Goat with tooth infection, what to do?

rebelINny

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I have a doe, 8 months, that we found through radiograph about a month ago to have an infection under one of her back teeth. The vet told us to give her antibiotics (oxetet) twice a day for 2-4 weeks. We have been doing this and it has gotten better but she still seems to be having some trouble with it, but not much. However I was going to check her famacha yesterday and when I did I felt the bone (socket) and her eyes are sunk in. I hadn't noticed this recently because of her coloring its hard to tell and hubby has been doing the feeding and care since its been so cold out. I know she is drinking and I see her eating, but something is not right here. She is either dehydrated or lacking enough food getting in. What can I do? The vet won't help anymore because they aren't a large animal vet and don't really know what to do. I really think she isn't getting enough nutrition. Can she eat like alfalfa pellets pretty well solely for her feed with whatever she can eat in hay on the side. If so what amount of pellets a day? Then also, what can be done about this tooth. It is obviously still a problem? I really need some advice here. This is said goat, though the pic was taken in the summer.

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rebelINny

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Thats what I was told 0.5ml twice a day for 2-4 weeks. They are not a large animal vet though so who knows if it was right.
 

helmstead

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Clearly you need to find a large animal vet and have the tooth removed. (seems like a small animal vet could handle a tooth extraction on a young goat too though, she couldn't weigh more than a large dog!).

As long as the tooth is an issue, she will have continuous infections, trouble chewing. I'd find a way, and get it yanked.

Chaffhaye might be a good idea for her, the small chopped stems don't require much chewing and have high nutrient value.
 

aggieterpkatie

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rebelINny said:
Thats what I was told 0.5ml twice a day for 2-4 weeks. They are not a large animal vet though so who knows if it was right.
.5 mL twice a day? I've never heard of such an odd way of prescribing oxytet. I would find a new vet.
 

rebelINny

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The problem is she is in with 5 other doeling around the same age so I would have to separate her and I don't really have that option right now :( I guess I can just take her out and feed her twice a day. I don't know! Ugh! This is a pain! I can't afford to have her tooth extracted right now or the cost for the vet to come out and do it. The vet wants $65 just to show up and $55 if I take her in and God knows how much they would want for a tooth extraction! Then she would probably still need to be fed differently with a tooth gone right?
 

aggieterpkatie

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I mean this in the nicest way possible. Sounds like you've lost quite a few goats lately. If you want to stop losing goats, you're going to have to start doing things diffrently.

This goat obviously needs something different. What are your goats worth to you? Regardless, no animal deserves to suffer if it is in pain. I would at least start her on antibiotics again, but this time do the proper dosage. If you're using oxytet the dosage is 4.5 mL per 100 lbs. I usually do it once a day for 3 days and re-evaluate. LA-200 burns badly, so watch out for a reaction. You may be able to find Biomycin, which doesn't sting. You really should try to separate her at least at feeding time to make sure she's getting enough to eat and not being pushed around.

If antibiotics don't help, she needs further treatment.
 

cmjust0

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Well, 1ml/day for an adult doe isn't enough. If that helped, imagine what a *proper* dose might do!

:)

I'd go somewhere around 3-4ml / 100lbs of bodyweight, once a day for about a week...see if that clears the problem up. If not, yeah...probably would have to yank that tooth out, I suppose..

I have no clue how you'd go about doing that, but I'd imagine it involves a pair of angled pliers, a block of wood to wedge her mouth open, perhaps a few shots of liquid courage, and one *very* pissed off goat. You might even see about getting a syringe full of lidocaine if it comes to that.

I've done some..."stuff"...but even I cringe at the idea of pulling a tooth. I don't envy ya..

:hide
 

rebelINny

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She was getting Duramycin. She is a mini-Alpine so only 21lbs which I think was why it was such a low dose. Either way I just got off the phone with a large animal vet........250-400 dollars if it isn't anything major. I can't even buy christmas gifts for my five children this year. Enough said. However she did give me some tips. I am going to switch her to Pen G and see if that helps and get ahold of some banamine for pain as well as get some hay cubes to soak in water first then feed to her so she is getting plenty to eat. I love my goats, I realize that they aren't being taken care of maybe as some people do and take them to the vet whenever there is a problem and all that. I am not a rich person, not even wealthy. Poverty level is probably where we would be classed. However we are farmers and we feed hundreds of people every year with our fresh produce and hubby makes his own hay which is why we have goats and cows. We are trying to make a go of it, and though this post may sound like I am being rude I really am not I just want everyone to know the position I am in. We moved to this place last year.....got a herd of 16 goats in August...some teenager brought a couple of kid goats he found along the side of the road to us because he thought they were ours. We housed them waiting for their owners, the were big we didn't know they weren't weaned yet, didn't know anything about them......they were part of our losses this past year, all that we lost were "bottle babies" that we bought from a large dairy farm that I begged my husband NOT to buy because they don't do well off their mothers. I lost one adult this year due to worm overload because we were milking her constantly and didn't want to worm during milking and so put it off...........I will admit things are not the way I want them exactly.....I was pregnant during most of the deaths and having a very HARD time with it and couldn't do much of anything for my goats. Hubby did what he could but he knows next to nothing about them. Sorry for the vent........but I am doing all I can. I urge my hubby to let me sell some till we are a size I can manage alone, but he won't let me. :he Either way they are fed, they are housed, they are taken care of medically the best they can and I really do love them. How am I supposed to prevent an infected tooth? :hit
 

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