Severe diarrhea.

[taraann81]

I went out to the barn this morning to do the morning chores, my 6 month old alpine doeling (up to date on shots and deworming) Has severe liquid diarrhea. She is not running a fever but is listless.

What shall I do?

Besides put in a call to the vet(done, waiting to hear back)

 

[()relics]

I responded to this at BYC...does she show any signs of bloat?

 

[trestlecreek]

Until the vet see's her, I run supportive care.
Probios, 2-3 times a day. Drench with Sav-a-caf electrolytes plus(for a 25lb goat, around 200cc, 3 times day), A Fortified B-Plex shot.
Take away ALL grain, I'd just let her eat hay.
Did she get into anything? Like a bag of feed, the chicken coop, etc...?
Where is she at on her cd/t shots?
Has she ever been checked for cocci?

 

[freemotion]

How is she??

 

[taraann81]

Hanging in there. I ended up taking her to the vet this morning. At that point she had a temp of 103. He thinks she has pneumonia( I didn't notice any symptoms). He said with the stethoscope her lungs sound full of fluid. He thought that maybe the diarrhea was brought on by the stress of the pneumonia and the fever.

He prescribed pepto 15-20mls every 2 hrs and 30 mls of electrolytes every hr. He gave her an antibiotic injection and sent me home with enough for four more days of treatment.

Its seems so strange, I spend ALOT of time with my goats and I'm a nurse and I noticed no off symptoms until she was so sick today! I hope she gets better I feel guilty that I should have noticed some warning signs.

But she was bouncey and had normal stools yesterday. I have never seen an animal decline so fast.

 

[ksalvagno]

Animals are very good at hiding symptoms until they are very sick. So don't feel bad. Even the most experienced person doesn't always see a problem until it is bad. Some animals are much more stoic than others.

I hope your goat gets better soon.

 

[helmstead]

I tried...but I've got to ask.

Did the vet even do a fecal?

I've not personally heard of scours related to pneumonia. There are several other causes for wet chest sounds - they often accompany other illnesses. IMHO You WOULD have noticed something, being attentive, if pneumonia was setting in.

The only pneumonia with sudden onset I'm aware of is Interstitial Pneumonia - but once again I'm not feeling like this will present with scours.

Is the antibiotic a sulfa drug? I would be worried about bacterial scours (e coli, etc), cocci...entero...

If she were here I'd have her on DiMethox treatment dose, give a couple doses of C/D antitoxin to be safe, administer Banamine for anti-inflamitory...ProBios daily and nix the pepto.

Really 103 isn't a fever for a goat.

I hate to question a vet's diagnosis, but I've been around enough vets who don't know goats to know I have to question them...

 

[taraann81]

Thats what I thought! I didn't think 103 was that high for a goat. The drug he prescribed is Excenel(Ithink thats the trade name). It states the medical ingredient is Ceftiofur 50mg/ml.

This vet was reccomended to me HOWEVER they are the only vet around that will even see a goat.

He did not run a fecal(she pooped all over him when he took her temperature, so he had a specimen right there).

I am very worried. She is very ill, nothing is open now so I am unable to get anything for her. She is so lethargic, standing in the corner with her head hung low. SHould I give her more electrolytes? 30mls an hr doesn't seem like much when you are losing so much fluid through diarrhea.

 

[helmstead]

I wouldn't alter the electrolytes, OVER doing those can cause more problems than help.

You can give her some baking soda with the electrolyte drench...this might help her feel a bit better until you can do more.

That antibiotic would be the correct treatment for pneumonia, but not for bacterial scours or cocci...

 

[taraann81]

Should I mix it in the electrolytes she won't eat anything. How do I get her to take the baking soda?