This is a summary of goat diseases & conditions with symptoms and possible treatments for goats, only built on experience . You should consult your vet or goat medical books for more details and appropriate treatments trying these possible treatments is at your own discretion and risk, the L AND S GOAT RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES .
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The Goat Care Unit (TGCU)
Another source of diseases and treatments can be found at : the Merck vet manual (click on side pic)
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The Goat Care Unit (TGCU)
Another source of diseases and treatments can be found at : the Merck vet manual (click on side pic)
Please & thank you visit my FB site and click like https://www.facebook.com/LANDSGOATANDGREATPYRENEESRANCH?ref=bookmarks
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Disease / Condition
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Symptom |
Treatment |
Acidosis– occurs after accidentally taking in large quantities of concentrate foodstuffs. As the name implies, acidosis results when the rumen pH becomes acidic.
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Depressed, hangs its head, drunken behavior, muscle twitching, bloat tends to occur, swelling on left flank, may grind teeth.
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Stop access to food. Drench goat with something alkaline such as bicarbonate of soda. 2-3 ounces will help neutralize acid. Walking goat has some value. Contact veterinary as needed. Providing plenty of effective long stemmed fiber, avoiding drastic, sudden diet changes and avoiding over feeding of grain and concentrates go a long way in preventing acidosis.
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Blackleg - (Clostridial Myositis) - caused by the soil-borne bacterium, Clostridium chauvei. The disease develops rapidly in affected animals and often deaths occur before the owner has noticed any sickness in the herd.
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Often no symptoms are observed; At other
times, high fever, lack of appetite, depression, lameness, swelled head, and swellings that appear in the muscles on various parts of the body. Sometimes the leg muscles are involved, or the muscles in the region of the back, hip, flank, chest or shoulder. In the latter stage of the disease, these swellings spread and become quite mushy, producing a characteristic crackling sound when pressed with the hand. |
May respond to immediate treatment with penicillin or other antibiotics in large doses. In swollen head, you need to have a vet aid in draining of affected area.
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Bloat – gorging on anything unsuitable such as wet grass pastures or after raiding food bin
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Tightly inflated flanks, misery, collapse
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Drench with Mineral oil (6-8 fl oz) for an adult, (2+ fl oz) for kids. Walk goat about, massage flanks. "Giving mineral oil is very effective in getting a goat that has over eaten grain to speed that grain on it's way. Vegetable oil will add to the digestive load, and may cause more harm than good. Mineral oil is not digestible, and has been used with no problems at all. Feed that is overeaten ferments, causes gas, and acidosis to occur, which can lead to death. The object is to speed it out of there without adding to the digestive load."
heavy massage, lots of walking and (sometimes multiple) shots of CD Antitoxin are what cured it. Adult doe I give 10 cc's of the antitoxin to start. Suggestion from breeder Mix some baking soda in with the goat's feed they really enjoy it and it takes away bloat. Second Suggestion
also tsc or jeffers sells a bloat release bottle i used it several times for the kids when they get bloated and it always worked , 1oz for a kid and wait probably 4 hours they should be good |
Bottle Jaw - Caused by animal being infected with blood-sucking worms. Fluids are leaking from blood vessels and flow to the lower parts of the body. As the animal grazes during the day, the fluids build up in the head. Over night the fluids may partially drain away from the head.
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Lower face and jaw will dramatically swell especially during the evening. Gums may not have the normal color because of being anemic.
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Your worming medicine may not be effective or you may not have wormed recently. The animal needs to be wormed with a strong medication every 10 days for three times. It may also be anemic and need iron and vitamins given. Their system will have difficulty fighting off problems so you should use an antibiotic for several days to help.
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Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) – Infectious. Bacteria enters animal through break in skin or mucous membranes and localizes in lymph node
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Abscesses of the lymph glands. NOT ALL abscesses are CL. Your vet can test the animals to see if the abscess is CL or not. |
Isolate and remove animal from herd. Many breeders will get rid of animals with CL. Some breeders treat and manage animals with CL. Abscesses can be lanced, remove discharge, and treated with iodine for several times. Wear rubber gloves and destroy all discharge. Spread through the eruption of abscess and discharge being exposed to other animals. Vaccine available at PHL Associates, Inc. lancing should be done somewhere no other animals will come in contact with drainage. Gloves disposed of away from barn. |
Coccidiosis – coccidia parasites. A disease of young or stressed animals.
