Tick Causing droopy ear

[Starting Over]

Big tick in baby goat's ear. I am alone and cannot hold goat still enough to remove with tweezers but i hear that's not good to do either risking breaking off head or legs inside wound. I did get a generous amount of Bronco horse spray on tick which says it kills ticks. No immediate reaction from tick. Was this the right thing to do? Will it back out as it dies and be gone by morning?

[Nanno]

I'm not sure if the spray will do anything for a tick that's already attached. Usually a dose of Ivermectin (to the goat) will kill attached ticks by "poisoning" the goat's bloodstream and they'll drop off. Do you have a friend or neighbor who could come over and help you hold your goat still while you remove the tick? I've pulled a few ticks out and I've never had one break off. I get the tweezers right down at the skin and pull it off near its head instead of grabbing its body. Dowsing it with alcohol before you remove it might make it back out a little.

Good luck!

[Starting Over]

Big tick in baby goat's ear. I am alone and cannot hold goat still enough to remove with tweezers but i hear that's not good to do either risking breaking off head or legs inside wound. I did get a generous amount of Bronco horse spray on tick which says it kills ticks. No immediate reaction from tick. Was this the right thing to do? Will it back out as it dies and be gone by morning?

[Starting Over]

Thanks, Nan. Well, i see something there. Not sure if it is tick,s exit wound or if the tick just died and dehydrated still hanging in the ear. It is still drooping and feels s little hot . I had asked my neighbor for help but i hate to be crying "wolf" to him all thevtime. I have a wedding to go to so i asked him to hold off till tomorrow to see if ear comes back up and inflammation improves. If it is inflamed, i suppose it's a trip to the vet, darn it!

[Nanno]

If there's heat and inflammation I'd be worried about tick-borne disease. I'm not sure how badly those can affect goats, but I'd call the vet and see if they recommend a course of antibiotics just in case. Tick diseases can be very serious in some species. We suspect a tick-borne illness is what crippled our dog, Daisy many years ago. She acted like she'd been hit by a car or kicked by a horse. Her joints were all very sore and stiff and she had a hard time getting up and down. I had her to the vet and they couldn't find anything wrong, and then the soreness started migrating to different areas of her body. It even looked more like a neurological problem sometimes, and that's when they realized she probably contracted a disease from a tick. By then the tick was long gone and it was a bit late to start antibiotics because the nerve damage was already done. Daisy lived another 8 years (she was 13 when she died), but she was never the same after that illness. She was half crippled most of the time and could never walk straight. I don't know if tick diseases affect goats that way, but ever since that experience I've taken ticks a lot more seriously. I think you should at least call your vet. The heat and swelling concern me.