[Emilea]

I left work early and on my way happened to pass the vet clinic where the guy i said only works on cows and horses and the vets dad was in town!! GOAT DOCTOR! so i stopped and begged him to come by, he retired two years ago and moved but is wonderful... anyways he came out and looked at her and said he could get her going but she wouldn't make it for long... but since i was losing composure he did tube her and we got some food into her and he gave her some shots and some type of tab. he then told me that he was not charging me... he told my husband that the goat was missing something since birth and there was nothing anyone could do. that being said shortcake died over night... about 3 my LGD started freaking out and all the babies started crying... went outside any she was gone.

Same time i went to check on her i was looking around and noticed my COCO was away from all the others and when i went into the fence she ran into it.. her eyes where swollen shut, i pulled them open and they were white!! and then i started looking and one of the others eyes where runny and pink, I called Gary (vets dad again) and he said face flies can do that with all the rain we have had here... (a month straight it has rained everyday) but they were fine earlier i played with them yesterday! the vet brought some "puffer" and BIO MITICEN? and said she may not have lost her vision all the way vet if we can get it controlled now. he said everyone his son knows has been having a year like mine cause of the weather here... I'm about to give up.

 

[trappmountain]

I am so sorry about Shortcake.

Pink eye is easy to take care of. You are having a very wet year and that definitely will breed a lot of infections. Just keep up on it. It will get easier.

Hang in there.

 

[hilltopheaven]

Don't give up. I felt about like that the other day. But do all you can and don't give up on them. We went through the pink eye thing not long ago. Two of our goats eyes were completely white, we used the puffer and now their eyes are as normal as they ever were. Except for one and her eyes seemed to have changed color but she can see as good as she ever did. We are still fighting this stinky green poop problem. I think its getting better and then we have another one come up with it. Still worming and taking the best care of them we can. Hang in there. They are worth it.

 

[southerngurl]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I'm in Arkansas too, and it sure has been raining like crazy. Looks like we're in for some drier weather now though.

I would give the goats good doses of garlic, no matter what you do. One of mine got pink eye a while back and I used some supertonic (a garlic, onion, habanero pepper, horseradish and ginger w/ ACV mix) and it sure clears it up well. Actually I gave it to her for 2 days and it had cleared up, so I discontinued it. Then it came back worse the next day. I am really bad about lacking in follow through. So I started giving it to her again and in a couple days it was gone, but I kept giving it a little longer.

 

[fishhead]

Sorry to hear you lost her. If it was congenital then there really isn't anything you could have done.

 

[susanne]

sorry you lost your doe.
in this weather it is very important to be on top with parasite control, good mineral supplement and clean/dry place to lay down. with other words you need to do everything to keep the immune system strong.

 

[bumpus]

.
Put salt in there eyes. It will kill pinkeye and clear it up.

bumpus
.

 

[Emilea]

where would i get the garlic at? the feed store i am using the puffer twice a day and giving 3 cc of biomitcin once a day.. I am glad to hear its the weather and not just me... its so hard to keep pushing forward when it feels like i'm going backwards... but thank you guys for the support! and i'm SOOO glad to hear her vision could come back just as good as it was.. how long will it take? and what should i be giving them for their immune system to help? and salt? like cooking salt? and can i mix all this together?

 

[Loda Farm]

.
Put salt in there eyes. It will kill pinkeye and clear it up.

bumpus
.

WHAT?!?!?! Wouldn't that burn like hell? I got salt in my eyes once. :Bawling: OUCH!! I can't imagine doing that to a goat.

Laura

 

[HilltopDaisy]

PLEASE do not even consider putting salt in an animals eyes.

 

[bumpus]

WHAT?!?!?! Wouldn't that burn like hell? I got salt in my eyes once. :Bawling: OUCH!! I can't imagine doing that to a goat.

Laura

The pain of pinkey is worse and the salt won't hurt them either.

Have you ever seen an eyeball swell out and bust, it's gone and now you have a hole in the head.

Salt is cheep and almost everyone has cheap salt around.

bumpus
.

 

[Ross]

I wouldn't put salt in thier eyes either! I would use an injection of LA 200 or OxyLP (same antibiotic just low pain not long acting.