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Animal may just appear un-thrifty in early stages. Off food, diarrhea, blood in diarrhea, rapid weight loss, dehydration and fever. May show straining in attempts to pass feces.
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A variety of treatment options are available for coccidiosis.
- Di-Methox 40% injectable is given orally at 1cc per 5lbs for 5 consecutive days. - Di-Methox 12.5% solution is given, undiluted at 3.5cc per 5lbs of body weight. Give for 5 days - Di-Methox powder is given at 1gram per 10lbs of body weight. Powder can be mixed with water and drenched. Give for 5 days. - Corid 9.6% solution is given undiluted at 1.25cc per 5lbs of body weight for 5 day. - Corid powder is given at 1.1grams per 10lbs and can be mixed with fluid and drenched. One dose per day for 5 days. - Sulmet, add 2cc to each bottle for 5 days. - Neomycin, add 2cc to each bottle for 5 days. - Baycox/Tolrazuril is given at 1cc per 5lbs of body weight for 1 day. |
Conjunctivitis or Pinkeye – infection of the eye spread by agents such as flies, dust and long grass
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A watery eye with excess tears spilling over on to the skin. May be reddening and cornea becomes cloudy. Animal sensitive to the light.
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Contracted Tendons
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Leg tendons on new born kids are contracted so the leg does not straighten out properly
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Cystic Ovaries:
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Continues to come into heat every 4-5 days. Does not settle at breeding...Doe may fail to come into a true, standing heat, and she may act ‘bucky’.
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Cystorelin (RX) is one of the most effective treatments for a doe with cystic ovaries. When the doe is in standing heat and in with the buck, give 1cc IM. 24 hours later, give another 1cc IM. This gets rid of the cystic follicle, allowing the doe to ovulate normally.
You can also treat cystic ovaries with an injection of HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, an Rx) to correct the hormonal imbalance. That is followed about 9-10 days later by an injection of Lutalyse |
Diarrhea
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Enterotoxaemia –(overeaters disease) Clostridium perfringens type D bacteria produce the poisons responsible, when conditions in the digestive tract deprive them of oxygen.
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Sudden loss of appetite. Depression and a drunken appearance. signs of stomach pain, such as kicking at their belly, laying on their sides, crying out. As it progresses the animal becomes unable to stand and lies on side making paddling movements. High temperature. Very watery diarrhea
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The prognosis for recovery is guarded in caprine enterotoxemia, even with treatment. Fluid therapy providing mixed electrolyte solution with bicarbonate are indicate in acute cases to counter shock, dehydration an acidosis.
Commercially available type C and D antitoxins should be administered. Please note that CD ANTITOXIN is not the same as CDT Toxiod. Antitoxin MUST be used in this situation. Antibiotic therapy may be helpful in reducing bacterial proliferation. Oral sulfas have been used successfully (see personal recommendation for treatment) by clicking button on left |
Copper Deficiency & Toxicity
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Floppy Kid Syndrome -Some people believe it is caused by too much rich milk and others believe that it is associated with e-coli.
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Newborn kids seem to do well for a few days after birth then start to show depression and weakness of limbs that progress to flaccid paralysis. Drunken appearance. No signs of diarrhea or elevated temperature. Possible distension of the abdomen.
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Remove kid from source of Milk immediately for 24 to 36 hours. Dissolve a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water. With a syringe administer between 20 and 50 cc of the solution orally. Do it slowly so the kid has time to swallow. Repeat the treatment at 1, 3, 6, 12 hours from initial treatment. Feed electrolytes as alternative until returned to milk. Also administer a wide spectrum antibiotic to prevent secondary bacterial infections. ANOTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTION Treatment is one-half tsp baking soda, mixed with electrolytes
Repeat in 6-12 hours. Not required to pull from mother's milk from this solution's perspective Third Solution - If the kid can still walk but is wobbly then give 2cc long-acting penicillin orally and 500MG thiamin. The Thiamin is mixed with the penicillin, and is imperative to recovery This should work in 6 hours. If the kid is comatose, give 5CC %50 dextrose orally and keep warm. Give the pen and thiamin for 3 days once a day. |
Foot & Mouth Disease - viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals.
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Blisters or vesicles form in any of the following places: lips, tongue, teats, or the coronary band of the hoof. Tend to become lame and possibly salivate excessively.
