Donkey Question

[Dani]

Patch has a swollen neck and I am not sure why (she is in a pasture with the beehives, so can only thing she maybe having a reaction to a bee sting at this point), but we did end up calling our vet. He recommended beet paste or cakes, not sure which since he has a heavy accent. It is an anti-flamatory and said to give 2 grams. Our local Tractor Supply and Sam's does not stock this item, but was able to get an anti-flamatory . He will be out on Monday if it has not gone down, but has anyone else experienced this and if so, what did you give to get it down?

 

[old_anorak]

He means Bute. It's basically horse aspirin. I know here in MO, you can only get it from your vet. Depending on how big he is, you might try benadryl as well.

 

[old_anorak]

Where is her neck swollen at? Does she have anything coming out of her nose?

 

[old_anorak]

Has he had any interaction with any other equine in the past few weeks?

 

[Dani]

The only interaction she has had is with the other 4 donkey's that are in her pasture. Her neck is swollen right under the mane area along that muscle line. She has nothing else that is abnormal. . . no drainage issues and she has been eating and drinking just fine. It does not seem to hurt her at all since you can touch it and rub on it. We had a friend come out this morning who works with donkeys and horses and he seemed to think that since Patch is about 6 months pregnant, she is just having some swelling due to her hormones. This is her 2nd pregnancy in the last 3 years and her neck didn't swell like this before, though I know every pregnancy is different.

 

[old_anorak]

Just curious, have you had her checked for diabetes? I hope the little mama is doing better.

 

[Dani]

No we have not, but when our Vet gets out here tomorrow, I will definitely bring up that possibility. They have access to 3 acres of pasture, a round bale of Bermuda and native grass hay, a salt block, mineral block and then get fed a couple handfuls of all stock twice a day. She has not been under stress and she is not a "working" animal. She has been having the normal hoof growth which looks good and her hair is shiny, soft and velvety. Out of the 5 donkeys we have, she is the only one with the fatty crest.