Sneezing goats, sheep with cough

[generaldsherman]

Hello! I am new to herd animals. My goats seem to be sneezing a lot, but I haven't noticed any unusual behavior or diarrhea or anything like that, and it's mostly in the barn that they tend to sneeze. Bad air?

Also, my mother-in-law (raised on a Navajo sheep farm) says that my sheep (we only have 1 and she stays with the goats for now) has a cough and I should take her to the vet. Is there anything that I can give her without going to the vet as I am short on cash at the moment?

 

[Latestarter]

Well, it sounds like it might be pneumonia... I know you can pick up antibiotics for that at local farm stores. http://goat-link.com/content/view/100/91/
I'm not a medicate first, ask questions/get checked by a vet later kinda guy, but I understand being broke and vets can be very expensive if you can even find one that is knowledgeable about goats. Get a thermometer (cheap one from walgreens/target/wally world) and take their temp (anal). If it's elevated, it's a good indication they are fighting some sort of infection.

So yeah, maybe... bad air/poor ventilation could be what led to what ails them. Could be a build up of dust in the barn. dusty hay, pollen build up, dampness, any number of things.

Hope you get it figured out.

@babsbag @frustratedearthmother @Goat Whisperer @Green Acres Farm Any number of the many others...

 

[Green Acres Farm]

For the goats, dust in the barn could definitely play a part in the sneezing. That's the first thing that, in my experience, vets come to the conclusion to if they are acting fine otherwise. That being said, I would take their temperature and if it is in the normal range I would just keep an eye on them and try to shake dust out hay before feeding it and keep the stalls clean.

I don't know anything about sheep, but I would take her temperature and if elevated contact a vet.

 

[soarwitheagles]

General Sherman,

Is there any green or yellow discharge coming from their nostrils? If yes, I would hit em' with the Nuflor® and or LA-200® LA-300® [Oxytetracycline] before it is too late.

Two years ago, our sheep began to experience reoccurring upper respiratory infections [coughing, sneezing, green/yellow discharge from the nose]. We lost two lambs to pneumonia. It was super sad. This year, no infections at all. Last year, our sheep were kept in a three sided barn [we are thinking the inside of the barn allowed too many germs]. This year, our sheep were kept exclusively outside...and they had no upper respiratory infections at all. We are kinda happy about that!

BTW, what state are you in and what's your weather been like?