Post by mollymoo on Dec 14, 2019 8:54:25 GMT -5
It happened again - we had another doe go down with listeriosis the day before thanksgiving. That’s the second one this year (we had one in April - that we saved and remarkably has had no lasting effects!). Really not sure how/why this doe, Cheeta, contracted it - she’s a different breeding, was in different pen, different source of hay, no moldy grain. The only thing I can think is she ate old moldy hay from under the hay feeder (it’s outside in a hoop house shelter - but there was fresh hay available all the time) - or that it was caused by a change in the weather (it went from 65F one day to 25F the next)...anyway...she was down, I recognized symptoms and immediately started treatment with antibiotics and vitamin B (thiamine and B complex) 4x a day, dexamethasone alternated with banamine. We kept her hydrated with oral electrolytes- and a few subQ saline boluses on day 3 - and kept energy up with Ensure. We also gave Usnea extract twice a day - and applied frankincense and lavender essential oils at the base of her horns. At one point we made a sling to keep her upright, because she couldn’t stay up on her brisket.
It was a long, slow process - but last Sunday (so I guess after about 10 days) she had recovered enough to be able stand again - and gradually she has improved to the point where she can trot around. But she has a major head tilt. My question is for anyone else that has dealt with this - is there anything to do to help this? Will it reduce over time? I am still giving B shots twice a day - along with the Usnea and essential oils. She’s eating, pooping and peeing normally now - and is very loud (she was a bottle baby and has always been mouthy!). I have tried gently massaging her neck to try to straighten it a couple of times a day - but wonder if it will always be like that now? I assume that she may have sustained some brain damage from the listeriosis that caused this? She doesn’t seem to be blind - both eyes react normally. Here are some pics of her during treatment. The first one is from yesterday - they get older from there!
It was a long, slow process - but last Sunday (so I guess after about 10 days) she had recovered enough to be able stand again - and gradually she has improved to the point where she can trot around. But she has a major head tilt. My question is for anyone else that has dealt with this - is there anything to do to help this? Will it reduce over time? I am still giving B shots twice a day - along with the Usnea and essential oils. She’s eating, pooping and peeing normally now - and is very loud (she was a bottle baby and has always been mouthy!). I have tried gently massaging her neck to try to straighten it a couple of times a day - but wonder if it will always be like that now? I assume that she may have sustained some brain damage from the listeriosis that caused this? She doesn’t seem to be blind - both eyes react normally. Here are some pics of her during treatment. The first one is from yesterday - they get older from there!