Calling all goat keepers!!! My goat is sick

[Wild Claws]

Hi I have a alpine goat who looks very ill. She has a slightly swollen cheek and she looks very weak and tired. She had a baby in March who is still with her now and drinking her milk. We don't milk her very much because the baby is still drinking from her. The last time milked her I noticed she had a bump on her teat. I applied some pressure to it and it popped. I don't know if it's an abscess or it's infected because of a tick. We have a lot of ticks where I am at and our goats have ticks. Could the ticks on her be drinking to much blood? She is currently on the milking station eating grains while I am pulling of the ticks and putting DE on her. Is there anything natural I can give her so she isn't weak? She is not very weak, she can still stand up and walk around. Thank you in advance all help will be appreciated

 

[Wild Claws]

Our goats are free range.... Could she have eaten a poisonous plant?

 

[Wild Claws]

Could she have eaten a poisonous plant?

 

[SilverBirds]

Ticks could be a culprit as they carry many diseases.

Are there any potentially toxic plants she could have eaten? What color are her eyelids? What does her poop look like?

 

[Wild Claws]

Oops didn't mean to post 2 messages of the same thing

 

[Wild Claws]

Her poop looks normal. And her eyelids are bright pink.

 

[Wild Claws]

We did shave all of our goats (because we were dealing with lice) and today is pretty cold, she is shaking. I have her inside our barn with a blanket over her.

 

[cassie]

I won't be of much help, particularly since I cannot see the goat. For tick control, first of all, dump the DE and get something that actually works. Just because something is "natural" it does not mean that it is either safe or effective. Find out what the cattle people use to control ticks and get that. The fact that you said her eyelids are bright pink puzzles me. the most common cause of weakness is anemia, and the eyelids of anemic goats are pale pink or white. If she was my goat, I would have a fecal run to see what her parasite load is. I would also get some thiamine and BoSe and treat her with those. Both white muscle and polio will cause weakness.

 

[Wild Claws]

I won't be of much help, particularly since I cannot see the goat. For tick control, first of all, dump the DE and get something that actually works. Just because something is "natural" it does not mean that it is either safe or effective. Find out what the cattle people use to control ticks and get that. The fact that you said her eyelids are bright pink puzzles me. the most common cause of weakness is anemia, and the eyelids of anemic goats are pale pink or white. If she was my goat, I would have a fecal run to see what her parasite load is. I would also get some thiamine and BoSe and treat her with those. Both white muscle and polio will cause weakness.

I recently did deworm her ( it wasn't natural). Could it be a bloat problem? She does have a slight bloat Which I treated with baking soda mixed with acv. She is looking better!

 

[nuthatched]

I think you already have 2 threads on this, try backyardherds.com, it's the sister site for BYC. :]