Scour Treatment: GRAPHIC IMAGES

I admit, Sean chided me this morning while I was taking pictures of Ellie's tail end. And, I can understand that from an aesthetics stand point, it is not perhaps the most appetizing image. However, as this blog is a diary of our life and other homesteaders may find themselves in the same situation, I feel it is important to document anything that might remind ourselves or possibly help others embarking on a similar path. When Ellie started with scouring, I would have been thrilled to find a photo or a post about someone else's experience and the results of their treatment. I apologize to those readers with a sensitive stomach and warn you that this post may be one you want to skip the reading of.

For those of you who are interested, this is what Ellie looked like before she was cleaned up this morning. Her feces are paste-like in consistency and have an army green tint to them. This has been the same for 3 days. You can see from the photograph that she has lost some weight, which is to be expected. Her appetite is still healthy and she was in the field grazing when Sean and I went outside this morning. We had to help Ellie onto the stand because she is losing strength and struggled to jump up on her own.

This condition is serious. It can kill goats. Immediate treatment is necessary. The most important thing I learned from this experience is my gaining the ability to recognize the warning signs if I come across them in the future and act on them earlier. I now know that if one of our goats starts scouring like this, we can send a fecal sample to our vet to be tested for about $21.00 and will get results within hours. I know that with those results, I can start the right kind of medicine to give my goats the best chance at successfully healing. Those are all valuable lessons.

Sean learned how to give a subcutaneous (Sub Q) injection. This is a valuable capability! I watched Sean do it this time and I am certain that the next time it is necessary, I will be the one to do it. I tried to get a close up of the procedure, but was too slow. I think you get the general idea, though. Sean pinched the skin on her neck, inserted the needle, and depressed the plunger. Miss Ellie did not even flinch.

 

When Sean left for work this morning, Ellie was eating her hay. I have been unable to find any reliable answers as to how long this should take before we see results, but the consensus on the Internet seems to be that we should see some shedding (dead worms in the feces) within 2 days.

On a final note, although EVERYTHING on the Internet stated that Ivomec should be taken orally, our Vet insisted that we give the dose as an injection. When faced with conflicting advice, I am likely to follow our Veterinary's recommendations, since we have had excellent results by following her advice in the past. The dosage we used was a 1 ml injection today and a follow up 1 ml injection for a one week follow up. We will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for checking in!
Sean and Sonja ♥