Goat Auction got the best of us again

[Griffin's Ark]

Well yesterday was a day of fun indoors at the Danville, Va Goat Auction. The auctioneer looks for us to rescue the sick goats. I am not sure why that is... Anyway 7 goats (6 of which are boers), 2 calves and 2 Babydoll sheep later the auction ended (thankfully). The goats are going to be a chore to save, but then goats are a chore when they are healthy. Most are extremely anemic (probably barberpole worms) 3 are scouring real bad, but the good thing is only 2 lack appetite. So far they got Valbazon, Liquimyacin and CD&T. They will get a 3 day round of Liquimyacin followed by a 5 day round of Corid. The 2 that are anorexic will get Vit B complex along with some iron (SQ). Tomorrow we will make some goat treats with COWP and then it will just be a waiting game. I will try to add some pictures soon, but I am slow gettin online with all the catch up we are doing because of all the rain.

Chris - you can see some pictures on facebook. Look for griffinsark animal page.

 

[ksalvagno]

Chris,

I give you a lot of credit to take in the sick goats. I help with a lot of rescue but have stayed away from the goats because I don't have a way to really isolate them. I sure hope they all pull through for you.

Glad to have you back again.

 

[cmjust0]

Well yesterday was a day of fun indoors at the Danville, Va Goat Auction. The auctioneer looks for us to rescue the sick goats. I am not sure why that is... Anyway 7 goats (6 of which are boers), 2 calves and 2 Babydoll sheep later the auction ended (thankfully). The goats are going to be a chore to save, but then goats are a chore when they are healthy. Most are extremely anemic (probably barberpole worms) 3 are scouring real bad, but the good thing is only 2 lack appetite. So far they got Valbazon, Liquimyacin and CD&T. They will get a 3 day round of Liquimyacin followed by a 5 day round of Corid. The 2 that are anorexic will get Vit B complex along with some iron (SQ). Tomorrow we will make some goat treats with COWP and then it will just be a waiting game. I will try to add some pictures soon, but I am slow gettin online with all the catch up we are doing because of all the rain.

Chris - you can see some pictures on facebook. Look for griffinsark animal page.

We had a goat die because we couldn't get scours stopped and couldn't keep her hydrated. It was horrific and I won't go into the details again, but something I noticed was that her eyelids went from healthy pink to as white as the background of this text as she became dehydrated. Since eyelids are how most of us check for anemia...and since you mention scouring...and since scouring can quickly lead to dehydration...might be worth checking to see if they're simply dehydrated before assuming they're anemic. Point being, they may not be as anemic as they appear if they're dehydrated.

You probably already knew all that, and you probably know this, but I'll throw it in just for anyone else who may be reading.. If you pinch a goat's upper eyelids and they stay tented a bit instead of snapping right back down, they're dehydrated. And you'll see it in the eyelids long before you see it in the rest of their body...if they get to the point where the skin on the rest of their body is tenting (like you'd check a dog for dehydration, for instance) they're already waaay far gone.

Good luck with your new goats.. Glad to see you back!

 

[Griffin's Ark]

Thanks for the info Chad, we are adding resorb to the water and I will check the upper eyelid. I am giving warm water with electrolytes. They should be attracted to that. The sickest goat responded super quick and had normal berries last night. We have a couple more that didn't appear as bad that are slower to respond. I will try to keep this up as I go.

Chris

 

[currycomb]

i worked at a veterinarian clinic for 3 years, and learned this trick for hydrating animals. the vet used sterile saline, 60cc syringe and needle appropiate for animal, then injected animal under skin in various locations. seems the water is absorbed very well. and you know they are getting fluids. i have used regular well water on a goat i just knew was going to die, but she did not, and no afteraffects from the injections of water. :/

 

[cmjust0]

i worked at a veterinarian clinic for 3 years, and learned this trick for hydrating animals. the vet used sterile saline, 60cc syringe and needle appropiate for animal, then injected animal under skin in various locations. seems the water is absorbed very well. and you know they are getting fluids.

Yep.. Same reason why almost anything labeled for IM-only will work SQ in a goat. Anything injected under the skin gets sucked down pretty quickly.

I'd add that keeping a 1L bag or three of lactated ringers and an IV set on hand is never a bad idea. It's really easy to 'saddlebag' about 250ml over the ribs on each side, twice a day, providing a full liter of fluid over 24 hours.. Would take about 16-17 shots at 60ml to get the same effect. That could certainly be done, of course, but...yikes.

i have used regular well water on a goat i just knew was going to die, but she did not, and no afteraffects from the injections of water. :/

THAT is amazing! You'd think for sure there would be some big nasty abcess pop up or something?!?

Prolly would have if you'd used city water.

 

[Griffin's Ark]

We are looking pretty good tonight. The goats have mostly responded well to good food, dry stalls and good hay. The two youngest had to come in the house tonight, which means they will be in the house till kidding starts later this month (when the Nubian kids move in}.
We brought home 7 goats on Saturday 3 cost me $15 each, 3 cost 12.50 each, and one little guy cost me all of $5! Not charging for my time it should cost us about $20 each to get them healthy enough to re-sell. Not a bad investment.
Did I mention that we got a pair of Baby Doll sheep for $100! I almost fell out of my chair when everyone else stopped bidding. One of the bull calves we bought isn't! So we will now have our own milk cow (as long as we successfully bottle raise it that is).
Friday will be the last day of anti-biotics for these kids, then we start Corid for 5 days. I did think about giving fluid SQ, but the kids came around so quick I didn't need to. I gotta get these kids healthy or I will be working round the clock when the kids start coming. We only bred 11 does, 5 of which will be milked for sure. 3 of those normally twin... hmmm better not think of that now.

Chris