villager
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antibiotic needed for injured goat?Two of my goats were fighting this evening, and one of them has had a horn knocked off. There is a stump-thing sticking out of its head, but the horn is nowhere to be found. There was a little blood on the stump, and we tried to treat the wound with iodine, but this seemed to cause the animal a lot of pain, so we gave up.
How should I be treating the patient? I have the antibiotics oxytetracycline and penstrep 20/25, but she had a kid 3 days ago. I do not know if it is safe for the kid to have the mother treated with an antibiotic; the kid is of more value to me than the mother.
Ta
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jamanda
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There will be someone along sooner or later who will know the answer to this - keep checking in.
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Bodger
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Start with the purple spray.
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RichardW
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Or wound powder but if its already dried up dont bother. The antibiotics wont bother the kid. Just dont drink the milk yourself.
Justme
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Nanny
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| bodger wrote: | | Start with the purple spray. |
agree here
good for what ails you or the goat
and it will stop any infection from getting in
i would always start with that and perhaps the anti-biotics if necessary
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Rob R
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| Nanny wrote: |
i would always start with that and perhaps the anti-biotics if necessary |
Good advice.
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RichardW
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| Rob R wrote: | | Nanny wrote: |
i would always start with that and perhaps the anti-biotics if necessary |
Good advice. |
Agreed for a goat thats handled daily so you can see whats what, but if it was a sheep that was going back to the field then a long acting AB would be a good idea.
Justme
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villager
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Thanks for those very helpful replies.
I had forgotten about the wound powder, so we sprinkled that on. This morning, although the stump has a bit of dried blood on it, to my inexperienced eye it appears OK; it looks just like a short, intact horn. We are able to keep a close watch on our animals, so we will hold back on the antibiotics unless there is a need for them. I was unsure about the antibiotics, and would not be able to get hold of the government vet-people until Monday morning, that is why I started this thread.
I must check if I can buy that "purple spray", because it was a bit difficult dribbling on enough wound powder to cover the stump and surrounding area.
Ta
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Rob R
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| Justme wrote: | | Rob R wrote: | | Nanny wrote: |
i would always start with that and perhaps the anti-biotics if necessary |
Good advice. |
Agreed for a goat thats handled daily so you can see whats what, but if it was a sheep that was going back to the field then a long acting AB would be a good idea.
Justme |
If a sheep needs an antibiotic then you shouldn't put it back out in the field IMHO, to keep it under close supervision.
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RichardW
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| Rob R wrote: | | Justme wrote: | | Rob R wrote: | | Nanny wrote: |
i would always start with that and perhaps the anti-biotics if necessary |
Good advice. |
Agreed for a goat thats handled daily so you can see whats what, but if it was a sheep that was going back to the field then a long acting AB would be a good idea.
Justme |
If a sheep needs an antibiotic then you shouldn't put it back out in the field IMHO, to keep it under close supervision. |
Dint say NEED I said as a precautionary measure. You could not keep every cut & nicked sheep in to wait for it to heal just so you could watch to see IF it would get infected. Surely prevention is better than a cure? Hit a long acting AB in & know that your've got it covered. If you have an infection that needs treating then thats a different matter.
Justme
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Rob R
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It depends. Antibiotics are not pathogen specific so a course will knock out all bugs, good & bad, which can cause pathogens to gain a hold at the end of the course (or resistant bacteria during it) in an otherwise healthy animal. I'm of the opinion that antibiotics should be used sparingly to maintain their efficacy.
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RichardW
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I agree to sparingly using AB's dont want any resistant bugs about. Over use & under dosing is the quickest way to resitance. But one LA AB in one animal that has an fairly serious injury thats likely to get infected is surely good use? I am not sugesting giving AB's to every cut & scratch, goat horn wounds can be nasty & do get opened up repeatedly due to goats doing what goats do best.
Justme
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Rob R
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It depends on the nature of the wound, it sounded like a surface wound that should dry quickly & not harbour infection, but without seeing it it's hard to know exactly the best course of action, other than removing it from any source of infection, dressing the wound to dry it quickly & protect against flies (unlikely to be a problem at this time of year). I'd still keep the animal under close supervision while it was under antibiotics though, no matter what the species.
