Premier Sheep-Goats

04/23/2025

Question:
How do I treat goat constipation in bottle fed goats that are about 3 weeks old?

Veterinarian Response:
You can either give 1-2 oz of mineral oil orally or you can give a soapy water e***a with a lamb esophageal feeder tub (red rubber catheter). Be sure to only flow the water with gravity not push it in with a syringe.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/22/2025

Question:
I am looking to buy the kid starter feed which includes Decoquinate. I will be offering it to 3 bottle baby goats. My question is- is there a risk of the coccidia parasite becoming resistant to the Decoquinate like intestinal parasites do to other dewormers?

Veterinarian Response:
No, there is zero risk of the coccidian parasite developing resistance to decox. There are anti-coccidial compounds like decox which have been used for 5 decades with zero resistance developing. Coccida is very different from roundworm parasites and does not have the ability to develop resistance.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/11/2025

Question:
Two weeks ago I vaccinated my lambs with 8 way sub Q right side off neck. Now all my lambs have all developed a lump at the vaccination site. What caused this? What can be done in the future to prevent this?

Veterinarian Response:
This is why our practice has always recommended only using a CD/T vaccination for young lambs. In nearly all cases most of what is in a "8 way" clostridial vaccine is unnecessary in sheep and will be more likely to cause injection site reactions. Vaccine manufactures vary in the production practices and this also varies the amount of injection site reactions that we will see. All clostridia vaccines are not equal. Also injection technique, contaminated needles and contaminated vaccine will also give injection site reactions.

Throw the remainder of the bottle of vaccine away as it may be contaminated. Switch to a CD/T vaccine. If the swellings don't go away in a few weeks you may have to lance them. Be sure that you are giving the vaccine S.Q.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/10/2025

Question:
I have had 3 sheep in the past month that have birthed and had these issues. The first baby is fine and the second one is dead, still in the sac and small and leathery? Any ideas.

Veterinarian Response:
I suspect that you are dealing with Toxoplasma. This is a coccidian parasite of cats that if shed into sheep feed fed to gestating ewes can cause fetal death and mummification. Often only one of a set of twins is affected and the live lamb will maintain the pregnancy and the dead one will become mummified. This will happen with Toxoplasma more than other infectious causes of abortion as others tend to progress across the placenta and cause abortion.

Controlling access to feed stuffs to prevent contamination with cat f***s is important, along with have a stable adult, spayed or neutered cat population. Feeding Rumensin or Deccox during gestation will prevent toxoplasma abortion, however it must be fed throughout gestation.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/09/2025

Question:
I have an 11 yr old Shetland ewe who has had shortness of breath, loss of appetite and weight loss for about 1 1/2 weeks.
The vet gave her Draxxa 1 week ago for a diagnosis of right lung pneumonia. Since then she has had lasix IM twice but still has shortness of breath and a very poor appetite. She is up and around and active and will still go out to pasture and even run if pursued, but still labors with breathing. The vet listened to her lungs today and said her right lung remains congested but her left lung sounds clear. She does not feel the breathing is much better and that the sheep is stressed.The vet feels none of our three other sheep are at risk of getting this as she feels it is not viral.

Veterinarian Response:
At 11 years of age your sheep may be in heart failure. At this age the sheep is considered elderly and chronic conditions such as heart failure are a possibility. You may want to visit with your Veterinarian about this. With no response to Lasix the prognosis is poor and you may want to consider euthanasia.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/08/2025

Question:
I have a 1.5 year old ram that has gone off feed for about 1.5 weeks. He was seen with wool in his mouth. He was given Vit. B, and LA 200 last Friday. LA 200. Vitamin B, wormer as well as Dannon yogurt with probiotics on Monday this week. Yesterday I have him more yogurt with probiotics. He is not running a temp. His temp was 102.4 yesterday. I have tried different grains, lamb starter and finisher. I have given him fresh hay and I have pulled green grass. He is housed in a box stall in a barn. I have seen him drink water. He is urinating. I gave him green grass on Saturday. He did eat a bit. On Monday I cleaned his bottom. He had passed a small amount of f***s that was dark and tar like. I have heard his stomach gurgle. He did have more energy yesterday evening.. What should I try next?

Veterinarian Response:
The dark tarry stool is digested blood. He has a abomasal ulcer. Prognosis is undetermined. I think I would try getting him in a different environment, perhaps on pasture and grazing. You may want to be looking for a different ram. These cases can turn into chronic poor doers. There really isn't anything to stop the ulcer bleeding. If you can get him back on feed some of these will "cure" on their own.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/04/2025

Question:
I have a ram lamb with one testicle. I am wondering if there is a significant drop in fertility or if he would be OK for breeding.

