Help - new goat we found has some issues

[TheSheepGirl]

okay, so I was off on the mm's cause I forgot what mili means, but give me a break on the cm's. about 16" is about a foot and a half. I could have said 16" which is what it came out as for me, but I thought that saying 1 1/2 feet would make it more relatable and plus I was being lazy. what's acouple of inches anyway when you're guessing age.

You cheated and used either a calculator or a measurement converter didn't you?

1/4" is technically less than 1 1/2" even though it was kinda off.

I was just going off the top of my head, so I think that was pretty close.

That's better than guessing 18 feet and negative 4.(knew you were joking FYI)

 

[jodief100]

okay, so I was off on the mm's cause I forgot what mili means, but give me a break on the cm's. about 16" is about a foot and a half. I could have said 16" which is what it came out as for me, but I thought that saying 1 1/2 feet would make it more relatable and plus I was being lazy. what's acouple of inches anyway when you're guessing age.

You cheated and used either a calculator or a measurement converter didn't you?

1/4" is technically less than 1 1/2" even though it was kinda off.

I was just going off the top of my head, so I think that was pretty close.

That's better than guessing 18 feet and negative 4.(knew you were joking FYI)

You will have to forgive CM, he is one of those engineer/science types. Not exactly know for social skills. That and most of us have that 1mm=.03937, 1=25.4mm in our heads. I did not have to look it up; I use that conversion on a daily basis at work. I suggest trying to remember 1 ~ 25 mm, that is easy and close enough for government work.
Disclaimer, I am one of those D!@#$ engineers too.

Back to the original post, I concurr with CM, deworm, delouse, Bo-Se, good protien and lots of TLC.

I wish I could go to NZ, I have heard Christchurch is the most beautiful city in the world.

 

[cmjust0]

Cm, Just so you know...when I said "I would'nt flood with drugs" you did not respond to this post as of yet. So please don't take that statement as it meant for you...it definately was not. It actually had nothing to do with you!!! Its not all about you!!! LOL

I've never understood THAT kind of thinking, either.



I know it wasn't about me...afterall, I hadn't even chimed in until after you said it. I also didn't really mean to make it sound like you were dogging me on 'shotgun' a shotgun approach in this case, either, though looking back I think I probably came off that way..

I was just kinda explaining own way figuring out how I come to the conclusions I come to in terms of treatment, and how I didn't think it was shotgunning if you've got reasons for what you're doing.

That's all.

I have read some post were people would just give and give and try so much..and I never thought that always the best approach..unless you have sound advice and expirence!

My experience has been folks do that when they're in "it's gonna die anyway" mode, and I've been there/done that/got the t-shirt.

 

[cmjust0]

You cheated and used either a calculator or a measurement converter didn't you?

I knew that 40cm's = about 16" by memory the *first* time, just because 1" is about 2.5cm.. I coulda done the mm conversion, I guess, but I Googled that one.

The *exact* numbers were total Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V, straight from der Googles.

You will have to forgive CM, he is one of those engineer/science types. Not exactly know for social skills.

Guilty.

I'm actually starting to really suspect that I'm an Aspie. I've *kind of* suspected it for a long time, but I'm *really* starting to suspect it lately. I found a battery of online Aspie-related tests the other day and took a bunch..

Umm...yeah. :/

My "AQ" (autism quotient) score was 39. Normal is 16.4. The researchers who designed the test say 80% of people *diagnosed* with either straight-up Autism or Asperger's score above a *32*.

My "emotional IQ" is just over room temperature.

My "systemizing" score is 130...normal for guys is about 60.

My "empathizing" score is 32...normal for guys is around 40.

My "highly sensitive person" score is 21...normal is like 14.

I did a regular IQ test, but it was just one of those hokey online things, so it's probably bogus...130.

In any case, I think it's just a matter of making an appointment to get a clinical diagnosis.....for whatever difference it would make. I think it might actually be a huge relief.

That and most of us have that 1mm=.03937, 1=25.4mm in our heads. I did not have to look it up; I use that conversion on a daily basis at work. I suggest trying to remember 1 ~ 25 mm, that is easy and close enough for government work.
Disclaimer, I am one of those D!@#$ engineers too.

 

[pippy]

Hokey pokey all. A Update.

The morning after the ivermectin - dead lice and/or mites were just falling off in droves.

Kinda gross.... couldn't touch him without coming away with a handful of iodine colour mites.

Not sure where I updated last - he got a wash in betadine, blow dried (it was bad weather that night and i didn't want him to catch a chill and he took it like a dude) then dosed with ivermect.

That evening (last night - I won't go into what days because I'm sure I'll confuse the rest of you if merely using mm/cm has confused some of you ) I brushed him off, and had a bit of a good scrub on his legs to try get some of the scabs off and they were soft from the damp ground (I left him tied to the washing line pole and he had a pretty good free range of the majority of the back yard minus my gardens).

