# Eye problem in doe



## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

I've got a young doe, about a year and a half old, and something weird is going on with her eye. One day last week it was just white, the whole eye. There was nothing lodged in it. I don't recall there being discharge either. It was tender that day as well. I've been putting penicillin in her eye twice a day and the white part has receded and is being replaced with red, and the white part is now bulging outward, like kinda cone-shaped. Still not runny at all, and doesn't seem tender anymore. No other goats are having any eye problems.









Her other eye is normal, nothing out of the ordinary. 








Also the first day, the membranes were a bit red and puffy, but today they seem quite normal. 








A bit veiny under he top eyelid, but I totally forgot to check the good eye for comparison. And you can see the brown ring around the eye, seems to me that that's where the outline of the iris was when it was normal. 








From the side you can see how the white part bulges out. 








So does anyone know what this might be? I've had goats before with stuff in their eye and it's turned white, then goes normal after it's cleaned out and healed, but that was always something like a seed head. The fine stuff is in everyone's eyes as it's a raised feeder and there's no way to avoid that. Is it possible that something migrated into the eyeball and the eye has encapsulated it? That might explain why it seems to be coming to a point and protruding.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I would contact a vet..........that looks bad.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Is it possible you missed earlier symptoms, or did it start with the whiteness? I've never had an eye infection in a goat, but my alpacas get them. If you can, I'd definitely recommend seeing a vet for that. If the eye ulcerates, it's apparently very very bad. With the eye coming to a point, I'd be very concerned about it "popping". 

I had one case with an alpaca where I missed the early signs, couldn't get the vet out for a couple days, utimately got the vet out just in time to prevent disaster. It took aggressive treatment at that point, injectable antibiotics along with rx eye ointment several times/day, and the vet still wasn't sure if we'd save the eye.


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## Sylvie (Feb 18, 2013)

Could she have pinkeye? (Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis)

A couple pictures I found:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Inf...2tyAT0mIKIDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=667


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Looks like some bad pinkeye. Get some LA200 and squirt about a 1/4cc in her eye (needleless syringe!), every day until her eye is cleared up.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Thanks, that's what I was thinking but I have no experience with pinkeye so I didn't realize there are non-contagious forms. I examined the entire herd again this morning and everyone's eyes are normal. Not sure why the poor girl got it, since I can't find anything lodged in her eye. 
I've done some reading in regards to it being ulcerated and I read that a vet would prescribe a triple action antibiotic eye ointment for this, and I happen to have that already so I started using it last night. I'm also giving her oxytetracycline injections now. Also, a vet might sew the lid down to protect the eye if it can't be closed properly, but it is nowhere close to being so big that she can't blink normally. I'm going to give her a couple days to see if it improves, as she is acting completely normal and the eye doesn't seem to be causing her any discomfort, and because from what I've read there isn't much more that a vet will do that I'm not doing already.

Here's a photo from this morning. Hard to tell from the photo, but in person it does seem to look less red today. I'll keep putting the ointment in a few times a day and hopefully there will be a big improvement tomorrow.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

I think it's pink eye. It looks just like the pictures that Sylive linked to. I've heard they can completely recover. Which I hope is true, because I have a doe with that too. Same thing, in that no other goats were affected. I treated my doe religiously for about a week, but it seemed to do nothing, so I quit. A friend of mine said she had a doe that had it in both eyes, she was completely blind, and she completely recovered, but it took over two weeks. My doe's eye is no longer tearing, swollen, painful and I *think* is going to recover. She seems to have gained sight back in the eye as I can't catch her easily on that side like before. We'll see.
Great pictures, BTW, Hodgson. Good luck.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I'd be interested to know if your doe gets better tenacross....and yours to Hodgson...I admittedly have never seen pink eye in a goat. Can you get some Veterycin Pink Eye spray? I know they sell that at my TSC....
Something like this... http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/equine-wound--infection-16oz-spray?cm_vc=-10005h


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

Here is another recent thread that may help. http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f186/please-help-173185/

In post #9 Jessica mentioned sunlight and a diy patch. 
http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f186/please-help-173185/


