Ol'Thelma is DOWN, Things are looking up.

[damummis]

Like above: get her temp, treat for mastitis with today/tomorrow, give her oral or injectable antibiotics, banamine and vit B complex. (and probiotics) Do you have a stethoscope? If she sounds very congested just in her upper airway (not lungs) an antihistamine can help clear some of that. Watch her urine and poop output.

Got most of that covered except the today/tomorrow.
Should I switch to Bio-Mycin?

 

[terrilhb]

I just saw this post. How is she doing? Sending lots of hugs.

 

[damummis]

She is eating somewhat. Fresh maple leaves, burdock, grass clippings and spruce. She won't touch hay or grain. I am still at a loss.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

How many doses of Pen has she had? Also what rate are you giving it?

 

[LostNation]

Where the heck is Rolls when you need her, LOL?!

Agree w/ previous posters on it sounding like poor ol' Thelma might be up agst pneumonia & mastitis - darn! The Bio-mycin would be a better choice than the Penn-G (since Penn-G doesn't usually do much for upper respiratory stuff) & should help w/ the mastitis, too. The recommendations for Nuflor (Rx) & Tylan (OTC) are good ones, though, b/c they should be more effective on pneumonia, but use the Bio-mycin till you can hopefully get your hands on something a little stronger/more appropriate. It should also help w/ what does sounds like mastitis in that hard, lumpy side. If possible, that side should be milked out - & continued to be milked out as many times as possible, to get/keep the ick out of there & help w/ her discomfort. Let us know what the contents look/smell/etc. like, b/c if it IS mastitis & if it's severe - & if you don't see much improvement just w/ keeping it milked out & the injectable Bio-mycin - you can conjure up your own teat infusion using 1 part Penn-G & 3 parts sterilized water. Then, the fun of getting it INto the teat, LOL!

Good to hear that she's munching on the weeds & branches & everything you're offering her! Is she drinking, too, I hope? If not, keeping her hydrated is imperative! If you can't entice her w/ something yummy & "special" - molasses or honey or sugar mixed in w/ water - some goats like Koolaid, but if you have Gatorade, that'd be even better! (I actually give mine milk - either their own, or pasteurized "general population" milk), you'll need to drench her. Lesser quantities several times a day/night is preferable to larger quantities just a few times a day/night, if at all possible. Some animals will take it on their own out of a soda bottle w/ a nipple on it, but I just seem to have difficult animals who won't, so use a drenching syringe. So if a nippled bottle doesn't work & if you don't have an actual drenching syringe, you'll have to get creative & cobble together a contraption of some sort to get the liquids down her. (my husband made a cow drencher out of a 2-liter soda bottle, a piece of milking hose & duct tape - drilled a hole in the bottle cap, stuck the tube down into the bottle w/ enough hanging out to get down our cow's esophagus - & duct taped everything together. It was totally hillbilly but it did the trick, LOL! I'd imagine something like that on a smaller scale would work on a goat in a pinch, LOL.) & if THAT doesn't work - Lactated Ringers Solution will. It's Rx, but it's not very expensive & most vets keep it on-hand. You just inject it subcutaneously in 10cc increments along either side of their rib cage. Can't remember goat dosing but want to say maybe something like 250ccs? (it usually comes in 1000cc bottles, or IV bags) ANyway, you can let us know if you get to that point & somebody can do some quick Googling to find out, LOL.

Sorry, I don't get on this forum much so am not familiar w/ teh members or their animals! Poor ol' Thelma is a sheep, sounds like, LOL? Bottling the lambs w/ their mom's milk would be the ideal choice, if possible, but they should also do fine on goat milk, too!

Sheesh, sorry you're going thru this & hope you get her turned around, quickly! This weather IS really hard on the animals - we've been in the 90's w/ 100+ heat indeces, here in MI & . . . it's supposed to get even hotter & MORE humid as the week progresses.

Hope Rolls gets on here b/c she's lots better at this vetting stuff than I am, butttttttt in the meantime, hope I've been of at least a little bit of help for you & poor ol' Thelma!

Best wishes,
Sarah

 

[doxiemoxie]

damummis, do you have enough of a relation with your vet to get him/her to prescribe without a visit? That might be the best way to get Nu-flor.

If Thelma's willing to let the boys nurse that's a good sign; as is eating, even if she's being picky about it. Are the boys only nursing off the right side? You can tell if they're getting enough by how frantic they get. If you think they're going really hungry then you should try to get them on a bottle. Otherwise just make sure they are supplemented with good diet (alfalfa and grain) Did you worm Thelma again yet?

I know we're throwing all kinds of things at you. Don't get too frantic; you need to trust your own eyes and ears and follow your gut about what to do. Also remember it will take her time to respond to the treatments too.

 

[damummis]

Well DH insisted that we take a break from the animal drama and go out tonight. My sister took the girls to CT for a week today and he isn't wasting any time. I put Thelma in for the night with grain, hay and water. When I got back I checked on her. Lo and behold, she ate all her grain, most of her hay and drank 3/4ths of her water. She obviously let the boys eat because her udder was not engorged. I did switch to Bio-mycin this afternoon. I am tired and going to bed. I will update in the morning. I am optimistically guarded.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Glad she is doing better. Keep an eye on her temp since that will be a good sign that she is still fighting this.

 

[doxiemoxie]

I like optimistically guarded. And I like Biomycin. Penn is good for injuries but I get nervous using it for respiratory and pyrometria issues.

 

[damummis]

Sorry for the late update. This morning when I went to the barn I was charges by a very hungry Ol'girl. She still has some snot and is horse but she is eating, nursing and chasing the goats. I think she will be OK.

When do I give the next dose of Bio-Mycin? Tomorrow or Friday?