Yesterday I had my goat castrated. I was a little surprised that they left the sack open. The vet said it was so it would drain and it would heal up fine by itself.

My concern is the goat has laid/sat down on the ground and there are small pieces of slate rock in the wound. I was going to remove them but the goat does not want me touching the area - he runs off. How important is it to keep the wound clean? I'll have to get help if I need to clean it. How often should it be cleaned?

 

You come up with some doozies!! Don't think it is unnatural for him to not want you messing with him down there, either. I would suspect the area in question will fall off eventually as it is dead skin (or will be), and I don't think the vet would have left it exposed to the elements if he/she thought it would be a problem. I would have used docking rings, but to each his own. Even in that case it all falls off due to lack of blood anyway.

 

I'm not sure how it will look when healed. They were cut off, not banded. I should have gotten him fixed earlier but I didn't get around to it

I've heard Wonder Dust is good to dust the wound with so I'll go to TSC and get some. The goat seems to be mad at me - I wonder why

 

How about calling the vet and getting a professional opinion?

 

The vet didn't leave me with a lot of confidence. When he 1st tied them off, the thread didn't hold and the goat lost a pint or so of blood. He retied them and then charged me double because he had to do it twice

The goat isn't eating or drinking a lot but seems to be doing ok. He's definitely mad at me [won't hardly let me near him] which complicates trying to see if it's healing ok.

 

As long as he isn't bleeding (you may have to use binoculars if he won't let you close) indicates he isn't straining the area. Yeah, younger the easier. Docking rings as opposed to cutting him.

 

Mark - If this guy has horns, I wouldn't turn my back on him. Think if the situation were reversed and he was in charge of your stuff.

 

Oh, I understand why he no longer likes me!

I meant to take care of this back in the spring or a little earlier and time got away from me..... and yes he has horns and isn't afraid to use them

 

Marksr,

I would call the vet's office and ask about care...despite his apparent lack of experience. I have always seen/helped with banding of goats, not surgical removal, it's much less traumatic that way, or so I was taught.

Another good thing to try would be to check with any locals who have goats. They will most likely be able to tell you how to take care of the ex-billie, and would also be able to recommend a good goat vet, because to me it sounds like the vet you have is not up to speed/par.

You do need to keep an eye on him, as best you can, until he heals up though, and it sounds like you will have a rough time of cleaning out the wound, which is something I would definitely want to do unless otherwise instructed by a vet familiar with the procedure(s)

 

The vet I used was the closest one I could find that would work on a goat and it was a 45 min drive. The next nearest one I know of is about twice as far

I agree it would be best to clean the wound but I'll definitely need to round up some help. I've bought some of the Wonder Dust but I've had a difficult time getting it on the wound. From what I've since learned, if the vet had mentioned or advised using the WD, it would have been a simple job to apply it while the goat was still drugged..... but he did give the goat both a tetanus and penicillin shots - maybe he figured that was enough. His only concern was that the bleeding might not stop, and it has.

 

Marksr,

Well hopefully there's someone around that can give you a hand. I am surprised there isn't more vets in your area that work on small livestock, such as goats. I would still try to get a hold of some local folks who have goats, and see what they have to say.

Do keep us posted, and I am glad the bleeding isn't an issue.

 

mark is out in the boonies. I'd wager many of the local folks do their own doctoring..including castration..since banding can be a DIY thing as I understand. I remember a teacher I had in elementary school who raised sheep and he did almost all his own things like that...tails, cojones, etc.

 

Not exactly the boonies closer to town than I care for but further from town than my wife likes Also the narrow curvy roads make traveling slower than anywhere else I've lived.

There's no shortage of small animal vets around here but not many for large animals.... probably because most of the farmers are self sufficient. I was going to get him banded earlier but my wife kept insisting that was cruel - don't know why I listened to her guess I like eating supper too much

I assume the goat is doing ok. He's not as active as before but he has enough energy to stay out of my reach. Wonder how long he'll stay mad at me.

 

"Wonder how long he'll stay mad at me."


Elderly friend of mine did this to a big ol' pig years ago.....pig laid in a mud puddle for 3 days. Not sure about goats.

 

Ahh...I was prob thinking of Larry....but yer both way further out than I am.

 

Yep, but I don't have goats. Have too many fruit trees, blueberries and grapes to let one of them monsters loose. I do hear they are good eatin', though! Taste like.........goat!

 

A good portion of the fenced in area for the goat is where the power line comes up the hill. He does a good job of keeping the vegetation down. A lot of that side of the hill is on about a 60 degree angle, not a problem for the goat but it is for me if I get in there

 

I found out goats had rather eat briers than to eat green grass. They are great for keeping fence lines cleaned out.
My neighbor at my previous farm had a goat who knew the bottom line was charged with 8000 volts. He would get a running start and fall flat as he passed under the fence into my field. It was funny! He got ready to go home, same thing....slid under the wire.

 

Wow, that sounds like a smarter than usual goat...though they are not stupid, despite most people's thoughts on that matter!

 

They ain't. At least not the goat's that I've eaten. Tough, dry, gamy, did I say tough? Great cheese though.

 

We found an Indian restaurant locally that prepares goat-we like it, even our 14 year old son does, too.

