# My goats tail



## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

Someone or something cut the tail off my 4 month old boer goat. Poor guy is hurting so bad. We can't find the tail anywhere and have no idea what happened. We put some blu-cote on it and he is laying down now. I don't know what else to do.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

Poor baby! Is he bleeding bad? Give some banamine if you have any for the pain. I would suggest aspirin, but it's a blood thinner and we want bleeding to stop, not increase. Can you post a picture? If its very bad, I would consider putting him down..


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## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

It's not bleeding now. Really,,put him down? That sounds kind of drastic. Won't he do ok with out it?


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

karenlock said:


> It's not bleeding now. Really,,put him down? That sounds kind of drastic. Won't he do ok with out it?


If its not bleeding, and he's not in shock, and it doesn't get infected then putting him down wouldn't be a good choice. But if he's very shocky, in a lot of pain, and you don't think he'll recover well, then it's time to make the call about whether its in his best interest. Don't give up just yet.

My main concern would be infection and gangrene.


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## thomcarol (Feb 3, 2012)

Oh no! I can't imagine having a goat come up with no tail. I don't know if you have LGD, but someone I talked to recently said one of his babies got stuck in the fence somehow and the dog tried to get him out of it by pulling on his tail and he chewed it off in the process. I hope he's better soon.


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## sunshinegoat (Feb 7, 2012)

If he's not bleeding now and you can wash the wound then do so. Use betadine scrub or novalsan..some sort of foaming veterinary cleanser..clip away as much hair around the wound as possible. Use warm water on a sterile, or at least clean cloth and gently scrub the wound w/ circular motions starting in the center and working your way out.
If there is anything left to wrap...bandage it with sterile gauze and wrap with vet wrap.
Give him some sort or antibiotic..Penicillin is easily available at the feed store.
He'll need a cookie when you are done..you deserve one too.. good luck


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Poor thing! Just keep it clean and he should be okay ... hugs :hug:


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## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

How much is missing and is the bone sticking out? I would just do as sunshinegoat said as far as cleaning it really well and then wrap it up so it doesn't get dirty/infected. 
We had a buck that used to sleep underneath our horse all the time. She stepped on him one day and ripped the end of his tail off, just the skin and the bone was hanging out. It happened late, so we had to tie the finger of a latex glove around the tail to stop bleeding and wrapped it up. The vet came the next day and cut the bone off, cleaned him up and put a couple stitches in it. He was prefectly fine, when the hair grew back in around his tail you could barely notice it was shorter.


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## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

Most all the tail is gone. I didn't see any bone just raw meat. He is in his pen now. In the morning we will give him some aspirin. I don't think there is anything to wrap, but maybe we can tell more tomorrow. Thank you all for the advice. We have never had a goat before so this is all new. He is just another of our pets. He thinks he is a dog and doesn't understand why he can't come in e house when they do.


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## Jodi_berg (Oct 29, 2012)

If you can afford a trip to the vet it would be a good ideal, for some pain meds and care. I don't think putting him down would be necessary, after all the tail is really not essential,although very cute. Poor baby,as long as you control infection he should be okay.


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## sunshinegoat (Feb 7, 2012)

If you have a livestock vet around he may be able to come out and stitch it...If you can't wrap it, just keep it clean if you can't get him to the vet. Keeping infection away is key. I usually clean wounds once or twice a day...just don't re-open it if it has stopped bleeding. BE GENTLE!
Our doe severed the tendons in her ear last spring and it was hanging..my husband sewed it back on with dental floss...God love him! We were vet techs at a large and small animal hospital and have strong stomachs.
Good luck with your buddy


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## ksevern (Dec 12, 2012)

What kind and how many dogs do you have? They may have 'caught' him by the tail...


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Poor baby. How say but I have to say putting him down because of this is a little extreme. I would wash it the best you can but to tell you the truth, I am not sure I would touch it or rub it. He is in a lot of pain and that would be so much worse. 

yep keep him locked up tonight and give him all the hay he would like and make sure he has fresh water, maybe even Molasses water. He is in pain so he will stop drinking. Encourage him to drink. If you have any like spray lydacaine I would try to spray the tip to help numb it a little.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How is he today?

I would give a CD&T shot, if he hasn't had one in a while or just a tetanus shot.

If there is no bone sticking out, it should heal up on it's own. Not sure, if it should be wrapped, it may trap bacteria. Just keep him in a clean area for a while and give him something for pain. Make sure, he is eating and drinking water. Watch for infection. Also, you can give antibiotics to him to help fight infection.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I was looking for this post so I could see if there was a update.

How is he doing?


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

you might need a tetanus shot to be sure. poor baby.
Oops looking back I see Pam already mentioned the shot.


