Kate & Keren to the Goat help desk Please!

[Griffin's Ark]

Got bottle jaw in a month old kid! I am really hating the rain now! He is to young to worm, but I will do it anyway. B complex too, and some Nutri-drench. Besides taking a fecal sample to the vet anything else I should do while waiting for a answer from the vet?

Chris

Edited to change title - you can always count on one of them to help you in a pinch!

 

[helmstead]

I just PMed you!

He's not too young to deworm, we start all of our kids on a montly deworming protocol at 4 weeks.

 

[username taken]

Calm down for a few minutes and breathe ...

Does it look like this? This is 'milk neck' ... perfectly normal for babies, its just a fat deposit from all that rich milk!

(Photos from Fiasco Farms)

 

[Griffin's Ark]

Calm down? you should see me when we kid! Lambing is boring, but when the kids come .

OK Keren you were right on with the pictures! That is exactly what it looks like. But I use the FAMACHA method to check for worms and anemia, due to the bad Barber Pole worm problem here. The little guy was/is anemic so we are treating almost the whole herd. Anyone that didn't have top color in the eyes got treated with cydectin, and anyone that had little color got Nutri-drench, B complex and Cydectin. First thing in the morning we will check eyes and add iron supplement if we have to.

Thanks!!!!

Chris

 

[username taken]

okay, well keep the milk neck in mind if it doesnt disappear after the worming ... dont worry too much about it.

FWIW the FAMACHA hasnt worked real well for me ... according to that my goats are wormy but according to their faecals they are clean. Go figure

 

[Griffin's Ark]

In the next day or so I should know if the FAMACHA method is working for us. If it is not I will revert back to the microscope method.

Chris

 

[helmstead]

I don't rely on the FAMANCHA method, either. I don't feel it is an accurate measure of anything other than cap refill to look at the gums...and by the time you have pale eyelids you have seriously missed the boat.

 

[Griffin's Ark]

We see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of the goats are responding well. We will treat again on Sunday for worms and continue daily with iron supplements and Nutri-drench. I see color coming back into the gums and eyes (the best thing that I learned about though was milk neck and Red Cell). Got a gallon of Red Cell and gonna take pictures of the milk neck. The Nigerian pasture was doing so well up until a few days ago. Now that all is drying out I hope to keep up with the parasites a little better. The fly predators will be here this week!

Chris

 

[Griffin's Ark]

Ok so bottle Jaw and Milk neck are now out. It broke open this morning. Very nasty! So I shaved the little guys neck and it really smelled bad. Tetanus antitoxin right off the bat. Now lets look at it some more. Two little holes in it. Like some sort of snake bite or rat bite. The good thing is he is eating and playing like the other kids and really made at me for cleaning out what I would have to call a sebaceous cyst. I added Liquimyacin LA for the long haul, then let him relax for an hour and drenched him with red cell. He is not running a temp and other than my reaction to the whole thing everything else is normal. I suspect I will have to take him to the vet this week and get the cyst lanced and cleaned. I am going to take pictures just in case anyone wants to see this thing.

Chris

 

[Griffin's Ark]

Here are the pics. You can't see all that well, but it looked like milk neck and he had symptoms of worms...

I should have known through the replies that I got that this was not what it seemed. If it would have been anywhere else on his body, it would have been a routine lancing and draining.

Chris