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Must be controlled from occurring. Animals exposed to the disease are destroyed.
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Foot Rot – Fusiformis nodosus infection enters the hoof and causes inflammation of the sensitive laminae.
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Lameness, mild to severe. There is a foul smell associated with it. Animals are reluctant to walk.
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Hoof paring in order to remove the underrun hoof. Apply antiseptic agents in order to remove any infection
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Gastro-intestinal roundworms – infest stomach and intestines sucking blood or reducing the absorption of digested food materials from the gut
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Diarrhea and weight loss, anaemia
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Drench with dewormer medicine such as Ivomec, Cydectin. Make sure the worms are not resistant to your dewormer.
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(Goat Polio) - a Thiamine (Vitamin B 1) deficiency. From improper feeding, particularly feeding too much grain and too little roughage.
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Excitability, "stargazing", muscle rigidity, uncoordinated staggering and/or weaving, drunkenness, circling, diarrhea, muscle tremor, head against wall, and apparent blindness. A rapid, involuntary, oscillatory motion of the eyeball. As it progresses, convulsions and high fever may occur, and if untreated, the animal generally dies within 24-72 hours.
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Thiamine is the only effective therapy, and treatment can result in improvement in as little as two hours, if the disease is caught early enough. Dosage is related to body weight: Use 500mg/ml Thiamin. Start with a gram (1,000 mg) IM the first dose, then at least 500mg per day for as long as it takes for complete recovery.Polio can be caused by plant thiaminase, or bacteria that either inhibit production of thiamin in the goat's gut, or consume the thiamin. On the morning of day 2, give 500mg Thiamin orally, and 500mg SQ. . If the goat will eat, feed her. Giving polio afflicted animals a shot of the anti-inflammatory Dexamethasone can aid in recovery. also try to encourage consumption of roughage !!
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Indigestion - - failure of normal rumenal movement. Associated with high intake of concentrate foodstuffs.
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Off of food, slightly dull
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Generally recovers within two days. Sodium bicarbonate given by mouth may be of some use if there is a tendency to acid conditions in the rumen. Offer animal a quart of salt water with 25 g of sodium bicarbonate dissolved in it.
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Inverted Eyelid (Entropion) - An inword deviation or rolling of the eyelid that caused a contact irritation of the cornea and conjunctiva by the eyelashes.
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Involuntary forcible closure of the eyelids. Uncontrollable blinking. Excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to sunlight. Inflammation of the eye involving both the cornea and the membrane that coats the inner surfaces of the eyelids and the outer surface of the eye. Cloudy looking eye. Watery eye.
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Initial treatment involved the administration of topical antibiotic ointments and attempt to correct the eyelid to not turn in. Topical antibiotic ointments can include Terramycin, Neomycin salve or B.N.P. Triple Antibiotic Ophthalmic Ointment twice a day. The eyelid may correct on its own or with some assistance several times a day. If not, a vet may be able to give a shot of of procaine penicillin under the eyelid to force it out. A vet can clamp the skin of the affected eyelid with a mosquito hemostat to create swelling and resultant excessive membrane fibrous to help correct the eye. Finally a vet can do corrective surgery to the eyelid to prevent it from being inverted.
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Johne’s Disease – chronic incurable infection of the intestines by Mycobacterium johnei bacterium. Causes a thickening of the intestine
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Loss of condition, occasional scouring, becoming more frequent with bubbles of gas in the droppings. Weakness. Thirst may increase.
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None. Slaughter animal as soon as possible to prevent spread to other animals
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Ketosis – Lactating doe is unable to obtain large amounts of energy feed and Ketones accumulate in the blood
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Goes off food. Milk yield falls. Sweet smell in the goat’s breath
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Ketosis needs prompt attention, if not addressed quickly, more metabolic issues like toxemia will creep up. Dextrose is great treatment and there are several forms of it available. You may use the injectable cattle Dextrose drenched orally.
Corticosteroid drug and oral propylene glycol are also viable treatment options. In progressed cases dextrose given via IV is necessary and requires the assistance of a veterinarian. |
Lice – parasite
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Intense irritation, rubbing, bald patches and itching, usually during the winter months
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Louse powder will normally control the problem. Insecticides for spray or dip repeated.
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Laminitis - inflammation of the skin layers around the hoof. Often caused by consumption of a highly concentrated or lush forage diet. It may also be associated with sicknesses such as pneumonia, mastitis, and metritis.
