The little billy seems to be doing better he is not bellowing as much and is very slowly eating a bit of food. He will be living in our dining room for the next couple of days along with a nanny to keep him company. I have recieved an email from www.goatwold/911 that said to give him probiotics could someone please tell what that is, were it can be found and what ratio to weight it should be given, I'm new to goats getting read to retire from usmc and starting a little ranch of 65 acres so thought some goats would keep the tax man away till I get some cows. Thanks for all the advice

-- scott (slaf99@cs.com), February 01, 2002

Answers

Glad to hear he is doing a little better. Watch him closely for shock. Probios is used to get the rumen going again or the stomach. you should be able to ge tit at either a farm supply store or a vet. The ratio is on the tube, its a paste like substance. If you need to get it into him right away then try offerring some yogurt. I would also give him some antibiotics too, such as penicallin. Thats available too at vet or farm supply store. You may want to follow that with some banamine for pain and inflamation, but if you do make sure you have the probios. Hope this helps.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

I notice many people use the paste probios, but it is available in a powder form which is very fine and will mix with warm water. It only takes one tsp. per dose for a goat. I mix it with a very small amount of warm water and add just a drop or two of molasses, then use a large syringe (no needle) to feed it. 12cc or larger will do. The powder is much cheaper, and will last a very long time if kept cool. I got mine from Jeffers.

-- Dianne Wood - Woodland, WA (woodgoat@pacifier.com), February 02, 2002.

Well, this is a timely thread! A dog I had on the place on a trial basis got loose this afternoon. Thank God I was there to intervene. He scared the goats and the doeling jumped the fence. Long story to short story: The doeling is pretty shocky and has maybe bad damage to a front leg (upper leg feels like swollen hamburger - maybe vein damage?) and I taught the dog to lay down and stay down. He's still laying down. Reckon I'll throw his useless hide out for the coyotes tomorrow. How much penicillin do I give my doeling? She was born in May and so is about half the size of my pregnant does...

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 02, 2002.

Oops. Sorry. I just read the initial message and got my answer about the quantity of penicillin... Dogs are real easy to train to lay down and stay when you cross tie them... I agree that he will be back to finish the job. Be careful. Might want to carry your rifle when you go out...

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 02, 2002.

Not to sound like the devils advocate here , Gailanne, but I am also concerned about your treatment of the dog. I agree he should not be there, but if he is there on a trial basis, can you not return him. Obviously he will not be trustworthy around livestock, but certainly he should be dealt with humanely.Hogtying him and throwing him out to the coyotes is cruel. Yes I know what he did was cruel to the goat, but certain breeds of dogs or mixes containing these breeds do have these tendacies,which are natural instincts to them, example being any of the husky or northern breeds.My humble opinion.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), February 03, 2002.

I guess you may have misunderstood me. I cross-tied him and shot him. He didn't suffer. Really. He had previously attacked the rabbits several times (tried to pull them through the wires), the chickens (got several down on three different occasions), tried to run the horses and climbed a fence to get to the goats. (Thank God he was tied and they ran to the other side of the enclosure and he couldn't get to them). I did everything I could to dissuade him. He actually broke his wire cable this time and attacked the rabbits, chickens, and then the goats before I got to him. He had drug the doeling down an embankment with her screaming the whole way. He has damaged her back leg and probably permanently damaged her front leg. When I finally got to him he had clamped on to her neck and was shaking her. She had given up and was simply screaming curled up into a ball (my screaming NO and tackling him several times had no effect) He then turned on me. I had heavy gloves and a heavy jacket on and he didn't do any damage to me. Such an animal would ultimately kill a small child or other pet in another home. I couldn't risk that. I am a huge advocate for rehabilitation of animals. I have had several chicken killers in the past and had some success with stopping that behavior. I KNOW it sounds terrible, but I would never be able to leave him alone on my farm. Let alone imagining him getting loose and wreaking havoc on someone else's place. I know it sounds awful but it was the best for him. He was a neat dog and it broke my heart to have to kill him. Sorry I brought it up...

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 03, 2002.

Gailann, I think you did the right thing with your dog problem, such an animal would attack a child.

Scott, probiotics are good bacteria, that are needed to keep the gut healthy, antibiotics will kill off the good ones and waste your money, so if there in heat anywhere the body, give the anti-b. Otherwise just give the pro-b.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), February 03, 2002.

Gailann,no, don't apologize for bringing this up. I guess I misunderstood and jumped to conclusions before hearing the whole story. Yes, I agree he probably would not have been trustworthy around a small chld, especially after he went after you as well. I do dog rescue and it is so hard to judge an adult dog not knowing where he came from and how they were raised. You tried to give him a second chance and it was not meant to be unfortuneatly for all involved. I hope your doe is doing better.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), February 04, 2002.

Thanks. The doeling is limping heavily and is really depressed. She will let me hold her (she's usually a wild thing). I thought I had some penicillin on hand but have had to wait until today to get some. I am so thankful that he didn't get loose and attack all the neighbor's animals too. He was an intact dog and would have been awful to add to the Coy-dogs in the area. The other dog I adopted (sick, I might add) is a Labrador and is VERY happy to try to please us. I should have known that the other dog would be a problem when he refused to come to us even in the cage.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 04, 2002.

You can use a hot compress on the sore areas (since you can hold her) it will help draw infection out to drain, take your fingers lightly around the injury feeling for lumps or 'bubbles' of fluid, if you find some, check it at least once per day, and take note of any change, if it gets smaller good, if it gets larger and your instinct says pus, poke it with a needle at what seems to be the top of the bubble, often these drain a dark gross looking blood with streaks in it. [I've even used a new x-acto blade to cut a small drain hole] you can use a probiotic in the skin too. Even strait white sugar stops germ growth,

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), February 04, 2002.

I am so thrilled. The doeling is up and walking much better (two shots of penicillin into her so far) and even trying to get away from me! As bad as she was swollen and looked after the attack I thought I would lose her. I know this sounds silly but I think she benefitted from me holding her, petting her, and telling her how sorry I was that she got hurt. I'm hoping she continues to improve. She's a 4-H project too. The swelling seems to have gone down but I will remember that about white sugar and expressing the fluid. I have used honey on cuts and have had good luck.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 06, 2002.