Very tiny 8 week old Pygmy doeling (new pix) worried about her health.

[cutiepieacres]

to me she looks decent size at eight weeks for a goat that was pushed out as a baby. She seems to have the "ugly teenager" look going on as we call it, not that they are truly ugly but its where they start getting lanky and tall and thin and their hair coat gets dull and start shedding out into the adult coat. Usually about that age where they are just starting to grow into themselves. She also looks only part pymgy maybe part nigerian as her colors are different which would also contribute to a taller leaner look.

I would get her onto a stable diet, a good alfalfa/grass hay mix, get her fecals done and de-wormed and vaccination utd. I wouldn't be letting her eat fresh grass much if at all at this point as her system is probably not used to it.

She's cute!!

 

[dianneS]

She did have a case of lice and we've been treating that as well. The breeder swears she's full-blood pygmy and both parents were on the premesis. I personally don't care if she's a cross breed, I just want her to be healthy!

 

[Brindlebtch]

Oh my gosh, she is adorable beyond belief!

 

[dianneS]

She got some nutra drench and some probios today. Not going to worm her yet, other than some homeopathic wormer. She's so tiny, I can't figure out the dosage for something so small! I'll worm her when she's bigger. Her poops are firming up and she's getting sassy now, starting to perk up. Still keeping my fingers crossed though!

 

[JoyB]

I raised Pygmy's for awhile. She doesnt look like she is full blood pygmy to me. But like you said.. Health first..

If I were you I would go very easy on all the new greenery. Her tummy is just not use to it and is what causes the runny poo's. Remember.. If you change things with her do it very slowly. I also recommend Yogurt. That gets the good bacteria flowing and does wonders..
I once had a little pygmy that never grew. He was the tiniest thing ever.. He was healthy, happy and soooooooooo adorable..
Enjoy your new baby... Oh and I agree on the worming. Hold off other than the organic stuff..
Fiasco Farm search in Google is also a good idea. This woman is a wealth of knowledge.. Good luck!!

 

[dianneS]

Thanks Joy. I was thinking about goats milk yogurt, but haven't been able to find any just yet. I did give her some probios yesterday and dosed her according to the newborn directions. Her poops were firming up to almost pellet consistency yesterday, but after the probios they got runny again and then back to cat poop consistency. Otherwise she's doing well, following the rest of the herd, still not very bouncy and playful, and that is what concerns me most.

As far as her not being full-blood pygmy, I wouldn't be surprised. The woman I got her from had both parents on the premesis and claims to only breed full-bloods, but honestly, she really doesn't seem to know all that much about goats at all. If one of the parents was mixed, she would never know! I'm getting two nigerian dwarf/pygmy mixes from someone else in another six weeks anyway.

 

[helmstead]

She looks like a cocci baby to me...and wormy. I would throw the homeopathic stuff out the window for now. If she were here, this is what I would do:

Today
Deworm - Safeguard or Panacur
Begin cocci treatment - Dimethox 40%
Treat for C/D with C/D Antitoxin for 2 days
Immunize - give C/D & T injection (booster in 14 days)
Prevent acidosis - give baking soda balls for next 4 days
Booster system - give B Complex

10 days later
Deworm - Ivermec

10 days later
Deworm - Valbazen

10 days later
Deworm - Ivermec

Keep her on Probios, be careful not to overwhelm her with new feeds.

Good luck with her, she's adorable.

 

[dianneS]

She's eating grass today, but not as much. She's spending a lot of time laying in the shade. She has one little goopy eye this morning. I just flushed it out with purified water eye wash, but don't know what else to do or why the eye thing just cropped up?

She hasn't had constant runny poops. She had turd like poop when she got here as a result of being fed exclusively concentrated feed and literally no forage. I introduced her to pasture slowly, but after her first full day of grass (and wet grass early in the morning) did she get runny, green poop. It was firming up on its own and was almost pellet consistency until I gave her the probios and nutradrench. Now she's got green turds again and a little on the soft side. I hope I didn't screw up!

I'm scared to start dosing her with strong wormers at this time, she's so small and I've just given her probios and nutradrench and that gave her more soft poop! I think I should just wait and see how she does for the next day or so, and let her system balance out. I can't get her to eat hay, all she wants is grass. She takes lots of breaks though and lays in the shade quite a bit today, but continues to eat and drink normally.

 

[helmstead]

One of the strains of cocci will present with runny eyes and noses - off the top of my head I can't remember which it is. (gram neg or pos).

Is she running a fever?

 

[dianneS]

No fever. My miniature horse had a runny eye this morning too. But he was out yesterday without a fly mask and the face flies really love him, regardless of the fly spray! He's in a different pasture than the goats.

I'm having a hard time finding goat wormer that can be dosed for something as small as she is. She's under five pounds and the dosage instructions are so difficult to figure out. She would literally have to get one drop of liquid wormer. Can dog or cat wormer be given if its fenbendezol? Does anyone ever give goats pyrantel? I have some of that in a liquid that I could figure out a dose for her.