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Lameness and warm feet. Moves with a stiff gait, prefers to lay down or stay on knees. May also show signs of bloat, diarrhea and toxemia
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Place on a reduced protein/energy diet such as hay with a very reduced or not concentrate ration and soft bed for lying down. Pain relief with a Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as Phenylbutazone is essential. Chronis cases need careful foot trimming to relieve pain by reducing pressure on the sensitive areas.
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Depression, decreased appetite, fever, leaning or stumbling or moving in one direction only, head pulled to flank with rigid neck, facial paralysis on one side, slack jaw, and drooling, abortions.
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Administration of Procaine penicillin every six hours for three to five days, then daily for an additional seven days. up to and through 24 hours after the last symptom has disappeared to avoid relapse,6 cc per#100 subq
*Dexamethasone ( cortico-steroid) injections can be used to reduce brain stem swelling.6 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight given deep IM decrease amounts daily. * 5 cc per 100 pounds(100 mg/ml thiamine) every six hours. *Banamine should be administered for fever. |
Lungworms – worms inhabit the air passages and cause inflammation (parasite pneumonia)
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Chronic cough
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Drench with dewormer such as Ivomec
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Mange, Chorioptic – Chorioptes caprae infest the skin of the lower leg
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Itchiness may be noticed and there may be small crusty scabs.
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Mange, Demodectic – Demodex caprae invade the hair follicles and sebaceous glands of the skin
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Small lumps are noticed in the skin. They may be like a cyst or bag of fluid.
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Ivermectin injected subq once a week for 7 weeks.
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Mange, Psoroptic – Psoroptes caprae which infests the ears
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May cause head-shaking and scratching.
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Gamma benzene hexachloride and gammexane can be used
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Mange, Sarcoptic – Saroptes scabei burrow in the skin and lay their eggs in tunnels
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Terrible itching, Skin becomes raised, red and hairless round the eyes, ears and nose.
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Infestation can be passed to other goats. Veterinary treatment is required.
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Mastitis - inflammation of the udder, almost always associated with germs
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Misery, udder hot, hard and very tender, appetite lost, pupils of eyes narrowed to slits
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Antibiotics, and supportive therapy. Milk should be cultured in lab and sensitivity test run to determine which antibiotic is necessary. Once lab test are back, use the appropriate antibiotic udder infusion such as Today, Tomorrow or Pirsue. Sterile administration of these infusions is essential. Banamine should be given for fever and inflammation.
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Mastitis (gangrene) - inflammation of the udder, almost always associated with germs
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bruised looking udder. Doe show signs of generalized illness: depression, fever or loss of appetite. Gangrene mastitis should be suspect if the udder is cold, swollen with an excessive accumulation of fluid and the milk is watery or bloody.
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This seems like it could be excessive, but this type of Mastitis is a true emergency. You can spray the udder with Scarlet oil as it sloughs, and it will clean up all by it's self. I have had does loose half of the udder, and never stop eating with this treatment. If you catch it fast enough, you may actually save the udder. |
Mycotoxin - "Myco means fungus and toxin means poison" - a poisoning of an animal from a fungus growth normally in old hay or feed.
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Excessive salavation, depression, anorexia, convulsions, arched back
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Varies according to the source of problem. Remove the "bad" feed or hay from the animals immediately. Administration of activated charcoal may inhibit additional uptake of toxin from the gut. Mineral oil may help.
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Navel Ill – dirty environments infecting the navel cord after birth
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Young kid with swollen, painful navel which may look red
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Antibiotic injections. Area around the navel should be cleaned with antiseptic iodine, crusty scabs removed by soaking and any pockets of pus drained.
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Pneumonia – infection of the lung
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Refuses food, stands around hanging head down, sounds congested, elevated temperature, and coughs and breathes rapidly or with difficulty.
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Antibacterial drugs such as Oxytetracycline. May require veterinary-only drugs if severe. Benadryl may be given to help dry up mucus and Banamine is recommended for fever and to prevent lung scaring due to inflammation. Supporting the immune system with vitamin C chewables and an injection of Bo-Se can shorten recovery time.
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Pregnancy Toxemia - a metabolic disease of does in late pregnancy. Most of the nutrition is going to the kids. Similar to Ketosis. Ketosis is after birthing.