 

[Jim S.]

DO NOT USE SALT! It does work, but it is cruel to the animal. If you use it once, you'll not do it again if you have a heart.

Do this:

Shot of LA200 SQ. Proven systemic cure. Hangs in with the goat a few days too.

Isolate the goat in the darkest part of the barn. OR make a large cloth patch if it is only one eye and affix it to the hair with auto weatherstrip adhesive, like they do for cows. (Search Shut Eye on the Web.) Make sure light cannot get through it. It can be removed or will falloff later.

If you patch, or even if you leave the goat in the dark, use neosporin ointment (like you use for your cut fingers) AROUND the eye to relieve symptoms there.

Pinkeye is easy to manage against. Keep your goats out of the barn unless they need to be there for shelter. Do not feed in the barn. Keep watering areas dry, and discourage goats from gathering there. Provide adequate pasture or downsize the herd. Uncrowded goats browse with about 3-4 feet or so between them, which discourages fly transmission and rubbing transmission of diseases. Keep pastures clipped of tall seedhead stems. Use fly bait to kill swarms in the barn, if they are that bad.

I would not piddle around with pinkeye. The eye can rupture or the goat can go blind, and it needs to be aggressively treated with proven antibiotics and therapies. If there is a cateract (clouding) of the eye, it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months for that to clear and heal. The goat can be back with the others once the infection subsides (7-10 days with antibiotic treatment), but if the eye is really clouded it will have to remain in a dark area til that clears up.

I am real sorry to hear about your goat dying. Please don't quit, but rather try to manage your goats as a herd and not as individuals. The individual is subordinate to the herd with goats, as a natural matter. If you manage as a herd, most disease can be avoided.

 

[redbudlane]

I'm sorry you are having a bad year. Some days I'm ready to throw in the towel too. We have to remember that life is a cycle and death is part of it. Always do your best, that's all any of us can do. Good luck with the eyes, our flies are bad here too although we haven't had a lot of rain. If I could get the animals to poop outside of the barn it would help, the little stinkers! Hang in there, {{{hugs}}}.

 

[Emilea]

the biomitcin is the upgraded version of LA 200 and I put her in a barn alone...no sun in there at all... i'm worried about her not being able to see and eat, while i'm working... i have my son whos 3 going down there when his alarm goes off... every hour and splash the water so she will drink and he puts the bucket in her face... but can this pink eye hurt him? also i have used this stuff called "fly spray" i got a tsc and it seems to do ok but any other ideas how to keep them away? also i'm giving them a shot of bio in the leg, is that a good place?? and the vet is bringing some ointment that is terrimicen 3 to rub on her eye...

 

[thaiblue12]

I am so sorry about Shortcake. You did nothing wrong. You tried your best and you had no idea she was born lacking something.
I did the treament Jim suggested for pink last month and it worked great. I used the patches. Just be prepared for nasty goo to run out of the bottom part of the patch. I put neosporin around her eye as well as on the patch. Shot her once with LA 200 and did not mess with her. The patch fell off and the pink eye was gone but she still had cataracts. So I re-patched it.
She is fine now, but it does take time.
I know how you feel about giving up, I have been having a bad duck year and it really gets to you.
Your son can get pink eye from her so please have him wash his hands and not touch his face if he goes near her.
Good Luck.

 

[Emilea]

thats what i was afraid of, him getting it too. where can i get a patch and it is both her eyes? can i patch both? is it a certian patch? and is the terramitcen(sp) like the neosp.?

 

[fishhead]

Would it help to put some kool-aid in the water so she can find it by smell easier?

 

[Emilea]

i didn't think of that... but will it attract more flys being in a barn?

 

[thaiblue12]

I used black felt and made my own patches. Much larger than her eye so I would not get the adhesive in her eye. If it is in both eyes patch them both. She can't see really well now anyway. I kept her confined to the pen and led her to her water and food and she bumped into things but she needed her eyes to be kept in the dark.
I used a knock off of Neosporin that I had for people use. If you have terramyacin you can use that instead. Make sure you do not put in around her eye and then touch the tube again with that same hand/ finger or yourself. It is a real pain but it is very contageous (sp?).