Nasty coughing...

[RabbleRoost Farm]

They came from the breeder like this, and so far it hasn't spread which I'm thankful for. Yay for not having a quarantine pen... NOT.

I don't have a vet anywhere that can be of any help, so I'm stuck doing this on my own. They cough frequently and it seemed as if much of his herd had a cough too but I wasn't around long enough to notice anything out of the ordinary, I mean... goats cough, right?
Well now I'm a bit more worried, they sound like they have phlegm rattling around in their lungs or something. They sneeze sometimes too.

Is it a cold, pneumonia? Will it go away on its own or am I going to have to try and find penicillin or something? I can give shots (SQ in the armpit flap of skin or IM pretty much anywhere, though usually in the butt muscle {yes I know, not the smart thing to do to the biggest piece of meat on a meat goat, but I'm not worried about it, I doubt I'm going to eat my Fullbloods}), so that isn't an issue. But maybe getting something to treat them with will be?

Edit: Usually when they cough it's a sort of spasm - I think that's how I want to describe it. Multiple times in a row.
They sound like I did recently with my own nasty cold. :/

 

[20kidsonhill]

Take tempurature, If it is above normal treat with Penn G at the rate of 1cc per 15lbs for 5 to 7 days.

Consider lung worms and treat for those, They can cause a nasty cough.

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/lungworms.html

consider CL in their lungs, this can spread like wild fire through a herd.

 

[RabbleRoost Farm]

They were both given 1.5 cc injectable ivermectin orally on May 10th, and even though I only treated once (to prevent them from picking up any stray lice off of one buckling until he had no more visible eggs) wouldn't there have been some signs of improvement?

Gah, all these things animal raisers have to contend with... I've never even heard of CL in the lungs, and I feel that I've read and researched a lot. :/
Hit them with more ivermectin you think?

I'll have to see how getting a temperature goes... They haven't been acting funny other than the cough really, and if anything I think it may be caused by the fact that they practically don't care about being wet.. Weirdest goats ever.
They seem to stay out in more damp than I'd like for sure, so that's why I was wondering (not that everyone is a vet or anything) what you guys thought.
Thanks for the help!
I'll admit I hadn't thought of lungworms. I'd assume that would infect the whole herd right? *sigh*
Everyone was treated twice as prevention for lice when the one buckling to go off the farm brought them back, and the offending boy treated three times. The new ones only got ivermectin once because the bugs cleared up and I didn't feel they were in danger of getting any.

(slap me if I talk too much, or even go in circles! )

 

[Roll farms]

Lungworms need to be treated w/ an injection of ivermectin (1cc per 110# of goat).
You treat stomach worms by giving it orally...to kill lungworm, it needs to enter the bloodstream.

eta: According to my vet, lungworm left untreated for a while can leave scar tissue / cause them to easily catch resp. infections / leave a lingering chronic cough.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I don't think it is normal for them to have a frequent cough, Lambs can seem to cough a quit a bit, but I rarely have a goat coughing. I would treat for lung worms. Although, keep in mind, I don't beleive I have ever had lung worms in the my goats. I just know it is one reason for several goats in a herd to have a chronic cough with no fever.

Not sure of the treatment off the top of my head, I remember it is ivermectin like Roll said, injected, but I beleive there is more than one treatment of ivermectin involved, Maybe one a week for 3 weeks, Sorry, can't remember.

going camping for the next couple days. HOpe you get that cough under control.

 

[elevan]

A repeat dosing 2 weeks later is recommended on the Ivomec for lungworms as it's not always effective in killing during that larvae during early stages.

 

[Goatmasta]

Just wondering how they found alcohol in my system through a blood test. I wasn't injecting it.
It's 1cc injectable/22-35lbs.

 

[elevan]

Goats metabolize meds at a higher rate and so a lot of what goes into the stomach doesn't make it to the bloodstream before it's out of the system. If you want the maximum effect you got to inject it.

Oh and by the way...in case you didn't know...injecting Ivomec burns / is painful and the goat is gonna be a little "weird" about it. Don't think that they are having a seizure or anything it's just a pain reaction.

 

[Roll farms]

When injecting the dosage is 1cc per 110#. Orally you give much higher doses.

 

[helmstead]

Sorry, but that's incorrect info. We have cleared up a confirmed case of lungworm with ORAL medications. When dosed properly, despite the high metabolism, the appropriate amount does, in fact, enter the bloodstream. There is NO NEED to ever inject a dewormer unless you just like needles.

The 1 cc per 110 lbs is an incorrect dose. Too low no matter what parasite you're after.

Lungworm treatment is 1% ivermec 1 cc per 22 lbs orally (you will find sites listing treatment up to 1 cc per 50 lbs, but it's better to overdose than underdose) OR valbazen at 1 cc per 10 lbs OR levamisole injectable at 3 cc per 100 lbs (more side effects are possible and be careful not to overdose this one).

You must dose this every 10 days for 4 treatments.

Be aware that with lungworm, there is some temporary damage to the lungs and the cough doesn't magically go away. It takes time.

Lungworm is NOT that common. In all the goats we've owned, we've only had one confirmed case.