[mariegold]

Morning! Another day another dilemma......

My other goat now seems to have cystitis, spoke to the vet and picked up some metcam and pen and strep.

Since administering the metacam she is passing some urine but only about half the amount she normally would. Still, it is a massive improvement from the two little drops she was doing first thing this morning.

The pen and strep needs to be done intramuscular. I have done this plenty of times on cows but never on the goats. Would it be better to do it at the top of the back leg or above the armpit at the front?

I hate giving antibiotics unnecessarily. Would it be ok to see if she improves further after the metacam or are antibiotics a must?

Thanks again everyone for any advice

[fsmnutter]

You can do top of back leg, just feel for a fleshy bit. I prefer to do my goat im injections in the neck as I can hold the collar with one hand and I think it's less stingy than the leg muscles! Aim in the triangle at the top of the neck, above the widest point. The bottom of the neck has all the veins etc so avoid that.
Whenever giving an injection, always suck back on the plunger before injecting and you can feel resistance of the vacuum, so you know you're not all the way through the skin, and you will see that you're not drawing blood which would mean you're in a blood vessel and need to move the needle until this dosent happen.
There is almost no muscle behind the shoulder and it would be all too easy to go into the chest, so although this area is perfect for subcutaneous injections, it is dangerous for im.
If unsure, best to get someone to show you, either another goat keeper or the vet.
Hope she feels better soon!

[mariegold]

Thanks fsmnutter!

I'm a bit worried about doing the neck area so thought the leg would be better for my nerves.

Would you go in from the side or from above pointing down? I don't want to hit the sciatic nerve.

My farmer friend said he could come out tomorrow afternoon and show me but is that leaving it a bit too long?

Thanks again

[mariegold]

Is this diagram right?

http://theikga.org/how_to_give_injection.html

[fsmnutter]

I'm not quite convinced by the shoulder im site, it's just a bit vague, I prefer top of the neck area as there are fewer dangerous sites such as blood vessels.
Top of the thigh should be fine for you, the sciatic nerve is in the back of the leg so you shouldn't hit it.
With a short needle, you can just feel a muscle and go in at right angles to the skin straight into the muscle.
Probably easier if someone can hold the goat for you, at least for the first time!
I would aim for the top front of the leg, where the quads are, same as a human!
If she has already improved a bit, it's unlikely to do too much harm waiting for assistance, but may just clear up quickest if medication started as soon as you can.

[mariegold]

I had a feel of my goat and there is an oval shaped muscle at the top of the thigh so I will inject her there. Just waiting for my o/h to get home so he can hold her.

Its such a challenge when they are your own animals I find. I must have injected 50 cows intramuscular in the past without a worry. Maybe I'm a bit too soft to own my own!

[fiestyredhead331]

feel your pain Mariegold, took me ages to get used to doing injections on mine but do it without a thought now but I do tend to go for the top of the leg, I find having their nose stuck in bucket of feed and their backsides in the air usually helps