Thursday - December 12, 2013 - something is WRONG with Prissy Polly. She is standing by herself at feeding time and she is shivering. It's chilly out (45 degrees) but noone else is shivering. Out comes my trusted thermometer and Polly's temperature is 99.6 degrees. Sooooooo, I've heard nothing good comes to goats when there core temperatures go below 100 degrees. ODD. FAMACHA check -she's pinkish, not too red not too pale. CRAP...what's going on here. Joanna Wilcox has mentioned something called Meningeal Worm (and me in my optimistic protective coating of denial) has hoped she was just overthinking things because THAT sounded really awful to me.
Polly goes into the kidding barn to be near the heat lamps. She's moving ok and she seems just simply irritated for me to be even poking her in undignified places. I apologize, get her settled and carry on with nightly chores.
The next day - Polly looks to be about the same but she's got a weird stiff gate in her back legs. I put her up on a goat house to check her temperature. She's at 100 degrees today (slight cheer of success from me at this point) but then, she gets out of my grasp and jumps off the surface. It was then I realized something was very wrong with Polly as her back legs collapsed underneath her and she struggled to get them to straighten them out. CRAP...this can't be good. Joanna Wilcox, a great friend and fellow goat enthusiast, had mentioned "MENINGEAL WORM" to me during a trek to see Apple Hill Farm today. That sounded a bit to scary for me to contemplate at the time. Another night in the goat barn - cydectin wormer in, probios in, and some serious finger crossing that this is all just my imagination.
WRONG.
Saturday morning, December 14. Polly pulls herself out of the kidding barn with only her front legs working. She is dragging her back legs under her. CRAP. Off to the vet's house we go (on a very rainy, cold morning to boot). Vet is puzzled. I am freaked out (and yes, there are tears when I'm freaked out). Polly is wheezing with raspy breath sounds. Pneumonia? Sure...why not. Fecal check - YES, let's add some strongyle type worms on top of it all. Great - so now we have a salad bowl of symptoms with no clear idea. Is it Polio? Is it Listeriosis? Is it a spinal injury with pneumonia plus worms. UGH. Is it this meningeal worm??
Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroid)...check
Nuflor Gold....check
Exede...check
Ivomec Plus...check
Fenbendazole...check
Probios.....check
One pissed off goat...ohhhhhhh yeah you betcha.
That night...more dexamethosone. I'm pretty sure, at this point, my goat feels like a voodoo doll.
Longest blog ever...but as I've been a bit busy with high maintenance Prissy Polly I have a lot to catch my readers up on! Ok...where was I....oh right, busy pumping the goat FULL of anything and everything to try and get her back up. and sooooooooo one long night of Polly on our sunporch in a crate with a heater keeping her comfy and the next morning we find Polly able to support some weight on her hind legs but not so great.
AM Ritual: Repeat
Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroiod)...check
Fenbendazole...check
Eating, yes...peeing, yes....pooping, oh yes - mostly all over us when we are doing physical therapy with her.
No real change throughout the day - Polly continues to be able to stand but doesn't really want to without some help.
Dexamethasone that night before bed
AND THEN...Monday, December 16 - here she is and we are DELIGHTED. We let her go wander all day after (of course) the AM ritual:Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroiod)...check
Nuflor Gold....check second dose
Fenbendazole...check
Probios.....check
She had a great day wandering out everywhere - very few falls and we feel on top of cloud nine. She's going to be FINE. RIGHT??!
Polly goes into the kidding barn to be near the heat lamps. She's moving ok and she seems just simply irritated for me to be even poking her in undignified places. I apologize, get her settled and carry on with nightly chores.
The next day - Polly looks to be about the same but she's got a weird stiff gate in her back legs. I put her up on a goat house to check her temperature. She's at 100 degrees today (slight cheer of success from me at this point) but then, she gets out of my grasp and jumps off the surface. It was then I realized something was very wrong with Polly as her back legs collapsed underneath her and she struggled to get them to straighten them out. CRAP...this can't be good. Joanna Wilcox, a great friend and fellow goat enthusiast, had mentioned "MENINGEAL WORM" to me during a trek to see Apple Hill Farm today. That sounded a bit to scary for me to contemplate at the time. Another night in the goat barn - cydectin wormer in, probios in, and some serious finger crossing that this is all just my imagination.
WRONG.
Saturday morning, December 14. Polly pulls herself out of the kidding barn with only her front legs working. She is dragging her back legs under her. CRAP. Off to the vet's house we go (on a very rainy, cold morning to boot). Vet is puzzled. I am freaked out (and yes, there are tears when I'm freaked out). Polly is wheezing with raspy breath sounds. Pneumonia? Sure...why not. Fecal check - YES, let's add some strongyle type worms on top of it all. Great - so now we have a salad bowl of symptoms with no clear idea. Is it Polio? Is it Listeriosis? Is it a spinal injury with pneumonia plus worms. UGH. Is it this meningeal worm??
Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroid)...check
Nuflor Gold....check
Exede...check
Ivomec Plus...check
Fenbendazole...check
Probios.....check
One pissed off goat...ohhhhhhh yeah you betcha.
That night...more dexamethosone. I'm pretty sure, at this point, my goat feels like a voodoo doll.
Longest blog ever...but as I've been a bit busy with high maintenance Prissy Polly I have a lot to catch my readers up on! Ok...where was I....oh right, busy pumping the goat FULL of anything and everything to try and get her back up. and sooooooooo one long night of Polly on our sunporch in a crate with a heater keeping her comfy and the next morning we find Polly able to support some weight on her hind legs but not so great.
AM Ritual: Repeat
Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroiod)...check
Fenbendazole...check
Eating, yes...peeing, yes....pooping, oh yes - mostly all over us when we are doing physical therapy with her.
No real change throughout the day - Polly continues to be able to stand but doesn't really want to without some help.
Dexamethasone that night before bed
AND THEN...Monday, December 16 - here she is and we are DELIGHTED. We let her go wander all day after (of course) the AM ritual:Thiamine....check
Vitamin B complex...check
Dexamethasone (steroiod)...check
Nuflor Gold....check second dose
Fenbendazole...check
Probios.....check
She had a great day wandering out everywhere - very few falls and we feel on top of cloud nine. She's going to be FINE. RIGHT??!
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