Need help with my baby goat

[ehollenback]

I have a baby goat who is under 2 months old. Most of the time, she has spent with us since she is bottle fed. She spent part of yesterday with our herd. Today, she developed a very large lump on her neck and chin. There is no wound. I'm still pretty new where goats are concerned. I'm afraid that it's something serious. She's acting very normal otherwise. Appetitie is normal. Any ideas of what I should do would help.

[Minelson]

She may have gotten stung by a wasp or something. If she is acting ok and eating and pooping normal I would just keep a close eye on her. How big are they?

[ehollenback]

The lump is the size of a tennis ball made out of playdoh and flattened a little. She is an african pygmy so she is small and looks proportionally huge.

[Minelson]

Wowzer..that sounds big. DO you have any Benadryl?

[Goat Servant]

Can you post a pic? Is there a possiblity its just milk goiter? A bee or wasp could definetly cause swelling like that as well.
Ive never seen bottle jaw so no help there.

[Bearfootfarm]

Check to see if the inner eyelids are pale. If so , it's bottlejaw, and she is near death.
Worm her IMMEDIATELY

[ehollenback]

I don't have a picture I'll post one tonite.

I pulled up her upper eyelid to expose her inner eyelid - did I do it right? It looked white. I've never looked at one before. Is it supposed to be pink. I'll get some worming medicine right away. How do I dose her? She's very small still. How do I know how much to give her?

I don't think it's milk goiter because it came on suddenly. Milk goiter seems to be a chronic condition that starts right from the first week. If anyone knows differently, let me know!

Thanks for everyone's help.

[fishhead]

I believe the inner eyelid should be pink like ours.

What kind of wormer do you have?

Have you had a fecal done?

[Chaty]

I use the bottom eyelid to check mine. It should be bubblegum pink and if not do the worming slowly as it can cause impaction and anemia also. You need to worm and then worm for tape worms also. White horse paste wormer will work for tape. Liquid wormer most dont get the tapes. I worm and wait 10 days and then worm again and then 10 days later. Good luck

[ehollenback]

To check the bottom lid, do I have to pull it back and look under it or just look at the rim. The rim is white. I have a feeling that it's worms but I'm afraid of giving her too much worming medicine, she's so small.

[Minelson]

Pull the eyelid down like you would do on yourself and it should look red/pink like your own. What kind of wormer do you have? It's hard to overdose with ivermectin. How much does she weigh?

[susanne]

we do not use ivermectin on kids this young because it passes the blood brain barrier. valbazen would be better choice.
i'm not really convinced that this is a parasite problem. i would bring a fecal sample to the vet and have it checked.
this kid lived in the house, away from adult animals if i understand the OP correctly. doe kid was with adults for one afternoon?
bottle jaw is worse in the evening and none in the morning.

where are you located? what are the iodine requirements in your area?
picture from the swelling would be nice.

[ehollenback]

I'm at work right now, I'll try to get a picture this after noon. The swelling seems to extend to two places, by the lymph node and by the jaw as well. It's not any better this morning. Bottle jaw can also be soft, this is not a soft swelling, it is very full and hard not like a bone hard but like filled as full as it can get hard. From the pictures I've seen of bottle jaw, it's doesn't extend to the chin and its softer than her swelling. It's larger than CL swellings are supposed to be too. She has been with the adults, if I think about it, more than once and spent all day yesterday with them. She was also there a couple of times before then this week. We are trying to get her used to being with the herd rather than in the house or in her cage. She also drank more milk than normal this morning like an animal with worms would.

[ehollenback]

I'm not sure what the iodine requirements are for my area. I'm in Central Jersey (Hunterdon County)

[ehollenback]

My husband got a positive pellet goat dewormer from Tractor Supply. It only covers round worms. She only ate a few pellets. I wanted him to get Valbazen but they didn't have any. I had him check her gums they aren't pink at all. He said that they look gray. Now she just seems to be sitting down more instead of walking around.

[ehollenback]

I just checked my global agway. Valbazen is $42 per pt!! Ouch!

[fishhead]

Call your local pet vet. They can sell you it by the syringe (without the needle).

While you're there you can pick up some B vitamin too.

[Goat Servant]

Yep, Fishead is right..get a dose from your vet.

[ehollenback]

That's a good idea. Thanks!

[bloogrssgrl]

Make sure you treat the little one for the anemia too! Also, if you are asking your vet for meds, ask for a dose of epinephrine right away to have on hand just in case.