Sick wether

[pookshollow]

Coco is an Alpine wether, about 2 years old. On Saturday, he was lying down and looking miserable, not eating with the rest. His temperature was 101. I watched him for a while, observed him stretching out while standing and thought perhaps it was urinary calculi. I immediately called the vet.

The vet came out, walked into the pen and Coco stretched out and had a good long pee. OK, not UC. The vet looked him over, said his rumen function was good, and probably he just had a touch of colic.

Today, he's still not "right". He's alert, wants to be patted and cuddled but isn't eating or drinking. He'll walk over to the bucket, run his mouth around the top of the water, then he'll walk over to the hay, mouth a strand but not actually eat it. He has a bit of mucous around his nostrils, but not horrendous amounts, mostly clear. No coughing, no sneezing, no scouring. What is a bit odd is that he is pink under his jaw and the underside of his neck, as though he's had some blood get on him. I can't find any wounds, nobody else has blood on them.

Could it just be a cold and he's feeling a bit rotten, maybe a sore throat? I don't want to start pumping antibiotics into him, "just in case".

[Feral Nature]

I am puzzled by the blood. Did the vet see that or was it not apparent at the time of the exam? Are your other goats horned? Maybe jabbed by a penmate. Or an abcessed tooth? Could you re-examine the inside and outside of the jaw and neck?

Did the vet say that the goat looked good other than being off? Did the vet recommend worming the goat? Anything like that? Just wondering what the vet had to say other than "colic" which is a catch-all term for "belly ache".

[DixyDoodle]

pooks, is it possible that he's somehow gotten himself poked in the mouth or maybe has something caught in there? Or maybe even a broken off tooth? I was thinking maybe that would account for the blood underneath and the not wanting to eat. I would give the inside of his mouth a good going over (if you can have someone hold him down, that is, I don't suppose he will be too willing to stand still for that).

Good luck, I hope you find what is wrong.

DD

[pookshollow]

I just noticed the "pink" tonight. I have felt all up and down his jawline and there's no swelling anywhere. His mates are all dehorned (the odd scur on a buck) and they're clean, no bloody stumps. Usually when they've been battling, it looks like a battlefield.

Vet didn't recommend anything - just said he has a bellyache and it will pass.

I took out some warm water with molasses, to see if he would drink it - not interested, although I syringed some into him anyway. I had him outside his pen so the others wouldn't harass us (carry a bucket into a pen! stampede). He did jump up on the milkstand, investigate the bottom of the feed bucket, got into the kelp meal and nibbled on that, nibbled on a bit of grain from a bucket and poked his nose into everything - like a normal goat. His voice does sound a bit hoarse when he talks - he's not a mouthy goat at the best of times.

I will check his teeth - that thought crossed my mind too.

[Feral Nature]

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your findings

[pookshollow]

No change this morning - no better, no worse, still not eating. I tried to have a look in his mouth, couldn't really see anything. More importantly, I can't feel or smell anything - no lumps, no putrefaction.

I'm going to get the vet out again today, if I can.

[goatkid]

Take his temperature again. If he does have a tummy ache, he needs probios.

[fishhead]

Can you listen to his breating?

[pookshollow]

The vet was just here - and I think we're getting somewhere. Coco has started scouring, just this afternoon, so there's definitely something going on in his gut. He's on broad-spectrum antibiotics, the vet pulled blood and I'm going to start him on electrolyte solution, as well as probiotics. Unfortunately, I'll have to give it to him one syringe at a time, as the vet didn't have a drenching tube suitable. He's not going to like me.

The only explanation the vet could think of for the pinkness down his neck is possibly regurgitating some blood.

If he's not looking better by tomorrow, he wants to put him on an IV for fluids.

[fishhead]

Have you given him probiotics or yogurt? The antibiotics might mess up his rumen bacteria.

[pookshollow]

In fact, I suggested it to the vet - and he said double the dose.

[DixyDoodle]

Gee, pooks, can you get another vet? Sounds like you know more about goats than he does.

Just curious what the yogurt does, is it to promote good bacteria in the gut?

[oberhaslikid]

Offer him some baking soda if he has an upset rumen then it will balance out the acid.Just like us taking Tumms.

[pookshollow]

Gee, pooks, can you get another vet? Sounds like you know more about goats than he does.

Actually, he's pretty knowledgeable. He said to deworm him, so I asked should I use Ivermectin or Safeguard. He said Ivermectin and what dose was I planning to give him. I said triple the dose for a horse (by weight) and he was pleased that I knew that.

I managed to get 2 litres of electrolyte solution into him last night - well, what didn't go on me - and some more this morning. I wonder why they call it "drenching"? I'll give him another bottle before I leave for work - using the pop bottle and lamb nipple with the end snipped wider, much easier than a syringe. He's still feeling pretty miserable, won't take anything unless I force it down his throat. He's not scouring this morning, though.

[fishhead]

Originally Posted by DixyDoodle

Gee, pooks, can you get another vet? Sounds like you know more about goats than he does.

Just curious what the yogurt does, is it to promote good bacteria in the gut?

Yes.

I'm glad to hear he's picking up a bit.

[susanne]

i would start giving fortified b complex to him. helps with stress and appetite.

[pookshollow]

i would start giving fortified b complex to him. helps with stress and appetite.

Good idea. I'll have to grind up some "people" vitamins, as otherwise I'd have to order it and wait a few days.

He's looking a little perkier this afternoon (I just got home). He's actually passed some manure, very squashy and nasty, but it's not liquid like it was yesterday. At least things are moving through him. I'm trying out my new fecal analyzer kit that I bought myself for Christmas.

[susanne]

good to hear that he is better. look for some cocci oocyst as stress bring them on good luck

[fishhead]

That's good news. I hope he continues to improve.

[pookshollow]

Hmmm, think I need a more powerful microscope. The only thing I could see, and there weren't many, were lozenge shaped eggs, which I'm thinking, from the photos in the book, are threadworm eggs. They definitely weren't egg-shaped, like cocci are supposed to be. There were some huge air bubbles which scared the dickens out of me, until I figured out what they were.

Hey, Microbiology 101 was almost thirty years ago! I haven't looked in a microscope since.