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Backyard Farm Animal Q&A: Real Answers from Vets | Boop by Petco

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49 Questions

racehorse blood test always showing very low PLT reading 25-40, i know normal reading >100. what is reason? what to do to help raise PLT. HGB 16 PCV 45

First, you need to make sure the low platelet count is real by having a blood smear performed by your veterinarian. Blood clots leading to platelet clumping and can result in falsely low platelets. If the manual count done using a blood smear is normal, then I would not worry as this means the blood machine results were inaccurate. If the platelet count is low on the manual count, then you need to have him tested for causes of a low platelet count including infections such as equine piroplasmosis. If he is currently on any drugs such as phenylbutazone or banamine consider stopping them. If the aforementioned plan fails to identify the cause, you should have your horse evaluated by an equine veterinary specialist for further diagnostic testing.

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I have a foal that is 2 days old. She has really light eyes, I think they're blue. Does that mean that she's gonna have health issues (like blindnes)?

Not necessarily. It is a matter of genetics. Horses with light colored coats typically have light or blue eyed foals. You may see a darkening of eye color as the foal ages but this doesn't always happen.

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My horse is lame in her back right leg what should I do? Ice? Wait?

Poor Gigi! If she is non-weightbearing on the affected leg, I would recommend calling out an equine vet right away for an emergency visit, as this is often a sign of a serious injury such as a fracture. If she is bearing weight and acting normal otherwise, you could try stall rest for the next few days with lots of soft bedding to see if the lameness resolves. You can certainly try icing or cold-hosing the hoof, but it's hard to say if this will be helpful or not without knowing what is causing the lameness. If there is no improvement in the next 3-5 days, or if she isn't eating or having any other symptoms, she needs to be seen by a vet right away to find out what's wrong. Your vet can take x-rays or do other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what can be done to treat it.

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My barrel racing horse is refusing to eat. She stands with her butt against the stall wall and rests her hocks. She usually stops this when I exercise her. What is going on?

If she's not eating, she's eating painful, colicky, or both. Take a heart rate if you know how to do this--normal is 20-40 beats/minute. If it's higher than this, she's painful and needs to see a veterinarian. If she is rolling, looking at her sides, or not passing manure, she needs to see a vet as these are signs of colic. If you really think she's resting her hocks, then they are sore, and she needs xrays to see what kind of arthritis is going on and what steps you need to take to make her more comfortable. Hope that helps!

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Hi Dr I have some goats with udder disease, it develops over a period of a year I tried several treatments but nothing has worked. I don't whether it's infectious or not but it appears in white udder only. Please find attached photos of the udder

There are many diseases that can cause something like this. I do not know what common diseases you see in Oman so it is difficult for me to comment. You are better off trying to get a vet to come to your farm and check the goats. We do not have enough information here to be helpful. My best guess is that this is papilloma virus warts. The problem can spread through the herd after purchase of an infected animal. Some self-cure at the end of lactation, some do not regress or will return the next year. A few transform into squamous cell carcinomas (cancer).

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Drastic weight loss in horse just read about pin worms and adult strongyle are not easy to worm against as some workers are ineffective coupled with poor quality haylage which has been reported to yard owner could this be a reason to such drastic weight loss over such a short time?

Poor Jim! It's certainly possible for intestinal parasites to cause weight loss, and you're correct that they can be resistant to many dewormers - so it would be a good idea for Jim to have a fecal egg count done by your vet to determine if this is the problem. It's also possible that he may need to have his teeth floated, as this is another common reason for weight loss if he can't grind his food properly. Systemic illnesses like liver or kidney disease, cancer, etc. can also cause dramatic weight loss like this. I would recommend having an equine vet come and out and examine him when you are able to - he/she can check his teeth and do a fecal exam, and may also recommend blood work or other testing if needed to help determine the problem.

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how mush does it cost to become a vet in college

Getting a veterinary medical degree in the United States requires an additional four years of education after college. The cost of vet school varies depending on a variety of factors including whether you are considered an "in-state" student, whether the school is public or private, etc. But on average, for most students, vet school ends up costing an average of $150,000 - 200,000 total. This would be in addition to whatever costs are accrued in college, prior to applying to vet school.

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He stepped on a nail and is now limping very badly should I pull the nail out its been in there for about an hour my grandfather told me to pull it out and pour whisky on it my uncle told me to put Epsom salts on it there so many oppinions what should I do

If the nail is less than 1 inch i would pull it and soak the area with 3% hydroxide or an iodine skin disinfectant, salt water would be sufficient until you can source these if necessary. Contact your vet for tetanus shot if not up to date with vaccines or if nail longer than inch as antibiotics and xray may be required

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I have a 2 year old female horse who was wormed last week and started gaining her weight back, but today can't stand up. Looks like she doesn't have the strength. She is still eating hay and drinking. what is the best course to take?

