Rachel, Dog Island Farm
My friends in college used to call me a Renaissance woman.
I was always doing something crafty, creative, or utilitarian.
crafts, has been farming as much of my urban quarter acre
as humanly possible. With my husband, we run Dog Island Farm
in the SF Bay Area. We raise chickens, goats, rabbits,
dogs, cats, and a kid. We’re always keeping busy. If I’m not
out in the yard I’m in the kitchen making something from
scratch. Homemade always tastes better!
This is a goat with bottle jaw.
It’s caused by anemic edema caused by a heavy parasite load –
particularly Barberpole worms. Usually the swelling is less in the
morning, increasing during the day but it doesn’t go away until the
animal has been successfully treated. Without treatment the goat will
eventually succumb to the infestation and die. Proper treatment includes
using an appropriate dewormer and long term B12 injections and iron
supplements. Of course run a fecal test before starting any treatment so
you know what you’re up against.
Imagine my surprise last Friday morning when we walked into the barn
to do our daily milking to find Daisy’s head completely swollen –
especially right under her chin. I knew I was going to have to call the
vet. Every time I call they want the goat’s temp so we took it. 105.3. A
goat’s normal temperature is 102.5-104 depending on their surroundings.
She was running a fever.
After milking I started researching the issue and everything seemed
to point to bottle jaw except one thing – her fever. Bottle jaw doesn’t
cause a fever. That was a bit of a relief. So I decided to wait on
deworming her until I could get her into the vet. Jeanette and I loaded
both Bella and Daisy into my SUV and I headed off to work. I work in the
same town my goat vet is and I didn’t want to have to make multiple
trips back and forth. Fridays I only work half days and Tom could bring
them home early if need be. I called the vet and was there within the
hour. By the time we got to the vet a lot of the swelling had actually
subsided and her temperature was back to normal.
The vet took a blood and fecal sample. Daisy’s proteins were slightly
depressed but not enough to cause bottlejaw and she was not anemic. Her
fecal looked clear but to be on the safe side it was sent to a lab. The
lab results were also clean.
The vet’s conclusion was an insect sting or spider bite because she recovered quickly on her own. I’m betting on a spider bite.
Not only was it an expensive bite in terms of money for the vet visit
but also because she now has to be on antibiotics which has a 28 day
withholding on milk. We can’t use her milk for a month after her last
shot. It makes me sad to dump her milk (we are still milking her so her
production stays up).
We have a lot of spiders. And a lot of different species of spiders.
While they creep me out just as much as the next person, I’ve been
pretty tolerant of them as long as they stay off of me. They help with
pests and flies so I leave them alone.
Well, not any more. At least in the barn. They must go.
