# Uterine Infection



## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Ugh, I feel terrible, but I think I have caused a uterine infection in a Nigerian doe of mine. She gave me a single this year, when she had quads last year. I was surprised and not thinking very well (obviously) and reached in to feel if she had any more. Well, I realized I should have at least got a glove, so THEN I grabbed my glove and iodine to clean up with. Well, obviously it was too late for that. And, I'm stupid, because I didn't just automatically put her on antibiotics after that or even keep track of her temperature! I think I'd lose my head sometimes if it wasn't attached. She hasn't been eating her grain real well anyway, and tonight (day 3 after freshening), she was acting blah and milk production dropped, so I took her temperature 104.9. Crap! What do I need to do? Should I get some lute to open her back up and do a flush? Just put her on some antibiotics? I have penicillin and oxytetracycline...do I need something else? Dosage?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Unless your out mucking the pig pen and don't wash your hands before a pelvic, it's very unlikely you gave her a uterine infection. So when you did do the pelvic are you sure no placenta or more kids were up there? Was the placenta already delivered?

Yes use 2cc IM of lutelyse and while you are at the vets, get a bottle of Naxcel. Use the naxcel systemically and when her cervix is open also infuse her uterus with tetracyline. Also give banamine to stop scar tissue, help with the fever etc.

But do give her a once over, no snotty nose, her udder is soft and empty and room temp, her milk is sweet, no labored breathing.

Her lochia, she should be discharging a good deal, especially when getting down off the milkstand, it seems to be when my girls splat out a bunch on my clean cement. Is it normal, is it stinky, is it to much, is it not enough? Vicki


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

She does seem to have very little lochia. Perhaps she has retained placenta. I watched her pass it on the barn cam after kidding, but I was busy and she ate it before I got back out there...so there could be a chunk in there. I "bumped" her after the kid came out and she felt empty, and that is when I did the pelvic. I have not ever done a pelvic exam before, but all I could feel was squishy placenta feeling stuff. When I donned my glove, I felt around quite a bit to make sure, but it is possible I missed something. I hope the vet will give me all the things you mentioned. I guess I could get my father-in-law to approve...he does still have his vet license and drug license. Grr, should have gotten everything on hand Before my first doe kidded!

Also, she had Bo-Se pre-kidding (2 weeks ago), but her kid still had possible signs of deficiency. He is healthy and lively, but one of his rear hocks kind of was bending funny. Didn't notice it as much today. Anyway, I know retained placenta is a sign of Se deficiency, think I'll give her some more (he got some first day).

Udder and milk seem fine, but I'm not going to taste it because I hate the taste when there are traces of colostrum in it!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Retained placenta is a sign of copper deffciency here, not selenium. Selenium is about muscle tone. I just dont' want you jumping to uterine infection with no signs, she really needs a once over. I am not so much worried about retained placenta if you saw her eating it. Bo-se the kid again. I wouldn't do her until 21 days, nobody you know is close enough to come over and look at the doe for you. Vicki


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

She was copper bolused in December. I'm going to go check her over some more. I can bring my stethescope up and listen to her lungs too. I did go a little clipper crazy pre-kidding and make her kind of cold-she has poofed up and shivered sometimes when it's really cold out. My f-i-l might be willing to look at her, but he works all day tomorrow (and I mean all day-he will go in super early and not get home until like 11 pm sometimes). I'll see about another goat person I know...she lives not too far away. Tracy is an hour and half, but she does come down here to get feed. I doubt she is planning to anytime soon though 'cus she is in the midst of kidding. I'll message her on fb though.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Okay, I checked her out. Couldn't find anything obvious. Felt over her entire udder, and all over her body. Nose is clean, chest sounded clear (forgot my stethoscope, but I just listened with my ear). I did notice some diarrhea on her rear end. Gave her a shot of b-complex and stole some cud from her penmate. Question on that: after you get it out of the one goat, what is the best way to put it in the other? I tried the bolus/pill gun, but don't know how much actually got in her because it sort of stuck in the gun. I wonder if maybe eating the placenta just didn't upset her rumen flora. Could that cause a fever, or are we looking at infection somewhere? Put her in a pen by herself for the night with lots of straw and her own hay and water. Will update in the morning.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Is she on an antibiotic yet? Also, she made need some calcium if she's shivering.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

I also think she needs some calcium.
Poofed up - milk drop- off feed- typical calcium issues and maybe the infection is not uterine but respiratory- no noises need to be made for that in the beginning stages and true mucous rattle is actually a quite advanced and mostly irreversible stage in goats because they cannot cough it up like we do-they just hack and rattle it around. I would treat her for hypocalcemia just to see if you can get her back to eating and give her a shot of Mineral Max for immune boost or get some zinc and vit c into her orally which won't be as effective but will help. 
No-eating the placenta is a normal behavior and deer actually go fishing so....not a problem.
You did not give her a uterine infection- it is a self cleaning organ and during the passage of normal fluids and tissues post kidding most of what goes in - comes out. How long since she kidded? Offer alfalfa first.
Lee


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

She was more chipper this morning, still didn't eat grain, fever same. Gave 2.1 ml oxytetracycline (she is 70 lbs approx.-used the 3 cc per 100lb dosage). My tet is expired, so will get some more while in town today. Don't have Banamine or Lute, will pick those up as well (I hope).

