Sick goat help!

kikogoatgirl

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One of my goats, Ralphie, is sick. He has diarrhea, is listless, and I have found him laying on his side 3 times. Already wormed him, and gave him medicine for stomach parasites. He doesn't seem to be getting much better.:hit Has anyone else had this problem with goats??
 

Rammy

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Greetings and welcome to BYH from Tn! So glad you joined us. Look around and see what interesting stuff you can find. You'll get to "meet" folks at the same time. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Oh, and we all love pics, so post them anytime you feel the need! Please make yourself at home!
PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember from this post & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

@Goat Whisperer , @Devonviolet , @Baymule , @B&B Happy goats
 

kikogoatgirl

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@Southern by choice I gave him the dewormer/medicine after I found him lying on his side in the field the first time. The wormer is safe guard, the other medicine is albon. I have not run a fecal. I think I gave him 2 mililiters of dewormer twice since this has happened. He probably weighs about 45 pounds. I haven't checked his temperature, I'm not sure what FAMACHA is. His only symptoms are listless, runny poop, and his gums are white.
 

Southern by choice

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First thing is always take a temperature.
NEVER assume parasites and treat.
Have a fecal run to check for type of parasite. Learn FAMACHA. FAMACHA is only good for bloodsucking parasites which cause anemia.
Whenever an animal is extremely underweight and sickly you don't throw dewormer at them.
There are many other things to check for first.
If it is indeed a parasitic infection treatment needs to actually be slow if the goat is extremely sickly, if not the dewormers are absorbed too quickly into the blood stream and it will kill them.
Supportive care should be given in high worm loads. (Red cell and probiotics)
Coccidia is a different treatment but still needs supportive care.

From the sound of it he may be dying.
It could be enterotoxemia, it could be parasites.
White gums are not good.
Please take his temperature asap.
You say he is 45 lbs how old is he?
Has he had a CD&T vaccine?

I advise veterinary intervention immediately.

Here are some links to understanding parasites and FAMACHA as well as EPG Counts (Eggs per gram)
These are two different articles
This one is understanding of....
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/understanding-famacha-fecal-analysis.56/

These two are just broken up into 2 pages due to picture limitations
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/the-mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis.55/
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis-part2.57/
 
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