Buck lost his voice

Otter · #1 01/03/13, 11:21 AM

My Stormy buckling has lost his voice. When he tries to Maaaaa all that comes out is hhhhhhaaaaaa
He has no temperature, is eating just fine, has a teeny bit of crust by one nostril (nothing noticeable from a distance, but when I gave him the once-over and checked his nostrils there was a teeny crust. He was Not Pleased with my groping at his nose) and seems in other ways fine.

Now, my vet and I have a fine relationship where I tell him what's wrong with my goat and what medicine I need and he says ok and lets me come by the office and pick it up.
So, ummmm, what's wrong with my goat and what medicine do I need? I'm thinking Nuflor - what dosage should I ask for for 70+ pounds of buckling?

Shayanna · #2 01/03/13, 11:40 AM

Is he wheezing? or is this only if he tries talking? Has he been hollering at the ladies lately? If it were me I would just keep an eye on him, it might just be laryngitis IMHO. Then again, I am no expert. So...

Oh. just read it was a buckling. Playing too rough maybe? Bumped the windpipe just wrong? Still maybe laryngitis.

Otter · #3 01/03/13, 11:50 AM

No, no wheezing, it's only when he tries talking. About 4 or 5 days ago he sounded a bit wheezy when he was begging for grain and attention while I milked, but he was also covered with chaff from playing in the round bales. I watched him pretty closely and he cleared up and never showed anything wrong so I thought it just was from him molesting the hay.

Only 2 ladies here and they are both bred. He's not terribly vocal except for the YAY when I go to milk and he gets a teeny tiny mouthful of grain to share with the wether to bribe them into the stay-out-of-trouble pen for the 10 minutes I'm milking.
He may have been rough-housing with the wether, I'd just rather be safe then sorry. I'd be devastated if something happened to him.

farmmom · #4 01/03/13, 11:52 AM

My bucks always lost their voices while they were in rut. I think they just talk to much sometimes.

Donna1982 · #5 01/03/13, 12:09 PM

All but like two of mine did this a few months back. Also been talking to a man in Arizona that it happened to his goats too. The only thing we can pin point being the same is a weed that's called bitter sneeze weed.

andabigmac · #6 01/03/13, 12:29 PM

I personally wouldn't do antibiotics yet. I would wait for a temp or snot. Definitely go with your gut though. I am not above giving cough syrup to a goat though. I use Sambuca. Letting him lick some honey off of a spoon might coat his throat and make him feel better too.

Otter · #7 01/03/13, 01:02 PM

I think I worry about him so much because he does this all the time. He'll have a snotty nose and 3 hours later he's cleared up. Four days after that he sounds kinda chesty, by the time I go get the thermometer he's fine. A week later he'll be coughing in the morning - not bad or often, juuuust enough that I tell myself I need to keep an eye on him - by bedtime, nothing. Now he has no voice.

I don't know if he has a teeny bitty low-grade something or if it's just that he gets into everything and then the Goat Code compels him to make sure I know about it. I may just give him some Dayquil and see if that helps.

Frosted Mini's · #8 01/03/13, 02:01 PM

I wonder if he didn't have pneumonia in the past and it scarred his lungs a bit maybe? You could boost his immunity some with a Bo-se shot if he hasn't had one for awhile, and give him b-complex and some vitamin C. I wouldn't reach for any "real" meds just yet-let his body heal itself. I have seen goats with hoarse voices before and they always cleared up on their own just fine.

Otter · #9 01/03/13, 02:33 PM

Frosted Mini's, he's not yet a year old and has never been actually sick. I got him from Pony when he was about 3 weeks old and I don't think he was sick there.
I've got B-complex and need to pick up some Bo-Se anyway and he'll get a dose of that. Low-grade pneumonia is what I worry about.

Other then doing this he's vibrantly healthy. His first rut made him not-fat (because he was a bit chubby going in) but he is still growing and thriving and about mowed me down for his treat this morning.

Backfourty,MI. · #10 01/03/13, 06:28 PM

I would keep a real close eye on him just in case it's pneumonia. They don't have to have a snotty nose or chest congestion for pneumonia especially if you've caught it early.

Do you have a stethascope? If so listen to his lungs & see if he sounds congested. If not just keep a close eye on him. If the snotty nose gets worse or he starts running a temp. I'd start him on Nuflor.

Sometimes dusty hay can cause them to have a runny nose so I don't want to worry you for nothing.

CaliannG · #11 01/03/13, 06:52 PM

~ponders~ I know that this will be an unpopular opinion, but I would go ahead and do a 3 day Nuflor regimen on him. Pneumonia can be a tricky thing, and I would do a "safe than sorry" medication of him if he kept worrying me like that. If you are not one to pump antibiotics down everything at a moment's notice, than one run with the Nuflor isn't going to up the bacterial resistance on your farm.

That is just me. I might also bring him into my vet for a well-check to see if she found anything. Probably with the words, "He just seems off, Doc, and I can't put my finger on anything, but he is important to me so would you do a check on him and see if you can find something?"

Then again, she would probably check him over, and if she came up with the same problem, she'd put him on a 3 day run of Nuflor, "just in case".