He won't eat the horse feed... grass it is. I tried a bottle of milk and wasn't interested - he took about 100ml (yes i'm confusing everyone again - that works out to be 3.4 ounces or 0.1 of a quart). Hay hasn't been going down to well either. Lettuce was good though - very very good....

So yesterday - when I checked on him at lunch - something was off so picked him up to have a good look, one of the splints was either too tight, or because it got wet underneath had irritated the leg and was swollen.. so off came the splint. A bit of raw skin and def quite swollen.
I re-did the other leg at the same time. My partner had put the splints on the goat before I had seen him and it was just plastic against skin (he has yet to learn good bandage and splint practices) . So we now have some gamgee, followed by vet wrap and 1/2 cast type splint with more vet wrap over top with the gamgee protuding above the vet wrap (let hope no accidents occur on my horses until i get to town because I've stolen it all for the goat). So the swollen leg went "naked" over night and the swelling was down this morning - no 100%.

I also trimmed (after googling) his feet so the hoof wall was level with the sole - it had started to curl under. At the same time a good inspection was had on all feet and inbetween the toes the skin is a little flaky but not stinky (yay) and pink looking. So i've got copper sulfate which I'll make a solution out of to dip his feet in morning/night to get them healthy (er).

As for the bent legs - the swollen one - I can now stretch out to 90% of full use, the other (right leg) is worse and is about 70%, an improvement. He got a small dose of sodium selenate given on the low side of recommended dosage for his size. And I think that has helped along with splint.

The right leg when naked - still bends at the fetlock when walking, but not fully - so he ends up walking on the front of his hoof. The left leg flexes but he walks on the toe and lifts the heel still.

I'm going to give another bath today/tomorrow in betadine to wash off the dead lice, and then start applying topical salve to the worst of the sores (nose/ears and backs of legs between hoof and what ever the next peice is - relevant to the ergot on a horse).

 

[helmstead]

To see what severe selenium deficiency looks like...click here
http://helmsteadstables.com/LG.htm

This is our sweet LG. We received her at 3 weeks old, after a network of calls led the 'breeders' to us. They dumped her in our arms and tore out of the driveway.

I know I listed calcium deficiency on the website...but that was not the only case (I just dunno...I need to change that!). Our vet gave all sorts of BoSe and a whole slew of other meds...but it was too little too late.

Happily, LG is going strong in her 3rd year. Winters are a bit rough on her, she tends to walk as a biped when it is really cold. She is our bottle baby-sitter...she LOVES those babies and tends to them until they're about a month old She also loves all of our dogs, and often has run of the farm when we're there to supervise.

I just wanted to post this so people can see that even a severely affected goat can live a happy and meaningful life...crooked legs and all. (and also to show the importance of a good selenium program!)

 

[cmjust0]

Pippy...sounds to me like you're doing a great job.

 

[pippy]

At a bit of a loss today.

Thumper(as we have named him) doesn't seem to happy.

The other leg was swollen this morning - whether its from being wet and bandaged, or because I nicked a blood vessel when trimming his feet and its infected - I don't know he won't put weight on the leg. - So the bandage is off for the meantime.

Yesterday was wet and cold - he was tied where he could get under the lean-to off the house, and out on the lawn to eat. Thumper however decided to spend the day in the rain, and when i got back to the house he was cold and shivering - so wrapped him up and dried him off with a towel and put him back by the doll house (which he stayed inside) he then continued to call out for some time - so i got him back out and he went on to eat grass - i assume he was hungry as there isn't much grass around the doll house any more (despite the hay inside it).

Today I've put a plastic bag over him while he is out eating grass to try avoid getting to wet with the cold wind we have, i'll post a pic soon of it (i thought it quite clever). I've used a stretchy head band of mind to help hold it in place. So I hope he doesn't get cold again.

I'm not sure what else to do now - it break my heart when he starts bleating when i walk away....

I guess the vet is the next best option I think if there is no improvement i'll make a special trip to town tomorrow. Or the SO will bullet it if not any good tonight. :'(

 

[Roll farms]

If it was me....I'd take his temp.

Anything over 102.5, I'd probably give him Pen G for 5-7 days.
I'd offer some form of a probiotic, and maybe even give him a B shot.

I'd be real tempted to treat for coccidia as well, based on his age / weakened immune system...but I dunno how big of an issue it is there in NZ.

Can you get him a buddy goat? He's going to be somewhat upset being alone, since they're herd animals.

 

[pippy]

Head desk - why did i not think of taking a temp. Will do that asap.

I took a nit comb to him at lunch today..... hordes of eggs EVERYWHERE. So many I can't get them out - any ideas??

Worst place I'm finding them are around the ears and face... I can scrub and loosen some up but argh - so many still stuck there. Never mind the ick factor - good for weight lose I don't seem very hungry afterwards for some time... never mind every time I feel a itch or tickle what I'm thinking!

Another wash???

Of to do a google on coccidia in NZ and will ring the vet in the morning about it.

I am considering ringing the goat farm 100k down the road to see if once I have him lice free they will look after him until he is old enough to go in with the mini - good idea??