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RichardW
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| Rob R wrote: | | It depends on the nature of the wound, it sounded like a surface wound that should dry quickly & not harbour infection, but without seeing it it's hard to know exactly the best course of action, other than removing it from any source of infection, dressing the wound to dry it quickly & protect against flies (unlikely to be a problem at this time of year). I'd still keep the animal under close supervision while it was under antibiotics though, no matter what the species. |
Until you look at the place the goat is "malawi" I bet flies are a problem.
Justme
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crofter
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| Rob R wrote: | | I'd still keep the animal under close supervision while it was under antibiotics though, no matter what the species. |
If I have to use antibiotics for a sheep I will usually put it back with the rest of the flock, but paint a big stripe on it with orange marker spray. Depends on the problem though.
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Rob R
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| crofter wrote: | | If I have to use antibiotics for a sheep I will usually put it back with the rest of the flock, but paint a big stripe on it with orange marker spray. Depends on the problem though. |
And the size of the flock/field.
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Rob R
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| Justme wrote: | Until you look at the place the goat is "malawi" I bet flies are a problem.
Justme |
Good point.
villager: Do flies hatch year round out there? 
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villager
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Mr Rob R asked , "villager: Do flies hatch year round out there"? They do indeed, and in places where it is hot, or hygiene is not good (such as in pit latrines) they can be a bother.
Generally, I myself have no more trouble with flies than you would have in the UK. I am living 4500'ASL, so it never gets too hot, and the hygiene at our plot is much better than in the real village. The flies have not been bothering the goat patient in any way, or any of the females who have just kidded and who are still leaking at their rear-ends. I have noticed flies enjoying themselves on male goats, but I think that they are attracted by their hosts' perfume. Also, sometimes the flies can trouble the dogs, especially around their ears.
Occasionally, our dogs get into terrible fights amongst themselves, and by the time the dust settles, then the losers can have about 20 cuts/bites of various sizes; the winners may have only 3 or 4. When this happens, I start giving antibiotic injections right away, because experience has shown that with their lifestyle there is an good chance of infection starting.
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fenwoman
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| villager wrote: | Thanks for those very helpful replies.
I had forgotten about the wound powder, so we sprinkled that on. This morning, although the stump has a bit of dried blood on it, to my inexperienced eye it appears OK; it looks just like a short, intact horn. We are able to keep a close watch on our animals, so we will hold back on the antibiotics unless there is a need for them. I was unsure about the antibiotics, and would not be able to get hold of the government vet-people until Monday morning, that is why I started this thread.
I must check if I can buy that "purple spray", because it was a bit difficult dribbling on enough wound powder to cover the stump and surrounding area.
Ta |
Don't dribble it. Place a small amount onto a small sheet of paper and roll it up, then use it like a blow pipe and gently puff the powder over the stump. It will give a lighter, more even coating.
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crofter
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remember not to inhale!
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RichardW
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| crofter wrote: | | remember not to inhale! |
Are you a politition?
Justme
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fenwoman
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| villager wrote: | Mr Rob R asked , "villager: Do flies hatch year round out there"? They do indeed, and in places where it is hot, or hygiene is not good (such as in pit latrines) they can be a bother.
Generally, I myself have no more trouble with flies than you would have in the UK. I am living 4500'ASL, so it never gets too hot, and the hygiene at our plot is much better than in the real village. The flies have not been bothering the goat patient in any way, or any of the females who have just kidded and who are still leaking at their rear-ends. I have noticed flies enjoying themselves on male goats, but I think that they are attracted by their hosts' perfume. Also, sometimes the flies can trouble the dogs, especially around their ears.
Occasionally, our dogs get into terrible fights amongst themselves, and by the time the dust settles, then the losers can have about 20 cuts/bites of various sizes; the winners may have only 3 or 4. When this happens, I start giving antibiotic injections right away, because experience has shown that with their lifestyle there is an good chance of infection starting. |
give all male dogs one little cut to remove 2 little 'things' and the fights will die down 
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