On a Sunday towards the end of March, Trapper started drooling; it was determined that Trapper had lost the ability to swallow and his jaw was paralyzed. Trapper had botulism. What can be done for a special boy that could no longer eat or get a drink of water on his own......how long would it last......what should we do? Well, Trapper seemed pretty healthy other than the fact that he couldn't eat or drink. Our vet thought a rumenostomy would be the way to go. Trapper had surgery to put a hole in his flank with direct access to his rumen. How long he would need it, we didn't know.
We devised our own plug for the hole, the only plugs available were for cows. We used a drain stopper, rubber boot material and a bolt with a wing nut. We opened the hole 4 to 6 times a day to pour in the needed water and blenderized pellets and kept the hole very clean. Trapper gained the ability to swallow in July and this was a great help to us. We didn't have to worry so much about keeping the appropriate amount of water in him, he did that himself. Trapper was doing ok, but he kept losing more and more weight. The rumenostomy, while it allowed us to pour food in, also allowed food out at each rumen contraction. The plug could not fit tight enough to keep food from leaving. Plus, Trapper had gained the ability to send up cud once again! While this was great news, his jaw was still paralyzed and he could not chew that cud, so it was dropped out of his mouth. Nutritionally, Trapper was a mess. He lost weight dramatically and was unable to even stand any longer. We lifted him to urinate and set him back down....Trapper was dying. After 8 long months we thought for sure we were losing him. We decided that Trapper needed fat and he needed it fast. We had some kid milk replacer left over from our last kid and I mixed some up and Trapper immediately drank all he could get. We saw an almost instant improvement. Trapper was gaining strength and looking better by the day.
We came into winter with Trapper on the very thin side and still had a rumenostomy in place. No matter how many blankets I put on him, I couldn't keep him warm. So, Trapper moved into the house. He stayed in the utility room right in the middle of the house all winter. He was very happy there and got to be right in the middle of everything. Spring of 1997 came along and Trapper moved back outside with the herd. His rumenostomy finally closed and Trapper was eating pellets, milk and grain on his own. Summer of 1997 we moved out of the flood plain so we never have to worry about high water again. Trapper is still recovering here in Spring 1998, but he is looking better than he has since he got botulism and he sure seems to feel great.
We are thankful that we were able to save Trapper, and that Trapper had the fight in him to keep going, even when things were really bad. Not only did Trapper survive botulism, but on the same day that Trapper came down with botulism, Trapper's good friend and herd mate, Oriskany (Risky) came down with listeriosis, from the same source. Risky's condition was very dire and she was not expected to live, but she pulled through with just a little lingering brain damage. As I write this Trapper, Risky and the rest of the herd are outside sunning themselves, without a care in the world. We lost Trapper in Aug of 2006 at age 12 due to old age and complications from his scar tissue from the botulism. As of now, Risky is still with us and still has brain damage from the listeriosis. She is doing well and runs and plays with the younger goats. updated 11/4/2007