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

I don't think I need an eye patch because it's always overcast and gloomy here this time of year, but I'll put her in the barn if it does turn sunny. That's funny about gluing the patch to the hair though. Inventive!
I wonder if getting poked in the eye with a stiff stem of hay could have irritated it enough to turn into pinkeye? I have raised feeders with 4" spacing between bars and they really try to force their heads in between. They're not happy that I made it so hard for them to waste hay. Lol
The ointment I have is from the vet, I got several tubes when my Saint Bernard had eye surgery and I checked the tube and it's exactly what's recommended for bad pinkeye. I've just got a bit left but I'm definitely going to get more to keep on hand. 
I know she can't see out of that eye at all, but hopefully it recovers. If it was both, that would be so much worse. The first day that she couldn't see, the poor thing was hiding and scared, didn't want to come out of the shelter. I made her come out and she realized that she can see after all if she turns her head. Lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

No, not from injury.

Use LA2000 drops in the eye, that eye is severe, this will kill the pinkeye for sure and quickly, it does burn, but subsides quickly.
With pinkeye, it must be treated as soon as it begins. 

Sunlight makes pinkeye worse, within days the eye is dead. 

Whenever you see a spot starting of cloudiness start treatment. Check the eye for scratches, ulcerations or foreign objects.
The longer left untreated, it kills the eye, the eye will explode and the goat will always have the ulceration look or blown out eye. 
I have to warn you, it may be too late to regain all site and look of a normal eye. But we must kill the pinkeye so no further harm is done.

Old time ranchers for cattle actually will inject LA200 behind the eye, not sure if all vets know how to do this, but if one knows, I would have it done. 
Do not however do it yourself, or have someone who doesn't know what they are doing, this technique is used to kill the pinkeye quicker to try to save the eye, along with the LA200 drops.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Ok thanks, I'll put the LA200 in her eye from now on. 
It does look better today, and if the light shines just right I think I can see the cones and rods of the iris again.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Well I've been putting the LA200 in her eye several times daily this whole time. Last week the ulceration was quite large. It was the same shape and size of the pupil, hard to the touch, protruding almost to the point that the lid was barely covering it and it looked like a zit getting ready to pop. Lol. Luckily it didn't pop, but I was ready to take her in to get the eye removed if it did. 
Today there is a big improvement. I think the eyeball is going to be okay. Not sure if she can see with it anymore, but the iris and pupil are visible once again so it appears the eyeball is trying to repair itself. She did seem to be more alert of things on that side of her face today, but maybe I'm just hoping too much and imagined it. I didn't have time to test her, too many other winter chores to do today. Tomorrow hopefully.

Here's a photo of the eye today. You can see that the ulceration has shrunk dramatically, and the iris is only slightly misshaped now. It's looking better every day!








I wish I would have taken one last week. It really did look like it was damaged beyond repair. Just this hard, well-defined, rectangular thing attached to her pupil. I'm still not sure what kind of pinkeye or how she got it, but it's definitely not contagious so that's a relief.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Yay! My doe is better as well.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Good to hear!


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Turns out she's not blind! She can see my hand now.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Do you have an updated photo of her eye? Hows the vision and are you still using the LA200?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That is Awesome news, I believe in LA200


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

I'll get another photo tomorrow but it looks pretty good. Still using the LA 200 and she does seem to see, not sure how well yet because it's still got a cloudy patch.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Her eye today. Just a bit of cloudiness lingering and her vision seems to be normal.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Nice! Thats looking really really good.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Lots of gunk sticking to the hair on her face from all the meds. I'll clean that up once she's totally healed. Looks gross. Lol


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

small price to pay for a healing eye!  How much la200 are you putting in her eye and how often? This is some really good information.


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

About 1cc twice a day. I hold it wide open and get it in there good, making sure she rolls her eye around a bit before I let it close. Gets all around the eyeball that way and the excess just runs out.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Nice job!
Thanks for the photos and information. This is a valuable thread.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I just went through this myself. We were on vacation but luckily my son did get Neosporin into her eyes right away. That may have saved her sight. When we got home she was completely blind. I got on here and found out about the LA200 and started using that right away. A good squirt in each eye 2x a day. We had already started PenG so continued for the full five days. (Do not know if that helped or not.) She has now regained full use of one eye and the other is improving. Glad yours has gotten better as well. I was so worried the blindness would be permanent and she is pregnant.
At least now I know what to do at the first sign of trouble. None of my other goats got infected either.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice work, looks good.


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