She needs to be examined by a vet if she doesn't have enough strength to stand. That is very concerning so please call your vet and have her seen as soon as possible. Your vet can run lab-work to help diagnose and treat her problem.

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i tell you what is going on and maybe you can point me in the right direction, i have a quarter horse that is 23 years old and over the last few months she has dropped weight terribly and we have not changed her diet any matter of fact we have upped her diet with feeding her alfalfa cubes soaking them in water, alfalfa square bails of hay, reg. hay, giving her 2 scoops of grain every morning and a scoop in the evening, she eats all her grain, and alfalfa cubes, and alfalfa hay, but nibbles on ha

Hi there and thanks for using Boop by Petco! My first worry with older horses is their dentition (teeth). If you have never had your horse's teeth floated, it may be time for that. Lost teeth, impactions of feed, uneven wear, etc can all affect how much and how comfortably your mare eats. Your vet can perform this, after an initial exam. Best pulp can be good to put some weight on them, if it's a simple caloric factor. Last but not least, if you haven't dewormed in a while-consider taking in a fecal sample to your veterinarian to be checked. These simple things I try to take care of first, I hope this helps you!

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Hi, my horse is suffering from what looks to be some sort of hives. They have increasingly grew in number and size. The first picture was taken last night while the second was taken moments ago. They could possibly be bee stings. I would like to know your diagnosis and treatments, thanks.

Hi and thanks for using Boop by Petco! It does look a lot like hives in your horse here. Most presentations like this are allergic in origin-finding out what the reaction to is the key to prevention. Has your mate been given any drugs like banamine or antibiotics that she is not accustomed to recently? Have you changed feed or flysprays? Certain types of fly bites can cause break outs like this as well. By the time my patients are bad enough for hives I'll generally recommend an intravenous dosage of a steroid to counter the inflammation-this should be administered by your veterinarian-who can do a physical exam while they are there to make sure the heart and lungs also sounds ok. I hope this helps!

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Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Exercise Therapy - is this a legitimate therapy for horses, or a fad/scam?

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concerns. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy (PEMF) has been known to help with muscle aches, bone fractures, nerve trauma, etc. There is actually quite a bit of research done on PEMF, which goes all the way back to the 1960's. I have seen first hand use of PEMF on post exercise muscle soreness in horses and also in cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis with some success. It does not cause any harm and has been shown to help many horses based on current research. If you are considering having this done to your horse, I would definitely give it a try and see how your horse does with the therapy. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

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So I found my horse like this this morning. I checked the fence and I can't figure out what happened. I'm not sure how to care for his wound since it looks so bad, but he's walking fine. It looks like his blood kept bunching up and drying in the cold, so I don't know if I should even try to clean it or if it's best to leave it. What can I do to help him? Thanks!

Hello, sorry to hear about Hunter. You're right that some of that may just be dried up blood. What needs to be addressed is the the size of the wound where that blood came from. The biggest concern is for an infection. The wound needs to be cleaned and thoroughly examined by your veterinarian and decide what the next step in treatment should be. I would recommend calling your vet out so that they can clean the wound and evaluate it. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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Hi. My boy Jack has slowly stared to poop and piss less... in the morning it takes maybe 2-2 1/2 manure buckets to get his stall cleaned. Yesterday it was 1 bucket this morning it was half a bucket... same thing with my other gelding, Magic. They are both eating their grain and hay and drinking their water. Slower that normal but drinking. Is it because it’s getting colder?? The photo is from this morning in Jack’s stall ... magic’s is the same. With a little more.

Yes it is probably because it's getting colder. Horses will typically drink less water which slows down their gastrointestinal tract. This may be OK but it could also indicate they are on their way to getting an impaction colic. This is the most common type of colic vets see in the winter. I suggest you make sure they have a salt lick available at all times and that you give them an electrolyte supplement that will encourage them to drink more water. Also, you should try to increase their exercise. Here is a link to an article about this issue that may help you: http://www.succeed-equine.com/succeed-blog/2013/01/22/four-factors-that-increase-the-risk-of-impaction-colic-in-winter/ Hope this helps. If you have more questions feel free to ask again.

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I have duck and chickens together is this going to cause fights between the ducks and chickens. I have a duck that has a hard time walking and laying down. This is the only duck that has this problem. The duck eyes look like there foggy. The duck can walk strait but when the eyes look foggy does this mean that the duck is going blind. Should this duck be on a different type of food than the others. The food that I am giving the ducks is corn. Could the duck have a disease?

Ducks should be fed more than just corn as feeding only one type of food can lead to nutritional imbalance and diseases with symptoms similar to what you are seeing. Ducks and chickens can be housed together, however they do have differing needs and males of one species may harm or harass the other which could lead to injury and illness. It would be best to have separate housing for each species as well as feed a balanced diet tailored to each as their nutritional needs can vary some. If you have a duck that is acting ill it is best to seek the care of a veterinarian near you as well as keep the duck away from the rest of your flock to avoid spread of illness as well as picking on the sick duck by any flock members.

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