Posted by Nat on December 19, 2000 at 08:08:14:
In Reply to: pnemonia posted by susan on December 17, 2000 at 15:12:38:
Pneumonia is indeed contagious. Most respiratory problems are. You should really seperate the goat into a draft free pen, and keep him/her warm, well hydrated. When this sick they tend to go off feed fast.
I'd disinfect feeders, and water buckets and not share equiptment between goats. Check her teperature also, and I'd suggest calling in a vet to determine what kind of pneumonia you have - wether it be an upper repiratory tract problem that progressed to this,or a lower respiratory problem due viral, parasitic or mycoplasmic pneumonia infection. You need to treat this problem fast as lung tissue gets damaged, and lungs fill with fluid - death can be rapid if the lungs can't respire. Also, the time they spend coughing really leads to severe weight loss. Watch others in your herd for any runny noses, coughing, ect. as you can hopefully treat it before it gets too severe.
I had a young buck that I think got a upper respiratory infection from goats returning from a show, and it was thought by my vet that they may have contracted lungworms. (Which is possible, but I didn't think so). In my case, within 2 weeks, it progressed from a runny nose, to full-blown pneunomia as my little guy's lungs filled with fluid. I was treating it with LA-200, every 3rd day for a week (as the stuff is long lasting) and wormed them as a precaution for lungworm (Injectible Cattle and Swine Ivermectin). You can get the antibiotic from most cataloges, or your vet. Call the vet for the dosage, it varies for size, and it is an extra-label thing for goats. LA-200 does sting badly though. You need to start treating the infection quickly. It took quite a long time for my animals to recover, but once treated, they showed market improvement, and slowly the lung tissue repaired itself.
I'm sure others on this board have dealt with this before, and may have more insite, but this is my 2 bits! Hope I helped.
-Nat
Nat's Little Bit Farm