Help with sick goat...

I have a goat who I thought was suffering from mites. He lost the fur off his heels and it looked all scabby and dry. I have given him two shots of ivomec ten days apart. He also has not been eating like his usual self.

After the first dose he seemed to perk up, was eating and coming out of the shelter. The second time I gave him the ivomec I also gave his a shot of vitamaster.

For the last two days he has refused to eat. Today I made him a drench of molasses, corn oil and corn syrup. He slurped that all up and had a big drink of water too.

He seems to be in pain too. Standing (when he does stand) stretched out and seeming to strain.

I have some oral bute for horses but am not sure if goats can have it or how much to give.

Any advice??

The standing stretching and straining could be bladder stones or the fact that his tummy has just been given so much new foods that he has never had and it is causing the problem.

You have to do food changes slow and to me sounds like too much to fast. If you upset the tummy too much you can loose all the good bacteria in it and that one is a slippery slop.

I would give the vet a call. My vet will talk over the phone for free and sometimes enough to point you in the right direction.

I have only ever de wormed a goat 2 weeks between dewormings. Seems like a lot going on.
Good luck

He has had no diet changes , so I don't think that's it. I hand fed him a ahndful of hay just now and he ate it all up. I also gave him a small handful of barley. He really perked up when he saw that.

I am thinking in the morning I might give him a bit of yogurt too?

He's six years old. Is that old for a goat? My hubby says it's old age, but I think he mostly says that to bug me. This was my first goat raised from a bottle baby. He's a big old wether who shows no promise of ever earning his keep and that bugs hubby;) but he's my baby and I love him.

Another good one for goat is Acidophilus around $15 90 capsules from a health food shop puts good bacteria in their tummys.
No 6 is not old.
How ever I would talk to a vet if your worried about him, the goat that is not your husband

I had my buck die last year at 3 years old and so had an autopsy done on him as he too was my baby and I also needed to have my mind put to rest.
Poor boy died from kidney failure, plus one side of his heart was small and he was finished off with a stroke in the brain. Which was him fitting when I found him.
So sometimes you just don't know what problems they do have.

Hope you find out what is wrong.

I always give a mix of baking soda and pro-biotics at the first hint of tummy trouble in the goats. You can break open the capsules you use for yourself it you can't find the ones for animals. That usually fixes it. About a T. of baking soda and a couple of pro-biotic capsules. They usually lick it right up, but you may have to force the mouth open and put it on the tongue. Too much grain will make their stomach too acidic and digestion slows.

The scabby bald spots on heels and other spots are often fungal, and happen when their immunity is low from worms. The best thing I found for this is iodine spray from the feed store. Soak the bald spots once every day or 2 until the fuzz starts to grow.

SucellusFarms wrote:I always give a mix of baking soda and pro-biotics at the first hint of tummy trouble in the goats. You can break open the capsules you use for yourself it you can't find the ones for animals. That usually fixes it. About a T. of baking soda and a couple of pro-biotic capsules. They usually lick it right up, but you may have to force the mouth open and put it on the tongue. Too much grain will make their stomach too acidic and digestion slows.

The scabby bald spots on heels and other spots are often fungal, and happen when their immunity is low from worms. The best thing I found for this is iodine spray from the feed store. Soak the bald spots once every day or 2 until the fuzz starts to grow.

He does have some baking soda in with him. Yesterday he did not want the you guru al all. He did nibble a bit of hay again though. I though about a fungal thing on his feet, but I bought Coppersept because we used it on the horse when he had something similar. I do have iodine too, so maybe I will try that.