| Author | Message | ||
     Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 229 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
There are several prominent breeders of Pygmy goats in PA and the Vet School at New Bolton is very good with treating them. Some of my best goats (I raise and show pygmies) come from a herd in Newtown Square. That herd has made (at least) 18 permanent grand champions and 3 national champions. There 46 members of the National Pygmy Goat Association in PA alone another 26 in Maryland. Three of our licensed judges live in PA. Email me privately and I can put you in touch with some of my friends up there. Seriously you are in a little hotbed of pygmy goat breeders. There is also a very good club. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.119.15 Rating: N/A |
We are located in S. Central Pennsylvania. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 204 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 64.102.64.113 Rating: N/A |
Glad he's doing well. Must have been a touch of pizzle rot. Where are you, BTW? Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.117.64 Rating: N/A |
Our goat is doing well. He wasn't really showing any signs of a problem (as far as acting/eating differently). But we cleaned the area and are treating him with antibiotics. I found on several sites that the calcuim to phosphorous ratio for soybean hulls is 2:1 which made me think it would be an ideal supplement since the timothy hay is more of a 1:1. He also has access to a mineral block that has calcium, but he isn't really happy when I feed his lady friends but exclude him. Again thanks for your help and advice. We don't have a lot of pygmy goat owners in our area so the getting reliable information locally has proven difficult. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 198 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 64.102.64.113 Rating: N/A |
After further research I find you are right, but it was a substantial increase in protein in his diet, enough to raise the amount of urea in his urine. Actually I am hoping the antibiotic treatment and cleaning do the trick. Pizzle rot is alot more treatable and preventable than urinary calculi. Timothy hay is usually a very good sole diet for bucks and wethers and many does, it is fairly high in protein for a grass hay. I envy you I would kill for affordable timothy or alfalfa hay (here it is 7.00 to 15.00 per standard bale). Soy bean hull pellets are essentially roughage and added to "complete" feeds for animals that aren't fed much or any forage or roughage. You said you are feeding a free choice hay, so why pay more for something you are already doing? And like I said if you are feeding for added energy to keep him warm, soy bean hull will certainly help do the job, but only because they are high in roughage, not because they are high in energy (calories). So while soy bean hull certainly doesn't seem bad for goats, it may not be worth the extra cost by itself. I still couldn't find any info on the calcium to phosphorus ratio. Timothy hay is not very high in calcium and if the soy bean hull has extra phosphorus (soy beans in themselves are very high in phosphrus and pretty low in calcium) it could cause an imbalance. I usually advise feeding a balanced grain for goats or dairy cattle or dry COB (a corn, oats and barley blend...). How is he by the way? Is he responding to the treatment? Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.117.148 Rating: N/A |
I don't think I have metioned my goat details. I have a pygmy goat wether who is part of a small herd. He is a pet. Approx. 2 years old. During the summer, he is on a diet of hay (mostly timothy) and has access to a small pasture. | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.118.53 Rating: N/A |
I've been talking to some local people about soybean hulls and they claim that they aren't that high in protein. The following site seems to indicate the same. http://www.dairybusiness.com/western/Oct00/byproducts2.htm I'm not trying to refute any of your assistance (which was greatly appreciated) I just wanted to try to explore whether or not soybean hulls are a good food for goats (especially wethers). | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 189 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
On that note he probably has pizzle rot, not urinary calculi. Stones can build up quckly but not usually that quickly. Pizzle rot is caused by feeding a very high protein feed (soy bean hull is 40 to 50 percent protein, HOLY COW!) making the urine perfect for a bacterial infection. Scabs and exudate (dried crud) can partially or fully block the end of the penis, making urinating difficult or impossible. Stop feeding the soy bean hull pellets, start the penicillin treatment. Clean out the sheath thoroughly and you can put a mastitis medicine called Today into the sheath. Make sure (if you can) that the end of the penis is clean, the orifice is not blocked by a scab or dried crud. Flushing the prepuce with warm water in abig syringe may help remove more of the crud, shaving around the outside will help keep it dry. If you were feeding soy bean hull pellets thinking this would keep him warmer this doesn't really work. It is the breaking down and fermenting of long fiber forage (hay) that creates the most body heat and keeps all hay eating animals warmer. If he is in good flesh he never needs grain, only good hay all the time, fresh water (not too cold) and a balanced loose mineral mix. I am assuming this wether is an adult or near adult and is a pet. If so he doesn't ever need any grain feed and certainly not one this high in protein. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.117.126 Rating: N/A |
Thanks for the quick reply. We have just started feeding him grain for the winter (approx 2 weeks ago). Could the stones have formed that quickly? Also our local feed mill recommended soy hull pellets, saying that they should have the proper calcium/phosphorous ratio for wethers. We feed approx. 1/2-2/3 cups a day. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 188 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
Give an antibiotic, penicillin is good, 1 cc per 20 pounds twice a day by SQ injection for 5 to 7 days. Often an anti inflammatory and pain killing drug works well to help him urinate more freely with less pain and to take down the inflammation in the urethra. Banamine is the drug of choice, give 0.1 cc per 10 pounds once or twice a day by SQ injection for 4 to 5 days. The crusty buildup is probably due to calculi crystals adhering to the skin of the prepuce and irritating it leading to a secondary bacterial infection of the prepuce. Mnay times a goat will pass a lot of these and they cling to the hair and skin, before they block. The actual stones are tiny, often barely bigger than sand and the bladder is full of hundreds or even thousands of them. It is never just a few stones, the bladder is FULL of them. Keep the prepuce clean, use vaseline to help with any irritation. Make sure he can urinate, treatment with ammonium chloride will only work if the goat can urinate some. Give the ammonium chloride at 2 teaspoons dissolved in 10 to 15 cc of water 2 to 3 times a day until he is urinating freely. Then continue giving it at that concentration once a day for 2 to 3 weeks to dissolve any stones remaining in the bladder. Then give 1 teaspoon once a day for life to help prevent recurrence. Cut WAY back on grain feeds. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| M. Kipe (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.59.116.226 Rating: N/A |
We have a wether that has a yellow/brown buildup caked around the prepuce(?). We washed it away with warm water but the skin looks raw underneath. He has been urinating in drops only, seems like urinary calculi but I haven't heard about the crusty buildup before? Should I be treating him with anything besides ammonium chloride as mentioned in other postings? |