Obviously the initial requirement when you have a sick goat is to get a diagnosis and begin an appropriate treatment plan. After that however, I am a really big believer in the importance of good nursing/supportive care, and this is where we as goatkeepers can really shine. The vets and vet nurses at a clinic, while they are impeccably trained and excel at what they do - do not have the relationship with your goat that you do. In this regard, they cannot offer the goat the comfort and moral support that you can. I firmly believe that an animal that feels loved and encouraged has something to live for and will pull through better than a goat who think she is "on her own". It is really important to encourage them - spend time with a sick goat and let them know they are loved, if you have a sick doe after kidding, leave the kids with her and allow her to mother them so she has something to live for. If you have orphaned kids, spend time cuddling them and just being with them, nurture them to keep fighting.
This picture is one of my saanen does, Violet, who spent 2 weeks extremely ill after a traumatic kidding. I did not expect her to live, but 2 weeks of intensive nursing and 4 months down the track she has made a complete recovery.
A few thoughts on supportive therapy for goats:
Rugs/coats/blankets: particularly if it is cold, putting a rug on a sick goat can really help. Rugs made for dogs, foals and mini horses will fit, its not a bad idea to stock up a small collection of different sizes, or if you are handy with a sewing machine, you can make some.
Food: the sick goat often does not want to eat, which can be a source of distress for the goatkeeper. Offer them as many different choices as you can - different types of hay, small amounts of grain, vegetables, fruit, leaves and branches. Usually a sick goat will want roughage rather than grain. Tagasaste, bamboo and rose cuttings (both flowers and branches) are often favourites when a goat is sick. Remember, even if she is eating very little to no food, she can survive for several days as long as her fluid levels are maintained. Doses of glucose syrup or products like Vytrate or Ceton are really helpful in this instance too, giving them a sugar boost.
Fluid therapy: really important to keep an eye on the hydration level of a sick goat. Dehydration will kill them faster than the original illness will. To check for dehydration, perform the skin tent test. Pinch a fold of skin on the neck and pull it up and away from the body. Let it go, if it springs back to place quickly, the goat is not dehydrated. If it slowly goes back to normal, the goat is mildly dehydrated. If it stays tented up or goes back very slowly, the goat is severely dehydrated. At this stage the eye will also be sunken in, the goat will be lethargic, and death will soon follow. Getting fluids into a dehydrated goat can be difficult. At the moderate dehydration level, oral fluids will suffice. There are commercial electrolyte solutions available, of which I recommend Vytrate, great stuff. I have also found an old homemade "farmer's wife" electrolyte solution in Hungerford's Disease of Livestock (great book if you can afford it) and my sick goats have really done well on this mix.
25L water
8 level tablespoons of normal table salt
4 level tablespoons bicarb soda
Almost everyone will have these things on hand, so it is great for times when you cannot get to a vet or feed store to purchase electrolyte solutions. If the goat is still drinking voluntarily, providing her with this should be good enough to restore her to a healthy hydration level. If she is not drinking, you may need to dose her orally using a large syringe - be careful not to let her aspirate (choke) on the water. Administer it slowly and steadily.
If a goat is severely dehydrated, oral administration of fluids will not work. At this stage the gut is not working properly so she will not absorb the fluids. You can give the above electrolyte solution via subcutaneous injections - under the skin. Warm the solution to body temperature and inject under the skin in several different positions. However, the best course of action in this case is to give the doe fluids intravenously - via a drip. This may necessitate a visit from the vet, and can be a very costly procedure. The best thing I ever did was learn how to place an IV catheter and give IV fluids to my own goats - it is what saved my doe Violet - and will save you a lot of money. I will write a post later specifically dealing with how to do this.
Pain management: goats really do not cope well with pain, and often a good pain management program will do wonders to help pull them through an illness.
My first choice for pain medication is Flunixil - an IM injection which is vet prescription only. Dosed at 1.1 - 2.2mg/kg,
given every 24 hrs if need be. It is highly effective in goats and you can see the relief it gives them. It can however be hard on
the kidneys, and its really important to ensure that the animal is drinking well and flushing those kidneys out to avoid damage,
particularly when giving multiple injections over an extended period of time.
Metacam/meloxicam is another vet prescription drug, again given as an IM injection. Slightly more expensive, but a bit gentler
on the kidneys, and probably more suited to long term use.
Bute powder for horses can be used, it is an oral medication - in my experience goats dont like eating it in their feed, and the
best thing to do is to mix it in water and syringe into their mouth. I dont particularly like using bute because you must ensure
that the animal under no circumstances ever enters the food chain.
