Does anyone know anything about goats? Update on post #22...

[hensRus]

Hi, She is a nubian and I hope you can help her. She will need to be wormed when you get her home. You can use a horse wormer, just be sure to double the dose because of all her stomachs. Go slowly offering new feed since she could get really sick if she had too many goodies offered at once. Eventually she would do best on alfalfa hay and goat chow, sold by Purina and other brands too. She will also need loose mineral salts, as goats can't get enough off a block. Let me know if I can help you. You are very kind.

 

[AuroraSprings]

Here's what I do with my goats:

Copper- use Sweetlix Minerals Meat Maker 16:8

Photo from Jefferslivestock.com
You may use other minerals as long as they are loose (not a block) and have atleast 15ppm copper.

Feed- Purina Mills Noble Goat Grower 16

Photo from PurinaMills.com
I use the medicated version with a Coccidiastat to keep my babies from having coccidia. Probably couldn't hurt for this poor girl.

Hay - I feed Coastal Bermuda. I would prefer to use peanut hay or Chaff Hay. Both are awesome, though may not be necessary since she won't be lactating or showing.

Photo from ChaffHaye.com

Dewormer- Dectomax
Since you live in the south, it can be TOUGH to get worms under control. Ivermectin finally stopped working at my farm, as did fenbendazole. Dectomax is the newest thing and works very well. It treats: roundworms, lungworms, eyeworms,grubs, lice, and mange mites. Dosage for goats (per my vet) 1cc/30lbs subcutaneous

Hope this helps. Good luck sweeping her away from that poor man.

photo from JeffersLivestock.com

 

[Kelly G]

Ok!!! Good news - we got her! I stopped by yesterday morning on my way to feed the horses, and I talked him into it! I gave him $50 (more than she's worth, but a small price to get her out of there) and I took her right then and there.

She is in horrible condition. I gave her a quick bath to get rid of the fleas (she was covered), and fed her a little bit at several intervals during the day. She doesn't seem to be as hungry as I'd expect her to be...she didn't eat her breakfast this morning (Purina Equine Senior) and only picked at hay and leaves of some bushes. She slept a lot - wherever we were she'd lay down and sleep. We had a campfire out on the property last night, and she slept right by my feet the whole night (about 5 hours). She did the same thing this morning. She's tired, and I'm sure she's also stressed.

I've put the word out (Craigs List) to find a vet who can help me take care of her. She's limping quite a bit on her right hind leg. I'm worried that she's sick with a goat version of Acquired Immune Defficiency. So many things to worry about! I'm about to go back out there and teach/feed for the evening, so I'm hoping she will eat (or have eaten) when I get there.


New pictures from last night - sleeping around the campfire (she could hardly keep her eyes open):

Finally giving in and falling asleep...

...and following me around yesterday morning (she wouldn't let me out of her sight)...

 

[mekasmom]

Quote:
Collecting rain water is common for homesteaders. It is the way many choose to live, no electricity, rainwater. Be sure of what you see from his point of view rather than just assuming it is what you think from your point of view. Homesteading looks different from suburbia, and he might simply be a homesteader.

Nubians go for about a hundred dollars each. They should be kept in twos. They are very friendly. Just worm her, get a CD-T, find a friend, and feed her well. You will love her.

Are her knees swollen? If she has CAE, there is no treatment or cure. And be sure to get some ivermectin into her. That would kill the fleas. She may have low blood counts form parasites which would make her sleep. Plus find some goat feed not equine feed. Goats need more copper.

 

[Kelly G]

No. He is not a homesteader. My aunt lives as a homesteader - and it's a lovely lifestyle.

He is guilty of animal abuse.

My aunt doesn't have one animal on her property that looks like this:

Anyone with animals like this - who think it's normal for the animal to look like this - is guilty of abuse. The lifestyle choice is of no relevance what so ever.


Anyway, the vet is on her way and will be here at 3pm to get her on her path to being healthy! I'll post an update this evening.

 

[Kelly G]

Quote:
Yes, she has swollen joints, and I'm worried she has CAE. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but I'll know this afternoon. Until we know the full extent of her health, she's going to have to be an "only child". She has taken to my Norwegian Fjord - so that's good for her.

I'll keep everyone posted this evening

 

[katrinag]

Hope everything goes good with the vet.

 

[Kelly G]

Alright. Here's tonight's update. I found the BEST goat vet!!! She was terrific!!! She spent an hour and a half with me - teaching me, showing me, and taking wonderful care of Gabby. I could not be more pleased.

She was startled by Gabby's poor condition, but said she'd seen goats in much worse condition make a complete recovery.

She wormed her today with Ivermec, and is emailing me instructions to finish the worming process. She also left me with pills to give her (one pill given twice per day) to ease the effects of purging so many worms at one time.

She pulled blood to test for CAE - I'm concerned that this will come up positive. She has swelling in both front knees, and is quite lame due to some issue in her left rear stiffle...and these could be indicators for this disease.

She gave her 3 differnent vaccines - one being rabies, and the other two I can't remember (she is emailing me a detailed report of what was done today, and plan of treatment for the weeks to come.).

Let's see...She also thinks it's likely that she's pregnant if she was bred two months ago. She does not think her condition was bad enough at the time that it would have kept her from getting pregnant - and may be the reason why she has gone down-hill recently as all her reserves are going to the pregnancy.

This will be bad news if she's pregnant - CAE is very contagious. If she has babies - they will have to be raised by hand/bottle. Oh boy.

She checked her ears - clear. Heart, lungs, eyes - clear. Temp - normal.

She showed me how to trim her feet...but we couldn't do it as neither of us had tools. *sigh* I'm really nervous about this...and it really needs to be done.

She was taken by how friendly she was - even with all the "mean" things we did to her!

I took some more pictures today - I'll post them tomorrow (left the camera at the barn)...Thanks for everybody's help!!!

 

[michelle1017]

That was so sweet of you to take her in and I am glad she is finally getting the medical attention she needs! She will make a great pet for you. Good Luck!

 

[sred98]

I'm glad you posted an update. I've been wondering what happened with her. I am so glad you were able to get her!

I hope the test comes back negative!

Shelly