pygmy doeling down

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My friend in Central Texas has a five month old pygmy doe "down". The doe can't stand, has a limp neck, shallow breathing, and slow heartrate. The lungs are clear. She bleats occassionally. My friend had not temped the goat when I spoke with her, but said she did not feel hot, in fact, she had noticed that her ears seemed cool. She did give her a penicillin shot last night. Any ideas what this might be or what she should do for it? Thanks in advance.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), February 06, 2002

Answers

Hi Mary, Goats don't feel "hot" if they have a fever..only way to find out is to take her temp - should be 101.5-104 rectally. Has this doe had any CDT vaccinations for enterotoxemia? Been dewormed lately? eaten any moldy feed (hay OR grain)? eaten any toxic plants in the pasture? Does she have normal rumen sounds? Diarrhea? is she grinding her teeth? A shot of B Complex wouldn't hurt IMO, if she's got some nutritional/metabolic 'thing' going on. So hard to say otherwise. Patty prairie Oak Miniatures http://www.minifarm.com/prairie_oak http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Littlegoats

-- Patty Putnam (WI) (littlegoats@wi.rr.com), February 06, 2002.

Mary, I e-mailed you privately.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), February 06, 2002.

Thanks, Patty. So much to think about. I did have a kid that was hot with fever once, so I just thought that was normal. I'll run some of these ideas past my friend. She did ask if I thought the goat might have gotten something poisonous--who knows. Thanks for your ideas.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), February 06, 2002.

It is pnemonia weather around here! And penicillin won't touch pnemonia. Take her temp, the problem with goats is that if you miss the fever, the doe will have a subnormal temp just before she dies. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 06, 2002.

Vicki, what do you use to treat pneumonia?

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), February 06, 2002.


Tylan 200 is my favorite, if the fever is up I use Banamine with it. If it is a valuable animal I get Naxcel from the vet. Lots of folks use Nuflor or Excenell but Naxcel has always worked. I don't use tetracycline, only because Tylan works well for us. I have lots of my customers adding tetracycline to their grain mix themselves to try and get through these first few years of our wet winters without pnemonia. Pnemonia always seems to strike new goats moved into new areas their first year. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 06, 2002.

Thanks to all for your advice and concern on this. I have heard from my friend that the little doe died, an hour or so after they found her like this. They found some type of mold or fungus growing in the stall which they have taken to the Extension Agent in hopes of identifying, and have closed the area to the other animals.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), February 07, 2002.

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