Help - new goat we found has some issues

[pippy]

Another question - how do you treat Coccidia??

After doing a NZ search it appears expensive/lengthy and involved? I would have assumed - being a parasite treatment is relatively straight forward for a small burden?

Would you still suspect Coccidia if the fecae are normal?

 

[Roll farms]

The fastest way to get them all would be to shave him down....but since it's getting cold, that's not the best idea.
Nit picking will have to do I suppose, I'm sorry, I don't know of anything else that will remove them.
You may have to wait until they all hatch out and give the ivermectin again to kill them....? (Dunno if it 'kills' eggs or just the crawly ones.)

And there's nothing like dealing w/ animal creepy-crawlies to give you a case of the wiggles. Once I find a tick on me I am convinced I feel them all over me for the next while.

I use DiMethox to treat coccidia....I treat for 7 days then repeat at least once in 14-21 days, treating for 5 days. If it's really wet / humid, I'll treat the lil buggers all summer. It's pretty cheap and easy to administer as a drench.

I don't suppose you'd want to get a baby goat from the farm up the road to keep him company....?
Being a young, new fellow (with no mama goat to protect him) put into a new environment, he's liable to be picked on if taken there.

In situations when I'm bringing in a single new goat, I try and pick out the least aggressive, same-sized goat I have and put them together to bond. Then after they have, I'll reintroduce the pair to the group. At least then, if both are picked on, they still have eachother to lean on / get comfort from.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

Coccidiosis is a protozoa, so the treatment is different than for other parasites. It is treated with any medication called a coccidiostat. This is given in gradually reduced doses over a period of ten days. Another round of treatment is then given about a month later.

If the feces are normal I wouldn't think he has it, but the coccidiosis treatment won't hurt him, so you can treat just in case with no worries. Just go to your feed store and ask about anything that will treat it and they can point it out. There should be a few different kinds and the bottles generally treat about 100 gallons of water.

It can be given in an oral dose or in his water.

As for the lice eggs you can use a spray or a dust that treats mites. This will coat the eggs in the medicine. They will then die and fall off. If you can't get any dust, you could always just bath him again, but all these baths might be hard on him.

How are his legs? Is there any improvement?

 

[cmjust0]

Coccidiosis is a protozoa, so the treatment is different than for other parasites. It is treated with any medication called a coccidiostat. This is given in gradually reduced doses over a period of ten days. Another round of treatment is then given about a month later.

If the feces are normal I wouldn't think he has it, but the coccidiosis treatment won't hurt him, so you can treat just in case with no worries. Just go to your feed store and ask about anything that will treat it and they can point it out. There should be a few different kinds and the bottles generally treat about 100 gallons of water.

It can be given in an oral dose or in his water.

First of all, subacute coccidiosis doesn't present with scours, so a goat can have coccidiosis and *not* scour.

Second, everybody I know who's put coccidia meds in drinking water has only served to reduce the herd's water consumption. Plus, when diluted that much, it really only works as a preventative -- and not very well at that, as I understand it.

If using sulfadimethoxine (aka DiMethox; albon) or sulfamethazine (aka Sulmet) the dosage for goats is 25mg/lb (that's 25 milligrams of medication per pound of goat) on day one, then 25mg/2lbs on days 2-5, given as a drench.

As for the lice eggs you can use a spray or a dust that treats mites. This will coat the eggs in the medicine. They will then die and fall off. If you can't get any dust, you could always just bath him again, but all these baths might be hard on him.

That's the first I've heard of lice eggs just falling off from a dust or spray..

You've had this experience before?

 

[TheSheepGirl]

It all depends on the type of coccidiostat you use. The ones that are made for drinking water are made to be diluted to the correct strength. The oral ones cannot be diluted. There is a difference between the two, generally. I have seen dramatic improvement when using both.

There are also other signs of coccidiosis besides scours. True, it doesn't always present with scours, but that is the main and most noticeable sign. Other signs include having a rough coat and acting lethargic, dehydration or lack of interest in food and water. These other signs would be hard to notice with this goat I think, since he has the other problems.

It is also a good idea, because some coccidiostats treat other parasites as well.