Veterinarian Response:
I would not recommend that you use it for breeding. The term for a ram with one undescended testicle is cryptorchid. Cryptorchid rams if used for breeding will sire offspring with a higher rate of undescended testicles. Furthermore the s***m from the testicle is retained will all be dead. Testicles need to be below body temperature for live s***m to be produced.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/03/2025

Question:
I have a ewe that choked on feed (cracked corn/soyhulls-50/50) Monday night. Worst case I had ever seen. Was able to get a calf tube passed down as far as I could and that helped her. But her breathing is still quite labored. I did give some nuflor yesterday morning for fear that she aspirated some feed and/or foam from the choke. Do you have any other suggestion to help her out? Only a 2 year old ewe, perfectly healthy other than this. Is drinking but haven’t seen her eat any hay and no grain is being offered right now.

Veterinarian Response:
She probably has aspirated. You should probably switch to Draxxin. It will last longer and be less hard on the GI tract. Try giving her yeast boluses or probiotics to start her appetite. Soy hulls expand when they get wet and swell in the esophagus. This usually happens when sheep are first becoming acclimated to them or eat large amounts due to competition from pen mates.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/02/2025

Question:
We have 7 pregnant ewes and are feeding them Sheep 20 plus hay. We have added additional dry molasses for the last two weeks. One of our sheep is taking spells of not eating and we drenched her with a mixture of molasses and oil once (30 cc) but have been unable to catch her to do it again. This morning she was not eating again. We suspect she is carrying twins if not triplets. Is there anything we can do to make sure she is getting enough glucose and energy?

Nutritionist Response:
If the ewe is doing well enough you cannot catch her she is okay. Once you do catch her you can pen her up with another ewe so you can monitor her intake better. I would suggest you forget the molasses and add corn. Depending on the quality of your hay. Ewes may need more than one pound of grain in late gestation . The other nutrient that can be a problem is calcium. If you are feeding alfalfa hay that should not be an issue. If feeding grass hay, calcium can be a problem.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

04/01/2025

Question:
I have a first time yearling finn x ewe that lambed 03/25/2025 delivered twins unassisted-went to check her udder-it was pliable but had bloody milk coming out of the left teat-brite red! (not clumpy) Milked her out & put her on durapen -she is eating & has plenty of milk & lambs are fine. Milk is still bloody but not as bright red. Never had this bloody issue in 30 years of sheep.

Veterinarian Response:
The milk is from a broken blood vessel in the udder that is leaking into the milk sinus. It is not mastitis and has no detrimental effect on the lambs. Sometimes the lambs will avoid that side as the taste is different. If possible force the lambs to nurse that side to prevent mastitis.
It happens probably in 1 out of 200-500 ewes that lamb.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/31/2025

Question:
I've got a yearling ewe that I noticed throwing up a green liquid last fall. The other two ewe lambs would have it on their back kind of thing. Nonetheless, I bred her, now she lambed and still does it. She's only w her lamb at this point. I've put corid in water and on feed. Given probiotics, dewormed w multiple products, and vaccinated w cd and t. All to no avail it seems. Now I have a yearling ram also doing it.

Veterinarian Response:
The green liquid is regurgitation from the rumen. All ruminants regurgitate their feed and “chew their cud”. What is supposed to happen is that when they regurgitate they squeeze the rumen juice out of the bolus of rumen contents and swallow the liquid. Then they chew the feed stuff into smaller particle size as they are mixing it with saliva that buffers the rumen pH. When they drool or expel it out I look for a tooth or swallowing problem.

A WORD OF CAUTION: DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGERS INTO THE MOUTH OF A SHEEP!! The molars are razor sharp. The only way to look at the molars is with two people and a mouth gag and a flashlight so you will not lacerate your fingers.

Sometimes we do not find anything and the sheep will continue to regurgitate fluid without any apparent other problems. In those cases we ignore it.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/28/2025

Question:
We have several orphan goat kids that we are currently bottle feeding 4oz- 4 times a day. We are wanting to switch to ad lib feeding. We having been feeding on a bottle for about 2week at the oldest to a week with the youngest. Their avg weight is 7lbs. We have had problems with over eating before. I just want to know the best way to transition them to ad lib feeding without killing them all.

Nutritionist Response:
First thing I would do is up the amount per feeding. Second I assume these kids have been vaccinated for overeating. I would do that weekly or every other week. I would feed them their regular bottles and than put in the cold feeding bucket. You need to make sure the milk is cold 40 degrees. I might also add some yogurt to help with bloat.

