i can hear my goat breathing

[bj taylor]

I feel like i'm in a downward spiral with my goat's health. I've been fighting worms/coccidian. the coccidian (I don't know why my computer insists on a "n" on the end of the word coccidian). anyway, it seems to be taken care of. however, I still have a fairly significant load of barberpole. my new vet (as of yesterday) seems to be on top of things & I treated them yesterday. second treatment, but dose is more appropriate. i'm to wait a week & re do fecals.

today, I notice one of the doelings (about 4 months old) is audibly breathing. not open mouthed. she's tail up & grazing w/the others. no other sign (that as a newby I recognize) of a problem w/her. just standing next to her, I can hear her. our environment is very dry & hot. their pen at night is a carport open to the air on both ends that they are locked in every night. they sleep on slightly raised wooden platforms. I clean out this area every morning. their water is fresh at all times.

I don't have a stethoscope yet & taking a goat to the vet is nearly impossible - not to mention, I don't want to really stress her if I don't have to.

any advice on how I get to the bottom of her breathing issue? any ideas on what causes such a thing in goats?

thank you a lot.

 

[treeclimber233]

I see you have a problem with barber pole worms. Have you tried a copper bolus yet? That is what has worked best for my goats.

 

[elevan]

Have you taken her temperature?

Is she coughing or sneezing too?

 

[bj taylor]

I had not heard about using a copper bolus as treatment for barberpole. they are all having normal poop again, except one. she's a little clumpy. I've been giving them probiotics that last couple of days. I figured the meds had to have knocked out their normal gut flora. I will be taking a fecal to the vet on Monday. I just got a microscope, but I don't have slides yet. I will be happy when I can look at it myself & see what I've got & I will be even happier when I know what to do about it.

the coughing seems to have settled down to very occasionally. when I was out there with them tonight, nobody was coughing & everybody seemed to be acting ok. never was a temp, no drainage, no sneezing. i'm going to get a cheap stethoscope asap so I can hear things better. i'm hoping whatever was going on with these girls is in the past.

 

[daisyjack]

could she have something in her nose? rub her nose and see if it sounds different. I also had a lot of worms and cocci. this year. copper real does help, and make such you treat for cocci every 21 days for prevention because it will come back.