Lethargic Goat Drooling

[gavynsmom02]

My 1.5 year old nigerian dwarf appeared lethargic and unsteady on his legs today. He was also drooling. I didn't notice him eating with the others, and I hadn't seen him drinking so I gave him electrolyte gel and hand poured him water from a cup. He drank some, but I don't know how much because some poured on the ground. I also administered 1cc of Vitamin B complex via intramuscular injection. Throughout the day I have checked on him and continued giving him water. He is now laying in his hut (it is night time) so I am unsure if he is just tired, or if he's deteriorating. When flashing a light into his eyes he reacted, but only slightly. Any suggestions would be helpful. We are in upstate NY and it is supposed to get down to 32 tonight. He does have his thicker coat, and is under shelter, but thought it should be mentioned.

 

[alsea1]

I would start by taking his temp. Check his gum color. They should be similiar in color to the goats that are acting normal.
Check to see if he is dehydrated. Pull some skin and see how fast it snaps back. If it does not snap back immed. then he is dehydrated.
See if you can hear gurgling in his tummy. Gurgling is good. No sound is bad.
If you have probiotics on hand def. give him some.
The drooling makes me think maybe he ate something that is making him sick or maybe his throat is affected.
I know I hate calling the vet and incurring a bill but it may be nec. if you want to save him. Its important to involve your vet asap though because the sooner treatment begins the better the outcome. They can fade fast.
Your vet will be happy if you have his temp and other vitals to tell him.


Since he is not well and its gonna be cold it may be good to get him under a heat lamp or in a garage or I know yikes but the house.

I hope your goat pulls thru

 

[SabaiFarms]

I recently had a lethargic and drooling sheep. I took him to the vet and he said he ate something he shouldn't have - most likely a ton of chicken feed.

He gave him a few shots (mostly vaccinations) and one vitamin shot and sent me home with (literally) Pepto Bismol and Karo Syrup. I gave him 45 cc's Pepto twice a day and 30 cc's Karo syrup (for energy) twice a day. He was just a baby, so if your goat is smaller that would be a good dose.

He's fine now.

Good luck with the goat. Hope he recovers.

 

[BHOBCFarms]

Drooling is often a symptom seen with dental problems, if you can, get a vet out.

 

[gavynsmom02]

We have been giving penicillin and thiamine in larger doses because we believe it to be either goat polio or listeriosis due to the fact that he was leaning to one side this morning, in addition to the other symptoms. He is attempting to drink on his own from time to time from what we've seen, but we are still manually giving him BounceBack mixed in water. Yesterday and today we syringe fed him roughly an ounce of a nutrient drench. I believe the drooling is related to the fact that he may have partial paralysis in his face, another symptom of either goat polio or listeriosis from what I've researched. Hoping to see some actual improvement in the morning. I will check on him throughout that night as I have been, and will give him another dose of injected meds in 6 hours. Any additional advice if definitely appreciated. Thank you to all who have posted.

 

[Southern by choice]

We just brought a doe (Nigerian Dwarf) through listeriosis. It was a 3 week long battle. She does have permanent neurological damage though.
We worked with 2 of our vets... ultimately our doe was given very high doses of anti-biotics 2x daily ... has to be high enough to cross the blood brain barrier. In addition, dex injections, thiamine inj. DEx is for inflammation in the brain- it is prescription)
We also gave goat drench and lots of probiotics(mixed with water) we had to give the probios and drench with a syringe, very slowly. Dehydration can be a big problem as they cannot drink. Every 30 minutes we gave as much water with syringe as she would drink.
You must keep him upright, if he falls to the side and ends up laying there he can bloat. No slings though, bad for the rumen.

We kept her on our porch, and I slept on the couch... a very long road it was. Hand feeding leaves was about all she could eat, hay was difficult. But we did cut up hay and give it free choice. We did put blankets on her, she was so cold.

In all honesty, I am glad we got her through. However, I would not do this again. She is an infertile doe and a pet and so we couldn't give up. 2x I thought I would need to put her down.

I also would check a fecal, high counts can mean the resistance is down and that won't help.
CAE can look very much like this also. HAs he been tested for CAE? With his age polio would be highly unlikely.

I wish you well with your guy!