Failing all of these options, regular human Aspirin can be used for pain relief in goats. It is quite effective, but has a high dose.
Dosage is 100mg/kg, orally, twice a day. I try to buy the strongest tablets I can find at 500mg/tablet, my buck at 10 months
old and 40kg was recieving 8 tablets twice a day, so it is a big dose. It does work though, and is a good option if you dont
have the prescription medication. I always keep some cheap aspirin at home and in the car when travelling. But if you use
aspirin, remember it is a blood thinner, so do not give aspirin to animals who are bleeding.
Supportive medications: There are a few basic medications that I give to all sick goats, whether they are obviously ill with a known ailment, or whether they just look "a bit off". These are what I consider supportive therapy and give the goat's immune system a boost to help it fight the disease.
B complex injection - this is a gold standard when treating ruminants. It is an over the counter medication that you get from
the feed store, and it is not expensive. Keep it on hand at all times. I give an adult goat 5ml by IM injection morning and night
for 3 days if she is sick, and will continue daily with 3ml as long as she is on antibiotics or appears to still be under the
weather. You cannot overdose on B complex, as any excess to their needs will be excreted through the urine. Be warned
though - it can turn their urine bright orange!
Probiotics - an oral medication, the good bacteria that populates the gut and a healthy rumen makes for a healthy goat. There
are several livestock specific products that you can get over the counter at a feed store - Protexin is the main one, and
D-Scour is another, which has garlic added to the probiotics. If you dont have either of these, you can use Yakult from the
shops, or normal Yoghurt with live cultures.
Vitamin and mineral supplements - when an animal is ill I feel it is really important to give them plenty of support with extra
vitamins and minerals, again, assisting the immune system to help fight the disease. Here in WA I use Anitone - give 10ml
orally every day while they are sick. In the eastern states, the equivalent product is Nutrimol. Both of these products are
expensive - but in my opinion, absolutely worth it. The other product that comes to mind is V.A.M which comes in either a
paste or injectable form. I havent used it myself but heard good things from those who do.
In cases of severe illness, I also give injections of Vitamin C. In my opinion, the jury is still out on whether Vitamin C actually
does all it is supposed it. It is a bit of a snake oil remedy I feel. The Pat Coleby camp swears that it will cure anything from
mastitis to cancer to Johnes disease (which is incurable). My feeling is that if it actually did everything it was touted to, then
everybody would be using it for everything and we wouldnt need antibiotics. Nevertheless, in cases of severe illness I figure
every little bit counts, so I will also give the goat Vitamin C injection. Again it is over the counter from a feed store, and not
expensive. I give 3ml by IM injection morning and night for 3 days and continue on once a day if she is still sick.
This picture is one of my saanen does, Violet, who spent 2 weeks extremely ill after a traumatic kidding. I did not expect her to live, but 2 weeks of intensive nursing and 4 months down the track she has made a complete recovery.
A few thoughts on supportive therapy for goats:
Rugs/coats/blankets: particularly if it is cold, putting a rug on a sick goat can really help. Rugs made for dogs, foals and mini horses will fit, its not a bad idea to stock up a small collection of different sizes, or if you are handy with a sewing machine, you can make some.
Food: the sick goat often does not want to eat, which can be a source of distress for the goatkeeper. Offer them as many different choices as you can - different types of hay, small amounts of grain, vegetables, fruit, leaves and branches. Usually a sick goat will want roughage rather than grain. Tagasaste, bamboo and rose cuttings (both flowers and branches) are often favourites when a goat is sick. Remember, even if she is eating very little to no food, she can survive for several days as long as her fluid levels are maintained. Doses of glucose syrup or products like Vytrate or Ceton are really helpful in this instance too, giving them a sugar boost.
Fluid therapy: really important to keep an eye on the hydration level of a sick goat. Dehydration will kill them faster than the original illness will. To check for dehydration, perform the skin tent test. Pinch a fold of skin on the neck and pull it up and away from the body. Let it go, if it springs back to place quickly, the goat is not dehydrated. If it slowly goes back to normal, the goat is mildly dehydrated. If it stays tented up or goes back very slowly, the goat is severely dehydrated. At this stage the eye will also be sunken in, the goat will be lethargic, and death will soon follow. Getting fluids into a dehydrated goat can be difficult. At the moderate dehydration level, oral fluids will suffice. There are commercial electrolyte solutions available, of which I recommend Vytrate, great stuff. I have also found an old homemade "farmer's wife" electrolyte solution in Hungerford's Disease of Livestock (great book if you can afford it) and my sick goats have really done well on this mix.
