# HEELLPP severe case of what i believe is goat polio!!



## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

Please help, my goat Merlin he appears to have goat polio.When i came out this morning to see him he was laying on his side with his neck bent backwards towards his back. He has no control of his limbs or neck,even his eyes are not moving. He has blinked a few times though. I have him wrapped up (it is cold outside) and i am constantly checking on him. I read that you can use vitamin b1 and an anti inflammatory shot to help save him but i can not get either as we do not have a vet where we can get to and i am only 16 and cant pay the costs. Please let me know if this is something else or if there is something else that can help him!!Oh and since he was born hes had poor motor skills with his back legs,rarely using them and walking only on his front legs. Please,please,pleaseeeee help!!!!!!!!!!!!!ray:ray:ray:ray:ray: ray: hes scaringray:ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

could be goat polio coule be meningeal worm or listeriousis. The only way he is going to get better is by getting a barrage of drugs into him...now...BUT they are not prescription. You need penicillen, thiamine and ivomec as well as CD antitoxen if you can find it because his gut is going to be impacted. Fortified B complex would help too. You need to get high doses of pen in him as well as thiamine. How old is he and how much does he weigh?


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## OGYC_Laura (Jan 9, 2014)

They sale Thiamin B1 at walmart in pill form for humans. It costs less than $4. Crush up two and tube feed them down his throat. If you have molasses or redcell tube feed a couple of ounces of that too. Some warm coffee will help warm him from the inside out and give him energy. Either drench or tube feed him electrolytes with one or two crushed B1 every six hours for a day or two after he is 100%.
This is what I did for mine that I found last week.
I then did a fecal to determine what caused the polio.


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

while using the capusules too can't hurt...b-complex injectables from farm supply stores have thiamine and you are best to buy the one with the most thiamine you can find and inject an amount that will give you enough thiamine by weight...he's gonna pee out what he doesn't need injectable will get it where he needs it faster


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

Here is the dosage for thiamine....from tennesse meat goats @ http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/listeriosis.html

Dosage is based on the goat's weight (4-1/2 cc per 100 pounds liveweight for 100 mg/ml thiamine) and must be given every six hours on a 24-hour cycle until all symptoms have disappeared completely to avoid relapse. Thiamine, like all B vitamins, is water soluable, so the goat eliminates daily what it doesn't utilize in the rumen. A sick goat's rumen doesn't produce B vitamins, hence the importance of adding them to the goat each day until it gets well. Initially thiamine should be given IM (into the muscle) but can be given SQ (subcutaneously) or even orally after several days of treatment. Some thiamine comes in 500 mg/ml strength, making the required dosage 1 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight. If thiamine is unavailable but the producer has injectable multiple B vitamins, check the label for how much thiamine (Vitamin B1) is present. Fortified Vitamin B Complex contains 100 mg/ml of thiamine, so the 4-1/2 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight dosage is appropriate. Injectable multiple B vitamins containing only 25mg/ml of thiamine require four times the 100mg/ml dosage (18-1/2 cc) per 100 pounds bodyweight, so the producer can quickly see the importance of obtaining the proper strength of injectable B vitamins. The key to overcoming Goat Polio is early diagnosis and treatment. Complete recovery is possible under such circumstances. Since symptoms of Goat Polio can easily look like Listeriosis, this writer recommends that procaine pencillin also be used. Better to cover both possible illnesses with appropriate treatments when symptoms are so similar than risk the goat's dying. Administer high doses of procaine penicillin (300,000 International Unit strength) every six hours on a 24-hour basis until all symptoms have disappeared and another 24 hours have passed. Higher-than-normal dosage of procaine penicillin is needed to cross the blood brain barrier to put sufficient amounts of the antibiotic into the tissue of the goat's central nervous system. A chart of dosage by bodyweight accompanies this article. Give this medication SQ over the ribs with an 18 gauge needle so that the goat doesn't become a pin cushion of holes from repeated injections. Very Important: Continue all treatment until 24 hours *after* the last symptom has disappeared to avoid a relapse.

As you can see in order of importance: GEt thiamine in him. If you can, get procaine Penicillen into him...just in case you can also add antitoxen (since his gut WILL be stressed) and do Ivomec in case of deerworm if he started with weak back legs. Thiamine is your number one objective here...dig through what you've got if you have to and see if any supplements have thimine in them...many pastes and gells do...just until you can get some. Do be careful not to OD on minerals that would cause problems like selenium in the process though....


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

hallsthirdacrefarm gave good advice...

Also get his temp
check for anemia 
http://goat-link.com/content/view/110/107/#.UuGZn2TnbR0
Get him hydrated even if you have to drench or tube him..

Best wishes


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

Thank you all for your answers! I going to get to work, now that yallhave given me more obtainable things to use!ill update yall asap


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

OH! and hes about 7 and a half months old,and iam unsure of his weight give me a few and ill let yall know


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

I have found a daily energy vitamin from my moms stuff, its contains 3 mg of thiamine, But it also has 45 mcg of selenium, is that too much selenium for him? and are there any others i need to check for accidently ODing him?


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

there are two otehrs one is a weight trim with 1.9 mg in it and a multi vitamin with 1.5 mg in it, yet they have 50 mcg and 70 mcg of selenium.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Definitely keep him warm and relaxed..... vit. B pills will be an added benefit, but I agree that with how bad the situation is, he has to get b complex by injection.
I'm honestly surprised he's still alive after the way you described him .......
Hoping all goes well for you......


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

They won't work, you need something with at least 100mg of Thiamin in it.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The weak hind legs from birth sounds very much like Swayback from his mom being severely copper deficient. Sometimes this can progress as the kid gets older.


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

oh ok thank you i am having my dad pick up some of the pills on the way home from work, i am still searching for something with more thiamine in it, and ohh,yeah and his twin didnt have the same thing after we seperated him from all of our goats he got a tad better. thannk yall for all this help


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Why not have your dad pick up a bottle of Fortified B Complex injectable instead? It won't cost much more and then you will have what you truly need. Make sure he know you need the the Fortified not the high level.


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## OGYC_Laura (Jan 9, 2014)

The fortified B complex and Penn G would both cost less than $40 at TSC if your dad is willing and that would be best!!
I was just giving the cheapest option...


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## whoami (Mar 20, 2013)

Oh okay thanks and yeah i told him to get the injectable if he found it but its no useanyway i just lost my angel  he held on for as long as he could, i wish i could of saved him.... ((( thanks to all who helped, i dont think ill ever forget my little Merlino


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## Rhandi74 (Dec 6, 2013)

So sorry for your loss :hug:


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

Honestly even with the meds he was probably on his way out...you did everything you could for your little man and stayed with him...which is what matters. I had to pt my boy down this month too...it's not fun for sure...but you never regret having had them either...


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

So sorry...you sure tried....hugs


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Oh, so sorry .......things like this happen, but what matters is that you did your best for him and didn't just give up on him.
We all have our learning experiences, good and bad.......


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm sorry for your loss.


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