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Solutions to Problems

 

Pink Eye

We fought the battle with pink eye, and won!

At one time, a few years ago in August---we had 33 goats with pink eye! We made the mistake of buying "clear eyed" goats from a pink eye herd---not realizing that it would spread like wild fire once it took hold! We've learned a VERY valuable lesson here---never do that again!

I've found with Pink eye, that with treatment, some goats will clear up over night---others ON THE VERY SAME TREATMENT---will go through the entire stages of the disease. You HAVE to stay on top of it if you wish to save the eye!

The very best treatment we found was this; Twice daily rinse the eyes with sterile saline solution. (You can buy the equate brand at Walmart)

Then drop 2 - 3 drops of Spectam scour halt (it's an antibacterial) into the eye. I used an oral syringe but an eye dropper would work great!

On top of that, smear a generous amount of triple antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin---I use equate brand from Walmart) on the entire eyelid---right at the opening, being sure to get it into each corner really well. This will ensure the ointment will melt into the eye through out the course of the day, giving a constant antibiotic treatment.

You MUST stay on top of this---treating EVERY single day til the eyes are clear! The only way you can save vision is to do this. If you have one that is particularly bothered by sunlight, or has "shelled

over" patch the eye. This will give the eye relief and allow it to heal quicker---and you will have less chance for vision loss.

To patch;

Cut out a patch from old denim blue jeans. Glue onto goat with sale barn glue--you can purchase this at your local feed supply store. Being very careful NOT to get the glue into the eye! I apply glue to

the top of the patch, and a short way down each side, leaving the bottom open for medicating, and air flow.

Speaking as one who has been there and come out the other side;

Good luck!

 

Pink eye, notice the drainage from the eye, the swelling of the eyeball, as well as the shelling over. The area becomes a whitish gray color rather than the usual brown of the eye--or blue in the case of blue

eyed Nigerian Dwarves.

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This is an illustration of the patches I cut out of old blue jeans to create "shades" for the goat's eyes. This made her much much more comfortable, and able to heal without the continued irritation by the sunlight.

 

Throwing of the Cud

We recently had a young doeling throwing her cud. It looked to us as if she were vomiting. But upon closer inspection we saw she was actually bringing up her cud and throwing it away.

Diagnosis; sour stomach.

The vet ordered 5 cc Mylanta due to her weight of 45 pounds, once per day til she began to cud normally. She also ordered 3 cc probios orally to re-start rumin action.

This condition is called acidosis, and is life-threatening. You must waste NO time when dealing with this!

 

Pneumonia

We also had a recent bout with pneumonia in one of our young does. Betty McCorkle among others were MOST helpful in advising me how to deal with this. I was unable to get hold of the vet on this

problem, so had to rely on the sound advice of other experienced goat breeders. Our most successful treatment, the one that brought us round the bend was simple Penicillin G injections, given sub-q,

along with Banamine for fever. We also gave probios to counter act the effects of the antibiotics. We were generous with our use of vitamin B12 as well, keeping our girl energetic--and giving the immune system a boost. Today she is right as rain!

 

Pregnancy Toxemia

We dealt with Pregnancy Toxemia with one of our girls last year. Her's was due to thiamine deficiency. Our vet's treatment plan included; 2cc thiamine IM once per day along with 2 cc Dexamethasone for pain. We gave her 60cc oral Propylene Glycol 3 times per day til she was eating. Then reduced it to 60cc twice a day for 2 days, then 60cc once a day til she kidded. Rather than give her the full 60 cc at one time, I gave 30cc in the morning and 30cc in the evening. She really HATED that stuff, so it was easier on both her and me to do it that way. This treatment continued til she kidded. What a ride that was---but she delivered a healthy baby boy!

 

Hyper-extended Knees

I've had a few people ask me about this problem, as they noticed that I had a doe exhibiting this, and then the problem disappeared. I read that there are two things that can cause this problem...copper deficiency and selenium deficiency. Hyper-extended knees can also be a growth rate problem that will self-correct in time, just like the hyper extended tendons in the pasterns on newborns. It can also be a conformation problem that nothing you do will correct it. So, for informational purposes only, this is what we did. We gave our doe 2 1/2 cc Bo-Se, and about two months later we administered it again. We are careful about giving too much of it, as it can build up in the system, and cause toxicity. We also over dressed her normal feed ration with a 2x ration of calf manna for the extra copper. When we noticed her knees going back to normal, we reduced the calf manna to a regular ration. I will say that I have no idea whatsoever if what we did helped. She may have outgrown the problem, I really do not know.

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Copper Deficiency

Since writing the above missive, we've learned that Copper Deficiency is a huge problem in goat herds across the U.S. We've been taught how to make boluses for goats, and how to administer them. We've seen some remarkable changes in the health status of our animals; Richer colored hair coats, better body texture, proper fleshing, etc... After doing some extensive research, we believe copper deficiency to be a MAJOR problem across the country. We advise everyone to look into it, talk to your vets, and pursue whether or not supplementing with copper is in order for you.

Chris & Ellen Dorsey

Joshua & Jonathon Dill

21181 E. Hwy 28 A

Chelsea, OK 74016

PHONE

(918) 789 - 8174

EMAIL

Ellen F. Dorsey

21181 E Highway 28A

Chelsea, OK 74016

(918) 789-8174

ellenfdorsey@gmail.com

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