Watery Poo

[warthog]

Update on Chops.

Hit him hard with electrolytes last night. Worried myself sick all night.

This morning, no signs of any scours overnight, looking brighter, and trying to suckles from his mum, she is letting have a little bit.

Gave him his two injections this morning, and some more electrolytes.

He is a fighter and fought hard yesterday when I was doing the medication bits. Today he seems stronger.

Watching and waiting.

You know I still this is a dietary thing. Over the last few weeks we have had quite a bit of rain (early for us), things are growing like mad. The does are out their eating (no problems with them).

Might thought, if the quality of browse is better, becuase of nice new young growth, this will of course affect the quality of her milk, (richer maybe) could this be the problem.

Wait and see, car on standby for vets if needed.

 

[warthog]

Tonight he seems a good bit better.

Still giving him electrolytes.

Moving around a lot more, trying to suckle from Pepper and she lets him have 3 or 4 sucks at each side. Saw him nibble a leaf, and he's been chewing the bark of all the fence posts.

Not seen any sin=gns of scours for over 24 hours now.

He has one more injection tomorrow.

So everybody please

 

[warthog]

Well you just wouldn't believe it would you.

Went to the vet this morning, just to talk things through with her, told her he had not scoured since Thursday 5.pm ish.

She gave me another shot of Yatren to give him this morning and Vit B complex to start tomorrow.

I get home after about 2 hours, and he's scouring again, it's not a lot, so we are now back on SMZ TMP.

 

[cmjust0]

I was away from Thursday night until now.. Sorry.

How is he today?

The injectable sulfa...not what I'd choose, personally. If you're treating something in a goat's gut (be it bacteria, coccidia, worms, etc), my experience has been that it's best to hit it with something BY MOUTH.

(Likewise, if you're treating something elsewhere in the body other than the gut, best to hit it by injection...)

Good that he's back on the SMZ-TMP. The more I think about it, the more I think I'd probably have *doubled* the original dosage -- give the amount she recommended, but give it twice a day.

I'd probably continue it for at least a week, also.


Having said that, what I'm really hoping is that you'll chime back in here and go "Oh, he's fine now. "

 

[warthog]

CM - first of all thank you very much for your post last week on electrolytes. Whilst I had checked and didn't see any signs of dehydration. I thought ..........this I am gonna give him some just in case.

I really believed it saved his life, I cannot THANK YOU enough.

Anyhow, Chops is alot better, (see my post on VETs). All my instincts have been screaming at me that injecting all this stuff was not the right thing to do. I went against the Vets advice and just put him back on SMZ-TMP 8ml every 12 hours, since yesterday he has been fine.

Jumping around, head butting with everyone, and more or less back to his normal self. He spent most of yesterday out in the bush with the rest of them, and that's where he is at the moment.

THANK YOU

 

[cmjust0]

I really thought your vet had a grasp of the situation...the oral SMZ-TMP was a really good choice for those symptoms in a goat that size/age, IMHO...but to switch to an injectable was questionable.

Lots of vets, though, seem to get in this mode of thinking "bloodstream, bloodstream, bloodstream." That kind of thinking causes them to look at the mouth as just another way to get something distributed into the bloodstream...and not a particularly good way, especially in ruminants! So, the immediate preference is for injections.. Again, it's all about "bloodstream, bloodstream, bloodstream."

That kind of thinking doesn't take into consideration the value of killing (or otherwise "treating"...blahblahstats vs. blahblahcides, etc....blah blah blah...lol...) pathogens in-situ through direct contact with medication, though. That, in my opinion, is a huge mistake when it comes to something that can go downhill as quickly as a goat.

My experience has been that gut infections need to be treated in the gut with oral medications, and infections anywhere other than in the gut need to be treated by injection (or topically, etc) -- but not by mouth.

Glad to hear he's doing better. If I helped, great. If I can help some more, let me know...but hopefully he'll get through this with SMZ-TMP and be DONE with it.


Hey...question...can you order stuff from Jeffer's livestock? If you can, I can point you to a link where you can *order your own* SMZ-TMP tablets, and not have to worry with going to the vet for them.

 

[warthog]

We probably can order from Jeffers, or most other places, but their are very strict controls on imports of drugs to Belize, the import duties on anything are astronomic.

I probably shouldn't put this in writing, but the Belize government and its many organisations Customs etc, are out and out corrupt. If you bring anything into this Country, either in person or by mail, it very much depends which officer is on duty, if they had a good nights sleep and a good breakfast as to what you are going to pay. I suppose most countries are not much different, just that this one is "in your face" corrupt. The locals dare not do or say anything, at best they face being slapped in jail at worst shot ( I'm not joking), we Gringo's stand up for ourselves, don't think they dare take on the British or US Embassy.

This new vet I am using is the officer for drug importation, linked to the Belize Agricultural Health Authority for our area of Belize, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she can get most of anything.

Again, thanks for all your help.