Neutered tomorrow

[Nanno]

Just checked on my guy a few minutes ago and his heart is pounding like a hammer. It's pretty fast, but not at all thin and thready. It sounds as though it's going to beat its way right out of his chest! He's not breathing hard. I took his temperature earlier and it was normal, but his ears feel cold. I suppose this is all due to pain and depression, but if anything sounds fishy to anyone, please let me know.

I doubt he'll eat anything tonight. Once he lays down he doesn't want to move at all and his hay is outside. Hopefully he'll get his appetite back when he sees all the other goats come down for breakfast in the morning.

[Nanno]

Glad it went well, although I also am a fan of the Burdizzo...

That sounds ideal, but I don't have one myself and no one at the vet clinic I use is competent with it. The vet who started the clinic used a burdizzo on two of his own goats. One of them died the next day and the other one was going downhill fast, so he ended up doing surgery anyway. I don't know what went wrong, whether he used the wrong size tool or what, but he never visited that option again and didn't encourage any of the other vets at his office to try. Seeing how things went for him, I don't think I'd want him near any of my goats with a burdizzo either!

[Taffy]

Poor Pac-Man. I sure hope he feels better quickly.

Just checked on my guy a few minutes ago and his heart is pounding like a hammer. It's pretty fast, but not at all thin and thready. It sounds as though it's going to beat its way right out of his chest! He's not breathing hard. I took his temperature earlier and it was normal, but his ears feel cold. I suppose this is all due to pain and depression, but if anything sounds fishy to anyone, please let me know.

I doubt he'll eat anything tonight. Once he lays down he doesn't want to move at all and his hay is outside. Hopefully he'll get his appetite back when he sees all the other goats come down for breakfast in the morning.

[SMaxwell]

If he's not bleeding and he doesn't have a fever or a weak pulse my guess would be he's just reacting to the stress. I would say the behavior and appetite loss are normal. If your worried call Dave, he's probably still up delivering kids!

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Glad it went well, although I also am a fan of the Burdizzo...

That sounds ideal, but I don't have one myself and no one at the vet clinic I use is competent with it. The vet who started the clinic used a burdizzo on two of his own goats. One of them died the next day and the other one was going downhill fast, so he ended up doing surgery anyway. I don't know what went wrong, whether he used the wrong size tool or what, but he never visited that option again and didn't encourage any of the other vets at his office to try. Seeing how things went for him, I don't think I'd want him near any of my goats with a burdizzo either!

Wow! Scary! I did a ton of research before I bought and used mine and I didn't read about any goats dying, that's crazy, Wonder what he did? Maybe it had something to do with some type of medication or painkiller he gave them?? Maybe he did the scrotum all the way across instead of one side at a time. Don't know exactly what that would do but that is the big no no you are not supposed to do. The worst I read about was that it was unsuccessful and had to be re-done or surgically done.
Hopefully your guy will feel better tomorrow.

[Nanno]

I checked on Pac-Man through the night and he never ate or drank anything or moved more than to scoot into different laying down positions. But he was bright-eyed and perky this morning even if he still wasn't hungry. He showed a tiny bit of interest in his hay when he saw the other goats eating their breakfast on the other side of the fence. I eventually forced him to come out of his doghouse so I could get a good look at him and give him his probiotics and meds. No swelling or blood, but he was stiff and started shivering as soon as I took his blanket off. I brought him into the basement for an hour or so by the fire so he could warm up. That's when he finally started looking better--exploring the nooks and crannies, dipping his head into feed bags (he didn't want to eat anything, but I was glad to see he was interested), and his ears finally felt warm again. They were like little icebergs all night.

Eventually he stood by the door and told me he wanted to go out. I could tell he wanted to be with the other goats, so I let him. I'm going to separate him again tonight, but for now he seems to be happy to be allowed to putter around with everyone else enjoying the sunshine and doing goat things. I have a feeling he'll start eating and drinking sooner if he's with the others. Hopefully he stays out of Cuzco's way. But Cuzco doesn't pick fights (he just finishes them), so I'm not too worried about that. Lilly is actually the main reason I probably won't let him be with the other goats at night for a few days. She's the queen of cheap shots, especially if she knows someone can't hit her back.

Daisy was very concerned about Pac-Man last night when I brought him home. I could tell she was nervous when I took one of her goats away in the truck and she got so excited when I brought him back. She jumped up in the bed and sniffed him from nose to tail. Her face clouded over when she smelled blood on his hind legs and she licked it off. She then came up and licked him on the face and head as if to say, "I'm so sorry you're hurt!". I can tell she's been worried about Pac-Man all night, and she was very excited to see him when I pulled him out of his hut this morning. She actually barked! One jubilant little woof. It's awesome to have a dog that gets genuinely concerned when one of my goats is gone or injured. It gives me warm fuzzies inside.

[Nanno]

Pac-Man has spent a lot of the day sleeping it off. The fastest way to recovery methinks.
   

Today Pac-Man graduated to a Big Boy collar. It's one of Cuzco's cast-offs, but I thought it looked good even if it is a little beat up.
   

[Taffy]

I'm so glad to hear he is doing okay. It looks like he and Cuzco were really enjoying the sunshine. Wow - a "big boy collar." They grow up too quickly! I see Cuzco even has studs on his collar.

[Nanno]

I see Cuzco even has studs on his collar.

Cuzco always has studs on his collar.

[Huckleberry]

Glad he's doing well! And look at that sunshine!!

[Nanno]

I'm happy to report that Pac-Man is a completely different goat than the pitiful creature shivering in the goat hut last night. When Phil and I went out to do a final check this evening he came out of his house and stood eagerly at the gate wagging his tail and begging for cookies, which of course we doled out liberally. He'd eaten about half his hay and seemed in very good spirits apart from being kind of lonely. He squirmed and tried to run away when I put his coat on. I'm sure he doesn't need it tonight, but I'm a fussy goat mother and wouldn't let him go to bed without one. Phil made fun of me. The poor goat baa-aa-ed pathetically when we finally turned out the lights and said goodnight. But it only took him a minute or so to settle down and go back to bed. I thought I might have to keep him separated for several more nights, but it looks like he should be back in the big goat pen tomorrow.