Last month I noticed that Emerson seemed quite itchy and flaky, and both goats again had yellow crusts around the tail area (what we refer to as "butt fungus"). These are the exact symptoms which heralded the start of the horrendous skin issues which plagued our goats for over a year before massive doses of topical parasecticide finally eradicated the unidentified bugs last spring. "We're baaaackkk..."
Determined not to again descend into that Dante-esque circle of hell, I dosed them promptly. Same medication, same twice-the-label dose. Emerson cleared up quickly, but Ellie has worsened, crusty and itchy to the point of twisting his head around to gnaw sores in his back and flank. The wounds are raw and ugly. Today I purchased collagen wound gel, injectable antibiotics, and three stretchy goat-size tank tops from a local thrift store. (Hopefully my daughters won't notice that this striped beauty is also missing from their closet!)
What to do, beyond frequent brushing and spraying his sores with blukote? (My stained fingers give testament here.) This morning was sunny and above freezing, so I tied him to the deck railing and bathed him in lime sulfur solution. Garbed in rubber gloves and one of my husband's old sweatshirts, I went to work with a spray bottle and a scrub-brush. He hated it, but the upside is that now he's not only stained yellow, but also so malodorous that he won't lick or bite himself no matter how itchy he is. Unfortunately, while I was kneeling down to scrub his belly, he gave his dripping fur a vigorous shake, so now I also reek of rotten eggs. Since the putrid sulfur odor is about as difficult to remove as the nasty parasites which plague Ellie, I may have to cancel my weekend plans...
My husband wants me to repeat the topical parasecticide, but I am hesitant. Here's why. Last time, instead of wedging the syringe into the "small herd" size bottle to measure their dosage, I poured it into a one-ounce plastic cup (from a bottle of cough syrup) and drew it up from there. After treating both goats, I came inside and noticed that the remaining medication had eaten a gaping hole through the plastic cup! Many of Ellie's worst sores are along his topline (the straight line from neck to tail) where I drizzled the medication. Surely a chemical which corrodes plastic must be a powerful skin irritant, so I am reluctant to risk another dose, especially as the three doses I gave last month have not improved his overall condition at all. Are these new and different parasites, or the same ones but now resistant?
I can't think about it any more today. Maybe I'll take another hot shower, then raid my family's closets for something clean to wear. (Hey, I don't want my own clothing to imbibe this awful smell...)
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