she just won’t eat within 24 hours you might try some whole milk or goats milk from a bottle…I don’t know how old she is but if feeding tube is difficult milk from a bottle will sometimes get them started eating.
Best of luck. While veterinarians are can be ungodly expensive….if she seems to lose strength and refuses food or activity to the point of limpness in her neck you might need to call someone. Of course the option of culling is yours if the cost/benefit of vet costs is impractical. God bless you and you little one!

 

[Legamin]

She seems pretty fine now. We drove her over to our goat mentor and they washed her head and it was just a small little cut. This is the 3rd time she had tried to kill her self, lol

I guess I hit send before I saw this! Glad she is fine!