First aid for a big sore

PrettyPaisley · #1 04/17/11, 10:04 PM

I noticed Millie chewing on a spot on her outer thigh this evening and took a look at it and it's a huge raw sore-about the size of a half dollar.

I have no idea how this happened-it's not a puncture and not a bite but it looks more like a burn of some sort. Thing is, the fur around it is not missing so a burn isn't an option. And we have nothing hot around. I was gone all day -of all things to a goat husbandry workshop about 3 hours up the mountain and came home to this.

What do I do? Typical first aid like with a person? I figure I wouldn't bandage it-thinking it needs to breathe. But I know I need to keep her from chewing at it. Do you put lampshade type blockers on goats like you would on a dog?

Why does all this stuff happen to my favorite goat??

Rockytopsis · #2 04/18/11, 07:39 AM

Sounds like a hot spot that dogs get due to a flea bite. I would wash the area with a mild soapy water and shave the hair away from the edges and treat it like you would a hot spot. I use blue kote when it shows up on my dogs.
I am sure others will chime in with different info.
Nancy

Alice In TX/MO · #3 04/18/11, 08:09 AM

Do you have horses? Almost sounds like a horse bite.

PrettyPaisley · #4 04/18/11, 08:14 AM

No horse. I will go out and put her in the milk stand and clean it up a bit and take a picture to see if that helps. We were thinking it could be a small scab from all the shots she got from the azalea poisioning. She does have a couple of scabs that are along her spine that are starting to come off and seem to itch. I just hadn't seen this spot until now.

Sherry in Iowa · #5 04/18/11, 08:30 AM

I know it's difficult, but if you can keep her from licking or biting it..I would clean and shave the area, and smear honey on it and cover it to keep her out of it. We have gotten some of the best results for healing wounds and sores by using tea tree oil or hydrogen peroxide first..then using the honey. If it's a place they can't reach..you don't have to cover it with a bandage.

At first, we clean the wound a couple to three times a day and reapply the honey.

Best of luck.

PrettyPaisley · #6 04/18/11, 08:42 AM

I have all that Sherry! Thanks for the tips. That's what I needed to know and will start with that treatment right now!

Sherry in Iowa · #7 04/18/11, 08:46 AM

Good luck..the key to it is not to let her lick it until it heals. Besides..the tea tree oil probably wouldn't be great for her to ingest. The honey is the best antibiotic going for us and our animals here on the homestead. And it usually heals the sore/wound from the bottom up. I pray it works for you.

mammabooh · #8 04/18/11, 08:50 AM

My Mudge had a scraped area on her udder when I got her. It had happened when she was at her other home, and they were using some homemade salve. That, along with some Bactine sprayed on it, worked just great. I can give you the recipe for the salve if you'd like it.

CarolT · #9 04/18/11, 09:15 AM

I think you found the issue when you said she had seemingly itchy spots on her back from the azalea poisoning. This area she could reach! If you put an Elizabethan collar (plastic lampshade) on her, you had better post pictures!!!

Seriously, it might just work.

PrettyPaisley · #10 04/18/11, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammabooh

My Mudge had a scraped area on her udder when I got her. It had happened when she was at her other home, and they were using some homemade salve. That, along with some Bactine sprayed on it, worked just great. I can give you the recipe for the salve if you'd like it.

I'd love it!

She's licking the sore!

mammabooh · #11 04/18/11, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrettyPaisley

I'd love it!

She's licking the sore!

That's what Mudge did. I didn't use the salve for the first couple of days after I got her home (because I thought it was well on its way to healing and I didn't know any better!), and she tore the scab off and proceded to lick it and bite it until it was huge. I think the salve kept it soft and helped it heal and the Bactine kept it from hurting, so she didn't mess with it.

Here's the recipe with notes from the breeder...
Udder balm:
7 ounces lanolin
7 ounces coconut oil
3 1/2 ounces shea butter
1/2 ounce vitamin e oil
scant 1/2 ounce glycerine
40 drops tea tree oil
40 drops lavender
Melt lanolin, coconut oil, and shea butter over low heat stirring constantly til it is a combined liquid, cool stirring often and add rest of ingredients stirring in well when it is about lukewarm.
This stuff is very liquid in warm weather and hard in cold and I suppose there would be some aditives you could use to make it more uniform, but I just like it the way it is and deal with it. I pour it into containers : baby food jars are nice, spice cans the empty lanolin tub or whatever works and store in fridge until I open a container to take to the milk room.

Bearfootfarm · #12 04/18/11, 10:53 AM

It might be ringworm

Laverne · #13 04/18/11, 04:23 PM

Meningeal worm can make them mutilate themselves.

PrettyPaisley · #14 04/19/11, 12:37 AM

How do I find out if she has this worm? It doesn't sound good ...
Thanks for the recipe, mammabooh. I don't have all of that on hand but know where I can get it tomorrow!

First aid for a big sore - Goats

Bearfootfarm · #15 04/19/11, 02:13 AM

Is the dark area in the middle a scab, or is it necrotic tissue?

If it's dead/dying, that could be a snake bite

First aid for a big sore - Goats

Image from:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...EIGDgAflh-D2DA

luvzmybabz · #16 04/19/11, 02:30 AM

At any point during her bout with the azalea was epinephrine given? I have seen it kill off tissue like that in a human.

PrettyPaisley · #17 04/19/11, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvzmybabz

At any point during her bout with the azalea was epinephrine given? I have seen it kill off tissue like that in a human.

I am not sure.

I can call the vet and find out. I know she had Banamine, Flunixin and penicillin, as well as Vit-B and sub-q fluids and she was drenched several times with lots of liquids to help keep her hydrated. I think that is all she was given.

There is a darker area in the center but it doesn't look like rot. The dark area is the scab and it's consistent all the way around.

It does seem a bit better this morning. She's stopped chewing at it.

Sherry in Iowa · #18 04/19/11, 08:31 AM

The pic looks like it is trying to heal .. it looks like the deep tissue is trying to fill in. I'm no vet..but I think I would fill it with honey or whatever you are using and wrap a bandage and tape it good. I'd leave it for 10-12 hours and take a look again. The scab should soften..I would let it fall off on its own. Whatever you used yesterday must have either lessened the pain or lessened the itch.

As to what it is..my first guess would be an injection site that got infected. But that's about the only "guess" I have. Does she have anymore raw spots or places that she is itching or was she just zeroed in on this spot?

PrettyPaisley · #19 04/19/11, 08:53 AM

Sherry-she does have one other small spot that was scabbed on her back that I noticed she is pulling at but nothing this bad. I figure the scab is tight and itching her right much.

Sherry in Iowa · #20 04/19/11, 09:00 AM

If there's more than one spot..like someone else said, you might want to treat her for worms or fleas/mites.