We have probably mentioned our coughing goats before. For much of the winter on and off, Coriander and latterly Sorrel, have had coughs. They are very dry coughs and neither goat has any other symptoms at all. Rachel from Market Vets had examined them several times and never found anything else amiss. Last week however she suggested we check for lungworm and interestingly the results came back positive. Lungworm larva was found in both girls. Lungworm is part of the roundworm family of worms, the rest being worms that live in the gut and the ones we usually have to treat our goats for at some stage in the year. Lungworm, as the name suggests, live in the lungs and essentially, other than a dry cough, the goat appears well. However, if left untreated, the goat can succumb to pneumonia because the worms will scar the lung tissue.
We have now treated both girls and fingers crossed, we may now see the coughing go away!!!