25L water
8 level tablespoons of normal table salt
4 level tablespoons bicarb soda
Almost everyone will have these things on hand, so it is great for times when you cannot get to a vet or feed store to purchase electrolyte solutions. If the goat is still drinking voluntarily, providing her with this should be good enough to restore her to a healthy hydration level. If she is not drinking, you may need to dose her orally using a large syringe - be careful not to let her aspirate (choke) on the water. Administer it slowly and steadily.
If a goat is severely dehydrated, oral administration of fluids will not work. At this stage the gut is not working properly so she will not absorb the fluids. You can give the above electrolyte solution via subcutaneous injections - under the skin. Warm the solution to body temperature and inject under the skin in several different positions. However, the best course of action in this case is to give the doe fluids intravenously - via a drip. This may necessitate a visit from the vet, and can be a very costly procedure. The best thing I ever did was learn how to place an IV catheter and give IV fluids to my own goats - it is what saved my doe Violet - and will save you a lot of money. I will write a post later specifically dealing with how to do this.
Pain management: goats really do not cope well with pain, and often a good pain management program will do wonders to help pull them through an illness.
My first choice for pain medication is Flunixil - an IM injection which is vet prescription only. Dosed at 1.1 - 2.2mg/kg,
given every 24 hrs if need be. It is highly effective in goats and you can see the relief it gives them. It can however be hard on
the kidneys, and its really important to ensure that the animal is drinking well and flushing those kidneys out to avoid damage,
particularly when giving multiple injections over an extended period of time.
Metacam/meloxicam is another vet prescription drug, again given as an IM injection. Slightly more expensive, but a bit gentler
on the kidneys, and probably more suited to long term use.
Bute powder for horses can be used, it is an oral medication - in my experience goats dont like eating it in their feed, and the
best thing to do is to mix it in water and syringe into their mouth. I dont particularly like using bute because you must ensure
that the animal under no circumstances ever enters the food chain.
Failing all of these options, regular human Aspirin can be used for pain relief in goats. It is quite effective, but has a high dose.
Dosage is 100mg/kg, orally, twice a day. I try to buy the strongest tablets I can find at 500mg/tablet, my buck at 10 months
old and 40kg was recieving 8 tablets twice a day, so it is a big dose. It does work though, and is a good option if you dont
have the prescription medication. I always keep some cheap aspirin at home and in the car when travelling. But if you use
aspirin, remember it is a blood thinner, so do not give aspirin to animals who are bleeding.
Supportive medications: There are a few basic medications that I give to all sick goats, whether they are obviously ill with a known ailment, or whether they just look "a bit off". These are what I consider supportive therapy and give the goat's immune system a boost to help it fight the disease.
B complex injection - this is a gold standard when treating ruminants. It is an over the counter medication that you get from
the feed store, and it is not expensive. Keep it on hand at all times. I give an adult goat 5ml by IM injection morning and night
for 3 days if she is sick, and will continue daily with 3ml as long as she is on antibiotics or appears to still be under the
weather. You cannot overdose on B complex, as any excess to their needs will be excreted through the urine. Be warned
though - it can turn their urine bright orange!
Probiotics - an oral medication, the good bacteria that populates the gut and a healthy rumen makes for a healthy goat. There
are several livestock specific products that you can get over the counter at a feed store - Protexin is the main one, and
D-Scour is another, which has garlic added to the probiotics. If you dont have either of these, you can use Yakult from the
shops, or normal Yoghurt with live cultures.
Vitamin and mineral supplements - when an animal is ill I feel it is really important to give them plenty of support with extra
vitamins and minerals, again, assisting the immune system to help fight the disease. Here in WA I use Anitone - give 10ml
orally every day while they are sick. In the eastern states, the equivalent product is Nutrimol. Both of these products are
expensive - but in my opinion, absolutely worth it. The other product that comes to mind is V.A.M which comes in either a
paste or injectable form. I havent used it myself but heard good things from those who do.
In cases of severe illness, I also give injections of Vitamin C. In my opinion, the jury is still out on whether Vitamin C actually
does all it is supposed it. It is a bit of a snake oil remedy I feel. The Pat Coleby camp swears that it will cure anything from
mastitis to cancer to Johnes disease (which is incurable). My feeling is that if it actually did everything it was touted to, then
everybody would be using it for everything and we wouldnt need antibiotics. Nevertheless, in cases of severe illness I figure
every little bit counts, so I will also give the goat Vitamin C injection. Again it is over the counter from a feed store, and not
expensive. I give 3ml by IM injection morning and night for 3 days and continue on once a day if she is still sick.