One of my wethers in surgery at WSU for UC

[CMGifford]

So my goat shelters and pen are about 50 feet outside my back door. At 3:30 in the morning my lab barked and I got up to let him out. He did his business and we went back to bed. Not two minutes later I know my lab herd something and I thought I did too. I went back and opened the door and heard a goat cry out as if it was hurt. At first I thought it was bloat because he was down and looked big  I got him to stand and he layer right back down. So, I left a message for the emergency vet and dialed my good friend from afar, Dwite Sharp. Of course its 2 hours later where Dwite lives but not everyone will answer the phone at 6 am and not be the least bit grumpy. I prepared to drench my boy on Dwite's advice but didn't get far before he stood and stayed standing. After awhile it started to become clear that he was only able to dribble a little urine out at a time. Another call to a new vet contact I made a month ago also answered my call (even though she is visiting family in Arizona and I'm not really a client of hers). 

Long story short the one local vet I really trust to treat my goats was tied up at a particular farm for the whole day. When I found that out I immediately decided I was making the 3 1/2 hour drive to WSU. His bladder was slightly enlarged and oblong but he was still dribbling a bit of urine. Nevertheless he's in surgery now and should be out within the next hour. 

I have been thinking I need to test our water as it clearly has a lot of mineral content. I think this has played a major part in the UC issue but we will be finding out soon as soon as I get home and can get the water tested. 

I'll have to leave my boy here for 5 days or so to see how things go, let him recover and make sure he can per on his own. Positive and healing thoughts are appreciated. Thank you Dwite,  Dr. Lauren Christensen, Dr. Matt Fullwell, for taking my middle of the night calls and to the entire WSU staff for taking care of Journey.

[Charlie Horse]

My nightmare! And isn't it the case that animals get sick on friday night at 4:55pm? I totally wish you the best of luck on this. My goat Bacchus is sick with a heavy worm load. Like you I wasted no time when he seemed 'sad' and off his food and went straight to the vet. I think he's going to be just fine, and I think every goat is getting a good deworming this coming week. Its sure easier to keep track of deworming the horses compared to the goats. Each goat is his own nightmare trying to get that stuff down. The horses actually like their dewormer.

If I were a biology expert I think this is something I'd tackle and cure. My current best idea: Large injection of strong vinegar directly into the bladder to dissolve the stones.

[Nanno]

Oh no! I'm so sorry! Make sure to get those stones tested so you know for sure what you're dealing with. Calcium and phosphorus stones require different management protocols. I'm so glad you didn't try to drench him.

Have you read this thread?
https://www.packgoatcentral.com/forums/s...p?tid=4216

For all of us with wethers (and bucks), this is the worst thing we worry about. I hope Journey pulls through. How old is he by the way?

[Taffy]

I'm so sorry Journey got UC! It's a nightmare! Hugs and prayers for all of you.

[CMGifford]

Oh no! I'm so sorry! Make sure to get those stones tested so you know for sure what you're dealing with. Calcium and phosphorus stones require different management protocols. I'm so glad you didn't try to drench him.

Have you read this thread?
https://www.packgoatcentral.com/forums/s...p?tid=4216

For all of us with wethers (and bucks), this is the worst thing we worry about. I hope Journey pulls through. How old is he by the way?

I had read that post before but need to read it again for sure. Journey is quite young....20 months old. 
I'm happy to say that the surgery went very well and he is doing good, he ate a few bites of food and was being his usually super sweet self for the staff. He let them ice his incision site and is being very cooperative. He should be able to come home Wednesday if all continues to go well.
They removed a lot of stones from his bladder and got all that they could see. They suspect they are calcium carbonate stones but they will be sent for analysis once they find a lab that will take them (University of Minnesota usually takes theirs but COVID seems to be interfering with that). 
Thank you for the concern and well wishes

[Charlie Horse]

Congrats! It sounds like you did everything that needed to be done to make for a great outcome.

[Saph]

Thanks for the update. WSU is such an excellent facility, how fortunate for you (& Journey) that you made the decision to bring him there as quickly as you did! Sending Journey many positive vibes for a healthy future!--Saph

[Nanno]

I had read that post before but need to read it again for sure. Journey is quite young....20 months old. 
I'm happy to say that the surgery went very well and he is doing good, he ate a few bites of food and was being his usually super sweet self for the staff. He let them ice his incision site and is being very cooperative. He should be able to come home Wednesday if all continues to go well.
They removed a lot of stones from his bladder and got all that they could see. They suspect they are calcium carbonate stones but they will be sent for analysis once they find a lab that will take them (University of Minnesota usually takes theirs but COVID seems to be interfering with that). 
Thank you for the concern and well wishes

I'm glad Journey came through his surgery ok. I hope he makes a remarkable recovery and never looks back! If they are calcium stones then I don't think ammonium chloride will do anything to prevent them from building up in the future. From the thread I posted a while back, it seems that supplementing magnesium might be a good way to go with that type. Hopefully there's a lab that will analyze them. The fellow I know who lost his goat to UC this past summer was able to get his analyzed, and I'm going to guess it was at CSU. That would be a good one to ask.

[Taffy]

You can have blood drawn to do mineral analysis on your goats.  It will give you a baseline to know if your feed and mineral supplements are giving your goats what they need.

[CMGifford]

He's doing great in recovery. This was in ICU but he was blood levels and kidney function are real good so they took him off IV and moved him out of ICU.