As for the lice eggs, they will not fall off right away, but once they die, they dry out after a while and then they fall off. Given, they don't just fall off right away, but eventually after a few weeks, they do just fall off. It takes a while is all.

So, yeah, I guess I have had this experience before. It just isn't as sudden as overnight or anything like that. The eggs did fall off eventually though.

A spray wouldn't hurt, though and might be better than another bath. If the eggs were killed by the bath before then they will start to dry out and die soon anyway.

I guess I should be more clear about things later on, sorry.

 

[cmjust0]

It all depends on the type of coccidiostat you use. The ones that are made for drinking water are made to be diluted to the correct strength. The oral ones cannot be diluted. There is a difference between the two, generally. I have seen dramatic improvement when using both.

The ones I'm talking about are Sulmet and DiMethox, and you can buy either one in a "12.5% drinking water solution" that's made to be diluted..

With goats, though, folks generally dose those right out of the jug without diluting.

As for the lice eggs, they will not fall off right away, but once they die, they dry out after a while and then they fall off. Given, they don't just fall off right away, but eventually after a few weeks, they do just fall off. It takes a while is all.

So, yeah, I guess I have had this experience before. It just isn't as sudden as overnight or anything like that. The eggs did fall off eventually though.

A spray wouldn't hurt, though and might be better than another bath. If the eggs were killed by the bath before then they will start to dry out and die soon anyway.

I guess I should be more clear about things later on, sorry.

I just always heard that eggs take forever to fall off...just thought you might have known of a better way to get them off more quickly. My experience with goat lice is limited, fortunately, so I didn't really know..

Worst I've ever dealt with was a couple of day-old kids who were already EAT UP with them...pyrethrine dust killed the bugs, though, and there were no eggs to speak of.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

I once found a drinking water solution one that was cherry flavored. I wonder if that would work for them. I'm always overly cautious with my medication, so I dilute when it says to dilute.

Generally when you dilute it the goats are getting the same dose of it, just at a slower rate. The treatment needs to be almost constant for ten days the first treatment set. The dose also decreases halfway through the treatment, so I used the dilution to help me with the decrease.

I never use drinking water solution for a drench. It always seemed risky to me, but to each their own method.

I never had a problem with them drinking the water with the treatment in it. Some goats are pickier than others, though.

I have had some experience with goat lice and eggs. I was a newby and I didn't know what it looked like then. By the time I realized what it was it had gotten pretty bad.

I've also dealt with rabbit lice as well which are similar.

 

[jodief100]

If he is getting cold, you could make a warming area for him. A small enclosed place he can choose to go in that has a light for heat.

I made one out of a plastic 55 gallon drum. I cut the bottom off, cut a little door in the side and hung a light from the top.

If he is cold he can go in and get warm.

I would recomend getting another small goat about the same size to keep him company. They can snuggle to keep warm. He may be hanging out in the rain and crying because he is lonely.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

If he is getting cold, you could make a warming area for him. A small enclosed place he can choose to go in that has a light for heat.

I made one out of a plastic 55 gallon drum. I cut the bottom off, cut a little door in the side and hung a light from the top.

If he is cold he can go in and get warm.

I would recomend getting another small goat about the same size to keep him company. They can snuggle to keep warm. He may be hanging out in the rain and crying because he is lonely.

That what I was thinking too...he may be lonley

 

[pippy]

He got a bath last night - it didn't do much good to get rid of the eggs, but it washed a lot of the dead lice out of his coat and he smells yummy now (tea tree oil and lavender wash). After the wash - a lot of fresh pink skin was showing where scabs had come away - they are clearing from his mouth/nose/ears. I'm a little worried at just how much skin/hair has been lost off his legs - but assuming it was the mites it will grow back soon.

He absolutly loves the blow dryer... rather amusing.

He and the cat (well older kitten) we have slept together last night and I didn't hear a peep from him - so i think he got some comfort from that.

Couldn't find the thermometer so have rung the neighbours to run up and grab theirs a bit later today.

Its a lovely warm day today so he is about loose on the lawn, I fenced off the hydrangea and rose garden.

The leg is still swollen - although he is walking on it this morning.