Lets talk about goats!

[sannabelle]

Thank you!! She's in the kidding pen with her new kids and I've been sitting in there with her and them a lot today- she let me scratch her back earlier for awhile

Progress! I think my 18 month olds enthusiastic screams of "goats! Goats! Babies!" Freaks her out a little, haha.

Good luck with your buck!!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Hey everyone! Ford and Stetson have definitely become a part of our family and we love them dearly! Still having issues with coughing and sneezing though. Calling vet again today. Also Stetson lovesto run and jump and climb and play with dogs but Ford doesn't do any of it. He follows me around and chews on my hand and stuff but definitely doesn't jump or run. Is this normal in some goats? Or am I still dealing with leftover stuff from they're sick beginnings. Thanks!

 

[sannabelle]

Hey everyone! Ford and Stetson have definitely become a part of our family and we love them dearly! Still having issues with coughing and sneezing though. Calling vet again today. Also Stetson lovesto run and jump and climb and play with dogs but Ford doesn't do any of it. He follows me around and chews on my hand and stuff but definitely doesn't jump or run. Is this normal in some goats? Or am I still dealing with leftover stuff from they're sick beginnings. Thanks!

Glad to hear they're doing so well! I'm not sure about Fords lack of jumpyness- both of my little boys seem to have springs on their feet.

Have you tried VetRX for his sinus and eye crud? One of my bucklings that was born about two weeks ago had a goupy eye starting at like 3 days old and a bit of a runny nose. I used ophthalmic ointment in his eye and put VetRX right on his nose by his nostrils, every other day for a week and it's all gone now.

I know your boys were dealing with a bit more serious crud though

 

[henny1129]

Hey guys! I was having fun catching up on all the reading here! I just thought that I'd share that we had to euthanize Boog two weeks ago due to CL. We have been battling with this for many months now and made the decision that would ultimately benefit the goat and us. I know it is a controversial subject, and everyone has their own separate opinions, but I would appreciate it if people don't bash me for euthanizing him. We still have Elliot, and he is doing well. Unlike Boog, he did not have chronic abscesses so we decided to take the entire abscess out (with help of vet and anesthesia ) and vaccinate him. If anyone wants to know more about CL, please PM me or ask me here! I and my family have become very knowledgable about CL and would love to share our experiences with others. I will not judge you no matter what you do with your goats if they have CL and I will give you the absolute truth, not sugar coated nor over exaggerated! Thanks everyone! I'll keep you updated on Elliot.

 

[Lillyk24]

I would be interested in learning more. I have goats and am a newbie on owning them.

Thank you

 

[henny1129]

I would be interested in learning more.  I have goats and am a newbie on owning them.

Thank you

Great! I think CL is actually very fascinating. What I will tell you is my experience and some of what I've read online. Some people have different opinions on it. Basically, CL (Caseous Lymphadenitis) is a disease caused by Corynebacterium pseudoturberculosis. It causes goats to get pus filled abscesses on their lymph nodes. The pus is thick and cheesy. A lot of people say that if you find an abscess filled with cheesy puss you should send it in to be tested for CL, because it may not be CL. But I, and many people around me, say that if you have a goat that gets reoccurring abscesses filled with cheesy puss, your goat has CL. If you find an abscess on a goats lymphnodes, there is a chance it's CL. The best thing to do is lance the abscess in an area away from other goats. You can also bring the goat into a vet clinic and a vet can help you lance it, but this can get expensive. The pus from the abscess (especially if it's cheesy and thick) should be put in a bag and thrown away if you wish to not get it tested. Once the abscess is completely flushed and drained, its best to keep the goat quarantined away from other goats (ex. another stall) for a few days in order to prevent the disease from spreading to your other goats. CL is fairly contagious to other goats, which is why you want to lance the abscess away from other goats and quarantine the effected goat for a few days. You know when an abscess is ready to be lanced when the hair starts to fall off on it. Boog (the goat we had to euthanize) had what's called chronic abscesses. This is when a goat has multiple abscesses at a time and they keep getting them. Elliot, has only had two abscesses, which is one of the reasons we decided to keep him. When we first found out Elliot had CL (he had the first abscess) we freaked out about it because people over exaggerated a lot online. The truth is, if you find a goat with CL, don't freak out! It's when a goat starts to get chronic abscesses that you need to start thinking about your needs from your goat and the goats purpose I order to decide in what way you will act. The other thing is, only some goats get chronic abscesses, others will only get a couple, and then not get anymore. There is a vaccine for CL, however not much research has been done on it. We decided to use it for Elliot after cutting his abscess out. My mom works for our vet, so we were always talking to my moms boss about the next steps to take. It was actually very helpful just to have someone so knowledgable helping us along the way. Honestly, I wouldn't cull a goat just because it has CL like some people do. The reason we euthanized Boog was because he had so many abscesses and it was a lot to keep up with. We also worried the abscesses would go internal (goats with chronic abscesses can start to get internal abscesses), so we thought euthanasia was the best option. I would recommend that anyone who has CL just talk to a knowledgable person and get some opinions. Most likely, they are not just going to say "cull your whole herd!". I hope you've found this helpful! And if you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

[tastyacres]

Quote: I had a doe with an abscess near the lymph nodes, I lanced it and sent it in for testing...turned out it was a bactieral infection but intresting was the puss was white/cheesy looking so kinda intresting.

So if a doe has CL you shouldn't drink the milk...right? Even after she is cleared up?

 

[Talithahorse]

So I have a goat question. I purchased a trio of pigmy goats around Christmas. Two doelings and a buckling. I had the buckling whethered but did not separate him for the two weeks following the castration. Also before I got them, they were in a pen with several bucklings. The doelings were around 4 months old at the time. I did have the Vet check when the buckling was castrated and the doelings did not show as pregnant. I assumed we were pretty much in the clear but now I am beginning to wonder as one of the girls is much stockier than the other one and her girly parts seem a bit puffy. I estimated that even if the buckling/ whether got her on the last day he could, she would be due in late May. I don't see any udder development (yet) that I can tell but I haven't been looking regularly either, since we were "in the clear" What do you think? Odds unlikely? What else should/ could I look for? If I have the vet out for anything else I might have him look but for now I am just pondering...

 

[tastyacres]

So I have a goat question. I purchased a trio of pigmy goats around Christmas. Two doelings and a buckling. I had the buckling whethered but did not separate him for the two weeks following the castration. Also before I got them, they were in a pen with several bucklings. The doelings were around 4 months old at the time. I did have the Vet check when the buckling was castrated and the doelings did not show as pregnant. I assumed we were pretty much in the clear but now I am beginning to wonder as one of the girls is much stockier than the other one and her girly parts seem a bit puffy. I estimated that even if the buckling/ whether got her on the last day he could, she would be due in late May. I don't see any udder development (yet) that I can tell but I haven't been looking regularly either, since we were "in the clear" What do you think? Odds unlikely? What else should/ could I look for? If I have the vet out for anything else I might have him look but for now I am just pondering...

It would make it easier to tell if we had a pic. Some does don't get an udder till right before kidding.

Here is one of my does udder right before kidding!

 

[Talithahorse]

It would make it easier to tell if we had a pic. Some does don't get an udder till right before kidding.

Here is one of my does udder right before kidding!

I will try to take a picture of her backside but as I said, I felt under her belly and she definitely does not have full udders (but wouldn't it be too early for that anyway, especially since this would be her first). Here is the only picture I have and I am sure it will not help much.