 

Same thing, Wayne. We had a few either Indian or Pakistani who worked for us at the airport in Atlanta. They would cook one in the ground (like we do hogs), sloooooow. It is quite juicy, tasty and a lot less fat than beef or pork.

 

I thought it was pretty good food.

Not like beef or chicken and thankfully not like the "new" pork (the other white meat with less flavor).

What I had was a little stringy (like a beef pot roast) and had a little bit of fat, but not too much, and seemed similar to raccoon or bear, but not as sweet as bear. I would definitely like to eat if again.

Dick

 

A friend of mine had the goat on his farm. The guy wondered if he could buy one. My friend said sure. But how are you going to get him home? They loaded him in the back seat of a fairly new Honda. I never asked the results of the car ride, only enjoyed the end result. Pretty good description, Dick.

 

My wife's father was a real character. I never met him as he was deceased for several yrs before I met her...... but I did hear a lot of far fetched stories about him. I didn't put much stock into the stories but started to discuss them with my wife while we were dating.

In 1960 my wife's BiL bought a new ford car. Him and my wife's father went out drinking and somewhere along the line her father bought a goat. They weren't done drinking so they made another stop and left the goat in the trunk. They must have had a few too many! When they came out of the bar, the goat had eaten his way out of the trunk and was working on the car's interior.

Now who's going to believe a story like that! My wife confirmed that it really happened and cautioned me to never mention it to her BiL because he still gets mad about the damage to his brand new car


update;
My goat seems to be moving around better but he is still going out of his way to avoid me

 

Marksr,

Glad to hear he's moving around better. Perhaps try taking out some sort of treat he really likes, and coaxing him close enough to make sure nothing's amiss. Short of that, the binoculars might still be a good idea!

PS: I bet if you did mention the goat to the BiL you'll find out for sure if that's a true story, but my guess is, that it really is true. Been there (sort of) Done that...had the torn to shreds Pick-up seat to prove it. LOL

 

The goat's feed pan is in his house and I was able to corner him in there yesterday afternoon. Since he wasn't able to run off, I was able to pet him but he let me know he doesn't care much for me by turning his head the other direction. I think he holds a grudge against me

His appetite seems to slowly be returning but he's drinking a lot less water than before the castration. He used to drink a quart and half to 1.5 gallons everyday, now it's a quart or less. His only water supply is a 2 gallon bucket.

 

Marksr,

Keep after getting reacquainted. He will mellow soon enough. Do watch his water intake though, that is a bit concerning. Keep us posted and if something seems wrong, call the vet. I am not familiar enough with goats to give a lot of advice, but you know your goat, and will be a good judge of when he needs help, and when he is doing ok.

 

If your goat is still mad at you maybe you could take it shopping to smooth things over?

 

If the goat is in severe stress, I can try to contact my ex-boss. He would buy it and then dispatch it followed by a complete disemboweling of all internal flesh and deboning.

Goat skin is a traditional carrier and dispenser of wine in Spain - it is a called a Bodega. The skin is tanned, the interior coated or lined and filled with wine, and placed on a rack with the feet upward and the wine is served from the neck that has a tourniquet on it.

My boss bought one from a restaurant in Spain and had it shipped back to the U.S. The only problem was that for importing, the animal skin fell under the Department of Agriculture and the wine inside fell under the Department of the Treasury (Alcohol, Tobacco and firearms). I had to get the critter out of the confinement at the airport, since no one wanted it and did not know what to do to enforce the laws. I ended up calling our local Teamster Business agent one day and he called the next morning and told me to be at the airport between 12:00 and 12:30 (lunch time) and ask for someone and it was loaded in a pick-up and I left. I have no idea how things got worked out but it came through fine. My boss had someone raise goats and lambs for him to get the very young for fancy meals. He also had a few of the Bodegas copied and gave them to friend for gifts that were highly prized. Others got gourmet mushroom farms for Christmas (I managed to get 4). - It was fun working for him because you never knew what would happen, especially in a foreign country, but I knew when to avoid situations and never stay in the same hotel.

At least this is an option if the goat does not make it.

Dick

 

The goat is back to his 'same old self'..... not sure if that's entirely a good thing or not

Not sure I'd want to go to a store where they let someone walk their goat thru....... or be the guy that would have to sweep up behind him

 

Well...at least goat droppings can be swept up pretty easy as I remember. Not like pigs (again, as I remember)....yes...someone actually brought a PBP on a leash into our store once. Took about 2 min before they were asked to leave. Not like it was a "companion animal" or whatever they're called?

 

Ya, goat manure should sweep up ok but I can't see anyone bringing an animal in a business other than seeing eye dogs. I was at the paint store one time where a woman had a dog sticking his head out of her purse - I've seen bigger rats

 

So glad to hear he's back to himself again! I was about to post this morning, when I realized I was running late... LOL

 

Marksr,

LOL Funny you should mention tiny dogs...I actually have a service dog for my panic disorder, and she is a long hair Chihuahua, who weighs in at 3 1/2 pounds (soaking wet) She was the runt in her litter, NOT bred that way on purpose as so many are doing these days, sadly. But I do agree, unless it's a service animal, they should be left at home.