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

Tetnas shot and keep it clean. I would give banamine for pain and watch him closely. I'd look into stitching it but other wise keep it clean and dry. I know whose young LGD did that to a show goat... The dog was a pup and wanted to play.


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## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

Pete seems to be doing ok. We gave him a tetnus shot and some penicillin last night. I dont think there would be anything to stitch up. He still takes a bottle in the morning and he drank that well. I think he will be fine,,just going to take a little while. He is just so sore.Thank you all for the great advice and for checking up on him.


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## Jodi_berg (Oct 29, 2012)

If he is still eating I bet he willbe fine,good job on the tet. And pen. Keep us posted! So glad he's managing,now might be a good time for asprin.


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

Poor baby!! Glad you got the tet shot and pen to him. I personally would not wrap it due to probably seeping and needing to breath. I hope it heals up quickly for him. Did you figure out how it may have happened?


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

I think you got a lot of good info already. Sorry this happened. No need to put him down though. A goat's tale is no different that a dog's tale. It's nice to have but not a necessity. And plenty of dog's have had their tails purposely snipped. Just watch him and take care of him and he will be just fine.

I would definitely try to find out what did this or how it happened to prevent any other future issues.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

mjgh06 said:


> I think you got a lot of good info already. Sorry this happened. No need to put him down though. A goat's tale is no different that a dog's tale. It's nice to have but not a necessity.


Sorry, but I'm starting to get frustrated. I didn't tell her to put him down because he wouldn't have a tail! I said that if It became infected, wouldn't stop bleeding, or he was in bad shock to CONSIDER!


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

HamiltonAcresBoers said:


> Sorry, but I'm starting to get frustrated. I didn't tell her to put him down because he wouldn't have a tail! I said that if It became infected, wouldn't stop bleeding, or he was in bad shock to CONSIDER!


I don't think anyone thought you were implying to put him down just because of his tail. At least I didn't. I think your second post said "If its not bleeding, and he's not in shock, and it doesn't get infected then putting him down wouldn't be a good choice. But if he's very shocky, in a lot of pain, and you don't think he'll recover well, then it's time to make the call about whether its in his best interest. Don't give up just yet. My main concern would be infection and gangrene."

Don't know why you picked on my post but my response was just to let her know the tail is not important part of a goat. She had already stated he wasn't bleeding badly and starting to get better. - therefore no need to put him down.


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

HamiltonAcresBoers said:


> Sorry, but I'm starting to get frustrated. I didn't tell her to put him down because he wouldn't have a tail! I said that if It became infected, wouldn't stop bleeding, or he was in bad shock to CONSIDER!


I don't see where anyone said you implied to have him put down for not having a tail. I read it that if it affected him and he wasn't recovering well then to consider it. I think others were trying to explain their take on it.

I personally don't see anyone downing you for saying it. The something crossed my mind... those type of injuries can send a goat into extreme shock.


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## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

Pete is doing much better today. We had a vet come out and look at him. He said it was cut off. Isn't that sickening?! Scary too. He said that we have done good taking care of him and he should heal in time. Pete was wanting to play when my duh got home so that was a good sign.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

karenlock said:


> Pete is doing much better today. We had a vet come out and look at him. He said it was cut off. Isn't that sickening?! Scary too. He said that we have done good taking care of him and he should heal in time. Pete was wanting to play when my duh got home so that was a good sign.


Sounds like you should be getting something for surveillance. A cheap and effective devise is a game camera, what hunters use. It can help you keep tabs on things. Plus, they're weatherproof, most us SD cards for easy picture retrieval, and can even take infrared/night pictures. Try and disguise it so someone doesn't swipe it to remove evidence.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Cut off? By a human? 

Pardon me as I go find my punching bag ...


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## alpine_fan (Jan 6, 2013)

I had that happen to one of my newborn lambs this past summer. It was our LGD puppy who had taken to tormenting ewes and their lambs. The lamb was in pain but was fine and came back turning into a healthy lamb. Anyways everyone else has already given some great advise. I wouldn't give up on the kid and would watch him to make sure he eats and drinks. I remember having to work with my lamb to keep him eating. 
Just don't give up & good luck


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## LJH (Aug 27, 2012)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> Cut off? By a human?
> 
> Pardon me as I go find my punching bag ...


Or a 12 gauge & some 00 buck ... but that's just me. 

Poor little tyke, I'm glad it's healing OK. :hug:


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## karenlock (Nov 4, 2012)

Believe me,,I would love to find who did it. I still ask myself why? Who could do that? Pete is well on the way to recovery. He has been wanting to play fight with my dh. We just love him so much!


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## IrishRoots (Jan 7, 2013)

Wow... cut off.. some people really suck  I am so glad he is doing better!! :lovey:


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