I doubt she is hypocalcemic. They have an excellent quality alfalfa available 24/7, and she has been eating hay. She has not been eating grain, so could be hypophosphotemic. She was not shivering until I shaved her butt, and of course it got cold right after that as well.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Does she need oxytocin once the cervix is open to help her expel retained placenta if there is some?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Not usually. Tetracycline isn't really a drug of choice for this...if you can't get Naxcel than use your pennicillian and banamine. 70 pounds she would get the whole 3.5cc here, subq daily, it my be long acting in cattle, it is not in goats.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Nancy I have noticed, not in relation to the fever, that does that eat their placenta shed their lochia slower. It si also filled with protiens so it does gum up the udder for a couple of days. Justan observation.
Tam


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Tammy-that is interesting. Her udder seems nice and soft so far.

3cc per 100 lbs once per day, is that not the dosage for Oxytetracycline?

She is feeling a lot better today. I think the Banamine helped a lot. She was talking to me again, and even ate a little bit grain. She had a little bit of milk too. (She had dropped her production to pretty much nothing for 12 hours; amazing the ability of these animals to shut off non-vital functions!). Temp was down to 102.9.

Gave her the Lutalyse this morning. Unfortunately, I don't have any AI equipment, but I'll see if i can feel for her cervix. If not, I will just hope that she cleans out on her own without the flush. How long after the Lute until her cervix is open, do you think? The vet didn't seem to think the Lute would work this soon after kidding (which I remember that it only works at certain points in the cycle, so maybe so).


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

3.5cc per 100 pounds of any 200 mg tetracycline is the lower limit. Vicki


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Update on the doe: She is feeling a lot better, and even ate her grain tonight, whereas she hadn't eaten much more than a couple bites here and there since kidding! She seems to be having more discharge than she did before receiving her lutalyse. I decided not to try flushing her, since I didn't have the AI equipment, and probably wouldn't have made it into her cervix anyway. Hopefully the lute and antibiotics were enough to get her cleaned out well, and she will be fine for breeding again. Her milk production is slowly picking back up.


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

I didn't see this thread earlier, but if she had a fever its unlikely she's hypocalcemic. If she looks like she's shivering, I'd think she's in some pain, I've seen that before in animals. The banamine may have helped with both the fever and the pain while the antibiotic does its work.

Glad she seems to be getting better.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Milk is back up to where it was when she kidded. Feeling just fine this morning, no fever. I expect her to continue increasing milk production. I think she is good now (I hope). I gave her one last antibiotic shot, and will give her one more injection of B-complex tonight and maybe try swiping a cud again to help re-populate her gut from all the antibiotics. It wasn't all that difficult the first time, so we will see.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

A doe can have fever from a uterine infection and still be in milkfever and need calcium. A doe can have a fever from respiratory infection, and still have milkfever and need calcium. Since giving calcium subq is never unwarranted or harmful, it certainly is worth the meds.

Especially when giving information on the internet when we rarely get really good info in which to even make an educated guess. Vicki


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Absolutely, I agree. It is difficult to know the whole story on anything or to tell it, over the internet. In this case, she is not low on calcium, but isn't so that milk fever can sometimes be caused by low phosphorus as well? I wish my pasture would hurry up and come in or that I could find a little good grass hay around here.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Nancy I am sorry but what you are saying is that she is not low on DIETARY calcium.
This has nothing to do with available calcium for this particular animal. 
Something to keep in mind is that hypocalcemia is not related exclusively to dietary intake. If so there would not be injection remedies for this problem. There are many different reasons that calcium is not processed correctly during parturition and early lactation. 
For future reference they can have the best of feed in front of them and still not process correctly due to many other factors. So keep in mind any low temp and missed meal can indicate calcium drop regardless of what you provide. Reach for the easiest fix- CMPK- and avoid possible complications as well as more intensive interventions. 
It is not dangerous and so it is the very first thing to try. If it does not work move on from there knowing you have eliminated one potential.
Lee


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Thank you for the information, Lee.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Happy to know she is doing better !
L


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> A doe can have fever from a uterine infection and still be in milkfever and need calcium... Since giving calcium subq is never unwarranted or harmful, ...
> Especially when giving information on the internet when we rarely get really good info in which to even make an educated guess. Vicki


Good points, I should have said "unlikely but possible"... I found an academic paper on this once, about what takes priority in the ruminant and they couldn't mount much of an infection fever if they were hypocalcemic. But its possible, especially if borderline, and as there's a relatively harmless option why not at least give her the advantage of a calcium boost.

I think you meant to say giving CMPK, not "calcium" is "never harmful" since plain Ca given unbalanced with MPK can definitely harm heart rhythm etc and I'm sure I've seen that elsewhere on this forum.

So true on internet info... and Lee that's a good reminder that the best diet isn't enough sometimes if it isn't be absorbed.


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