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Lethargy and losses of appetite over one to two weeks, generally in very late pregnancy. Limping or swelling of feet. Laying around not wanting to get up. Sweet-smelling (ketotic) breath. Ketosis strips can be used to identify if the doe is ketotic
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Pregnancy toxemia is a life threatening metabolic disorder that is tied in with other metabolic issues, namely ketosis and hypocalcemia. Each disorder causes a chain reaction, compiling one disorder on top of aother. Take temp and if lower than normal you have verification hypocalcemia is also a factor. To treat, inject 60cc of injectable CMPK (vet RX) SubQ. Give 30cc at one site, the other 30cc in another. Use sterile technique, warm CMPK to body temp and inject slowly. This will address the underlying hypocalcemia issue. Next using injectable dextrose in the same manner, as well as drenching orally is a faster way to provide sugar (energy) to the doe and it's a lil less harsh than propylene glycol. If you'd rather not inject the dextrose, just drench orally. |
Ringworms – Fungal condition
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Grey-white crusty appearance on small areas of skin. Skin is usually thickened and the hairs thin or absent. Generally no itching or evidence of irritation. Enlargement of affected areas occurs.
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Fungicidal preparations applied as a liquid dressing. Any of the following daily for five days and then weekly:
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(Sore Mouth) –- Highly infectious viral disease to animals and humans. ORF is the name for this in humans.
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Pimples about the nose, mouth, eyes, anus and hoofs. Turning to watery blisters, then to sticky and encrusted scabs. Swelling of mouth and gums. Will run a course of around three weeks. Animals can die if they are unable to eat or nurse because of the sore mouth.
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Difficult. Dress with antibiotic spray or ointment. Isolate infected animals. There is a Ovine Ecthyma Vaccine against sore mouth infection to all animals. Vaccine to infected animals may reduce the time to recover. We do not recommend vaccinating. We let the soremouth run its course of 3 weeks and doctor severe cases. We use medication with Cephapirin Benzathine in it. Two brands are Cefa-Dri and Tomorrow. CHX-Guard LA gel antibacterial agent adheres to the gums of infected animals.
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Tapeworms – inhabit the small intestine
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Examination of the goat’s droppings. Young goats will pass tapeworm segments in their feces during the summer months.
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An anthelmintic such as albendazole can be used. Oral niclosamide is highly effective.
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Tetanus - Infection of open wounds by the bacterium Clostridium tetani results in tetanus (lockjaw)
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A general increase in muscle stiffness is seen, causing an unsteady gait. Eyelid begins to extend over the eye and animal looks "anxious". The symptoms get progressively worse and convulsions may occur. The goat dies because it is unable to breathe.
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Goats can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin and antisera, but response is poor. The site of bacterial proliferation should be searched for and whenever possible, the wound or infection site should be opened to the air, debrided, flushed with hydrogen peroxide and infiltrated with penicillin. The area be infiltrated with tetanus antitoxin before the wound cleaning process is begun to reduce the chance that more pre-existing toxin will b absorbed during tissue manipulations. If Tetanus is suspected, administering Tetanus Antitoxin ASAP can increase your chances of a favorable outcome. Do note that tetanus antitoxin is NOT the same as CDT Toxoid.
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Urinary Calculi - A hard mass of mineral salts in the urinary tract caused by a dietary mineral imbalance, usually in bucks
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Restlessness, straining to urinate, pawing the ground, recurrent looking at its own abdomen, vocal signs of pain
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Most treatment must be done by veterinarians. Often requiring the removal of the tip of the penis. Look at the details in the article CLICK ON BUTTON Watch bucks at least once a day to ensure they are urinating properly without difficulty. If you suspect anything MIGHT be off, a drench of ammonium chloride can rectify the situation if caught soon enough.
To prevent UC, it is advised to maintain proper dietary balance of calcium and phosphorus. Ideally you'd like a 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Phosphorus feed items are grain and grass hays, an example of calcium is alfalfa and clovers. Not over feeding grain, providing diverse, adequate forage items and plenty of cool, clean water will go a long way in preventing UC. For extra insurance, you may also mix a bit of the powdered ammonium chloride into your bucks loose minerals. |
White Muscle Disease - deficiency of Vitamin E and Selenium
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Stiffness, weakness and trembling. Back legs become stiff and unable to use. Can result in death
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Administration of selenium, together with vitamin E. Bo-Se is an injectable selenium sold by RX. Inject at 1cc per 40lbs.
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