We have a new goat kid super starter. Lamb & Kid Starter Feed I would offer kids that or a similar starter dry diet.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

20% protein mini-pellet starter ration for lambs and goat kids. Highly digestible, energy packed and medicated for optimal nutrition.

03/27/2025

Question:
I have a pregnant ewe (Katahdin/Dorper/St Croix mix) who is bagged up and who, on Thursday was pawing the ground and pushing for several hours. We jugged her up, but she has not gone into hard labor. I have examined her. Her cervix doesn't seem to be dilated. She does seem to be prolapsing slightly. She's in no distress and eating fine, but I'm concerned. This is a 3 or 4 year old ewe who has no history of lambing problems and who raised triplets last year. Any advise as to how to proceed would be appreciated.

Veterinarian Response:
The straining is likely associated with the prolapse. Depending on the severity of the prolapse you could wait or you could use a spoon / retainer to keep it in until she lambs. When the ewe passes a water bag she will be committed to lambing. You may want to use banamine (flunixin) to minimize swelling associated with the prolapse.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/26/2025

Question:
When is the best age to castrate ram lambs? Does it affect the sell price if ram lambs are castrated? When I band ram lambs is there some medicine I should give?

Veterinarian Response:
The best time to castrate is earlier the better. Many producers will castrate in the first few weeks of life. If you are banding them administer a dose of CD/T (I recommend the Vision brand) at the time of banding to prevent tetanus. The cheerio style bands can be used up to about 4 weeks of age. After that it gets difficult to get the testicles through the band. When they are larger you may have to use a cattle ba**er.

Leaving ram lambs intact or castrating is really dependent on the market that you are selling to. Certain ethnic/religious markets may prefer intact ram lambs or others, such as the conventional domestic market, will offer a higher price for castrated rams. I suggest that you explore your potential markets.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/25/2025

Question:
Hello, several of my best Royal White ewes have developed cysts on their jaws just behind their mouths (normally just 1 cyst per ewe). I 1st saw it last year, and suspecting it to be a symptom of parisitism, I treated as such and they disappeared. I now have 2 with it persisting again even after parasite treatment. Is this parasitism or is it another type of disease symptom?

Veterinarian Response:
Push hard on the swelling with your thumb for 3-5 seconds, if after you release your thumb you can still see an indentation where your thumb was for a few seconds it is pitting edema or "bottle jaw". This is fluid in the tissues from low blood protein from a heavy parasite load. When you kill the parasites it may still take 1-2 weeks for sheep to replenish the blood protein.

While bottle jaw is an indicator of a heavy parasite load it should not be used as a measure of success that your dewormer was effective. Rather you should have a f***l sample checked after deworming to be sure that it is clean and free of eggs. Your local Veterinarian can do this.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/24/2025

Question:
In goats, what would be causing abortions from 80 to 90 days post breeding? We typically give tetracycline shots at 90 days, 105 days, and 120 days post breeding. However we have started noticing some abortions prior to that first tetracycline shot.

Veterinarian Response:
There about 10 different causes of abortion in goats. I recommend that you vaccinate for Chlamydia, Campylobacter and Leptosirosis. If you get and aborted fetuses you need to submit them to a Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. Try to have a stable adult cat population to minimize risk of Toxoplamosis.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/21/2025

Question:
Regarding Campylocater Fetus-Jejuni Bacterin.
I was recently told that I need to vaccinate my flock of Boer Does with this product to help in preventing an abortion storm as several producers in the area have dealt with them recently. However, my buck has been in for ~3 weeks now and has not put new crayon marks on any does. Is this product safe to give POST breeding as the label says to give PRIOR to breeding but then to give a follow up shot 60-90 days? I don't want to give them the shot and it cause the very thing I'm trying to prevent.

Veterinarian Response:
It is a killed vaccine so you will not give them campylobacter. Generally we give the first dose prior to breeding and the booster in mid gestation as per label directions. Believe it or not many producers have been in the same situation as you. Females recently bred but not vaccinated. In these herds we give the first dose of vaccine 60 days after the ram or bucks are turned in and the booster 30 days later.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/20/2025

Question:
We run a targeted grazing business using goats. Last year we ran all wethers. Do these coming two year old wethers need a CD&T shot?

Nutritionist Response:
No they would not need a CD/T shot unless you plan to grain them some. Generally the stuff they are eating on targeted grazing is not that high of quality to cause problems with over eating. If you really over graze an area to control some species and then move to fresh area that has lots of forage they will over consume. However there is not much energy. I have seen range ewes overeat on alfalfa hay. So the risk is not too great for enterotoxemia unless you force them to over graze and they are real hungry when turned in to fresh area.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies