New to Goats! Help!

[MocFarm4]

We decided to get two mini goats about a month ago. Never had livestock before and did not know a thing about goats! so bought a few books and read a lot online but nothing prepared me for what a pain they are

I searched the internet for what I thought was a good breeder and paid a deposit for two Nigerian dwarf and pygmy goat brother and sister from www.piedpiperpharms.com located in La Vernia. At 8 months I picked them up , paid a total 400.00 for both. The female had bad diarrhea but the women said it was from the cold temp, well stupid me not knowing better ! took them home. After 24 hours they both had Diarrhea and I took them to the vet, well they both had Coccidiosis, got them meds and the Diarrhea stopped. But they were full of lice and mites! Still trying to fight the Mites! its been constant battle , the female has mange and I can't seem to get rid of the mites! I have spent hundreds of dollars on vet and meds. I'm about to sell them.

I also found out my backyard is full of Poisonous plants

I did removed some and the pen area is free of them but when I let them out for walks its a nightmare !

The girls back end is now also bleeding she is about 11 weeks old.

Oh and the boy was banded and my vet took it off saying that it was not working and he would do the job in two weeks! When I came for the visit the vet told me he couldn't do it because the balls were already dying , they are hard and dry. He said to wait and watch ????? this does not sound right to just leave it alone? Help

 

[DomesticGoddess]

Oh the joys of raising goats! We raise Nubians and it's definitely a crazy adventure and it's a learning process.

I wouldn't worry about the neutering yet, wait and see if they fall off. Your doe is probably bleeding from the diarrhea, some wound spray would probably help.

 

[Stacykins]

We decided to get two mini goats about a month ago. Never had livestock before and did not know a thing about goats! so bought a few books and read a lot online but nothing prepared me for what a pain they are

I searched the internet for what I thought was a good breeder and paid a deposit for two Nigerian dwarf and pygmy goat brother and sister from www.piedpiperpharms.com located in La Vernia. At 8 months I picked them up , paid a total 400.00 for both. The female had bad diarrhea but the women said it was from the cold temp, well stupid me not knowing better ! took them home. After 24 hours they both had Diarrhea and I took them to the vet, well they both had Coccidiosis, got them meds and the Diarrhea stopped. But they were full of lice and mites! Still trying to fight the Mites! its been constant battle , the female has mange and I can't seem to get rid of the mites! I have spent hundreds of dollars on vet and meds. I'm about to sell them.

I also found out my backyard is full of Poisonous plants

I did removed some and the pen area is free of them but when I let them out for walks its a nightmare !

The girls back end is now also bleeding she is about 11 weeks old.

Oh and the boy was banded and my vet took it off saying that it was not working and he would do the job in two weeks! When I came for the visit the vet told me he couldn't do it because the balls were already dying , they are hard and dry. He said to wait and watch ????? this does not sound right to just leave it alone? Help

I'd suggest finding a new veterinarian. It is absolutely nuts for him to take the band off a goat. The tissue past the band basically dies, but is nicely isolated from the rest of the body by the band. So the testes dry up and a few weeks later fall off, band and all. Taking the band off before the job is done exposes the rest of their body to that dead tissue. At least if they are hard and dry, it should be OK though. It must've cut off enough of the blood supply to kill the testes, and allowed them to dry up. They will likely just fall off on their own.

That breeder sounds like a piece of work. Coccidia is a big problem with kids, so a lot of folks keep their kids on a coccidia prevention program until their old enough to handle the coccidia on their own. But to send an actively scouring kid to a new home? And ones with external parasites? Insanely irresponsible! Especially because going to a new home is immensly stressful, so it makes it more likely for pathogens to rear their heads, which is likely why the boy started up too.

Goats are wonderful animals. And it sounds like you really want them. But it sounds like the breeder and the vet are making your life hell and trying to do everything wrong. Not a good way for someone to start out! I am so sorry. I wish I was closer and could help out!

The bleeding rear end. Do you mean like bloody stool? If so, she might still have problems with coccidia. I know you've spend a ton on meds already. But she (and the boy too likely) need another course of treatment. What sort of livestock supply stores do you have nearby? Corid, dimethox, or sulmet/albon are all used to treat it. Corid is at least readily available at most places, and is the cheapest. They'd need daily treatment for five days, doses based on their weight. Baycox is a med that can be given in a single dose, but it needs to be ordered from Australia, and is pricier. Until they're older, to prevent a reoccurance, treatment every 21 days is what would be best.

 

[MocFarm4]

First of all thank you I now believe that the blood was from a scratch on her bottom. Both boy and Girl have very normal poo. They both seem to be eating and drinking fine. I live in a very small town with one vet! and a Tractor supplies store , I get most of my stuff online. I do have Corid 9.6 % oral Solution but have not giving them any because the doctor gave me some med for both of them when I first took them in.

I will post pictures of the boys balls and the girls patch, I think it is mange

The boys balls

I sprayed Blu Kote on them because it looks like an infection. I do have another vet appointment for the CDT shot and to recheck them in a week.

The hole the vet left after taking out a abscess a week o
ld New dry patch near her eye, I think its from Mites but the vet said no on the other one . He hasn't seen this new one.

 

[Stacykins]

I am actually quite relieved it isn't bloody stool! Bloody stool is a sign of an acute infection, and things don't look so good if it gets to that point!

Oh my goodness. Did the vet not dress/care for the wound? It looks good at least, if it is a week old! On the way to healing and no signs of infection.

The only way to 100% diagnose mites is a skin scraping. Have you used anything yet as a treatment? For mites, it is widely recommended to the injectable version of ivermectin or ivermectin plus, both can be bought at TSC if you don't have it already. They should be dosed as an injection, too (some people give it orally, but giving it through the intended route is best). The dosage is 1mL per 40lbs of goat. Repeat the dose after ten days, then again after ten days, and final dose 30 days later. Not only should that knock out the mites, it'll give them a darn good deworming, too.

The goal of the repeated dosings is to make sure they all get eliminated. Medications mostly only work against the adults, but in an active infestation, there are mites at all stages, from eggs up until adults. I actually love how well this article explains it all.

Edit: His testes do look pretty tiny! I see where the band was, too. It would be safest to put on a new band and wait until the scrotum falls off, to ensure that they are completely taken care of.

 

[MocFarm4]

No the vet did not dress it or apply any ointment ! but she is taking antibiotics pill. I did spray an antiseptic on it once per day. My goats only weight 6 pounds , I'm not sure what to give them as a dose? I'm a little afraid to do the injection!

So I have ear mite drops from adams for dogs and cats that I put on the scab? but I don't know if it helped? I did order a lot of stuff that should get here tomorrow.

I did order online the oral but it won't be here for a week. Do you know how much of the oral to give for a 6 pound goat 11 weeks old ? Thank you for your help

 

[MocFarm4]

on the band I did ask the vet to reband it but he said no and I don't know how to do it! he just wants to wait and watch it!

 

[Haviris]

I'm not sure if I'd reband or not (never had one cut off before it could get the job done, I'm completely baffled at why your vet would even do that), but if you want to, banding is very simple procedure and if you can just find someone in your area with goats, they'd probably be able to do it for you, probably free, or at least very cheaply.

They are very cute, so are they a mix of pygmy and nigerian? (I was a little confused about that part)

 

[MocFarm4]

Thank you for your help, yes they are mixed with both.

 

[H Diamond]

Before I give a dose, just to verify, you ordered the Ivermectin oral solution? As in the Drench?
If so, just an fyi, we generally give goats the Ivermectin Injectable, but we give it orally. You can use the oral solution though, so no worries there.

I just want to come give you and your goaties a hug! You poor thing, between the "breeder" and the vet.... sigh.

Also to verify, your babies only weigh 6lbs at 11weeks? Do you have a scale you can climb on holding the goat, then weigh yourself, and subtract to get the correct weight?