Help Now.. My Buck Is Not So Good...

BlueHeronFarm · #21 12/07/07, 01:45 PM

Do you have access to lactated ringers (IV bags)?
You may need to give him Sub-Q fluids.
But try the warm molasses water first...

deafgoatlady · #22 12/07/07, 02:10 PM

thanks i will try that

christij · #23 12/07/07, 02:19 PM

Let me know if you need any help - I am home today. I hope Monkey gets to feeling better!

Sweet Goats · #24 12/07/07, 02:19 PM

I know some people are totally against them, but what about a heat lamp to help warm him up also. Something else you might try. Get some old towels and put them in the dryer, get them good and hot, and run them out to him and that will help warm him up.
I would also like Fishhead said, warm Molasses water. Rub him. Is he bloated? That can cause them to foam at the moth.
Prayers for a recovery.

deafgoatlady · #25 12/07/07, 07:39 PM

he won't swallow liquid and very wobbly. He is not doing so good. He cant drink or anything. He throws up. Yes we gave him act. char. and baking soda and vit. b complex. He is a lot worse. He is failing... And I cant figure out what it is!! Yes we have heat lamp on him anyways. We have been doing everything. It looks like he ate something worng or something is stuck in his throat becuz he cant drink or allow me to drench it. It just comes out. I am very frustrated. he been pushing his head against the corner on the wall. I dont understand this... If he is suffering too much I want to put him down becuz I dont like to see him suffer. It just too much for me..

deafgoatlady · #26 12/07/07, 07:45 PM

Oh I forgot to add. He LOST a lot of weight. He ate some food but throws up. I forgot to add more. He is NOT bloating at all.. I am so sick of watching him doing that.. UGH. And He was fine on my farm before I took him to MIL for stud service. And within two days later he went down hill i mean it started last nite.. MIL said he was fine that morning until that nite they called me and said he is soo sick.. I already called two different vet. One of them is SO DUMB. And the other one said it sounded like he ate something is toxin. He cant do anything about it becuz he said that I did the right thing with char. and baking soda and everything. I talked to a lady that who I bought the buck from her over a year ago. He was 4 weeks old when I got him.. She said that one of her doe died from the same signs like him. Her doe ate acorn. I am like OH no... Becuz MIL's pen is like smaller than mine. i mean very small. and the leaves and acorn and everything out there. MIL refused to let my buck to sleep with one of the girls so he can be happy becuz he gets sooo lonely and LOVES to be with girls. He always stays with my girls and never hurt them.. And MIL keep saying that My buck WILL be just fine if he is alone. I said No becuz I KNOW HIM. She acts like that my buck need to get over it . Jeez.. They WONT even try to take care of him. That is their resposible to take care of him while it is over there and not just wait until I get home from work. That what it made me so mad..

PlowGirl · #27 12/07/07, 08:28 PM

If your buck's in a very small pen, he would have to consume an enormous amount of acorns to get sick from it. Not likely. What kind of feed did MIL give to him. If a straight grain/molasses mix, that would present a likely culprit for acidosis. His still being on his feet today and not showing any signs of bloat would rule that out. You mentioned trying to drench him and he isn't able to swallow? Could very well be a case of esophageal choke. Is he by any chance foaming through his nose? He could get inhalation pneumonia from a bad choke experience. Were you able to get anything down him at all, or was it all coming up like vomit, or like it just wouldn't go down due to a blockage?

deafgoatlady · #28 12/07/07, 09:05 PM

Well. Yes That what I thought too. But the vet is on his way over here right now... To help me to figure out.. MIL fed him alfalfa hay. I dont. I feed my goats brome mixture.... And She have goat chow feed from purina... That what she gave...

PlowGirl · #29 12/07/07, 09:13 PM

If he bolted the pelleted feed, he could be choking. Please update us right away when the vet's done.

Blossomgapfarm · #30 12/07/07, 09:14 PM

I am glad the vet is coming out. Hope he figures out what is wrong and can treat him. Will be thinking about you.

deafgoatlady · #31 12/07/07, 10:14 PM

WELLL.. It is bad news.... The vet said we have to put him down. Becuz he cant figure out if it is rabies or listerosis. PLEEAESSEE pray to God that we dont have rabies. I am panicky!!! Actually I am having panic attacks.. Oh my gosh..

PlowGirl · #32 12/07/07, 11:52 PM

Is this a vet that really knows goats? Listeriosis can still be treated, especially if the buck is still on his feet, hasn't progressed to fatal yet. Goats are essentially a dead end host for rabies, so you could observe him safely for several more days before making that determination. If you've already put him down, I'm sure sorry for you. Make sure he's tested for rabies, if that is what he is put down as suspicious for, so you can rule out the one. While he's at it, have him do a post mortem as well.

armeda · #33 12/08/07, 12:26 AM

Did the vet look at him? It just doesn't seem like it could be rabies. Where would he have gotten it? It's caused by a scratch or bite from an infected animal. It won't spread to others except this way. I have been thinking about you and will be praying for you. I know you will do what's best for him. Please don't panic. Things will get better even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

goatkid · #34 12/08/07, 01:23 AM

It sounds like the goat most likely has listeriosis. He had a radical feed change when he went to stay at your MIL's. This can cause either listeriosis or goat polio. Both are treatable. Im the future, if you ever take one of your goats to someone else's place, bring the feed you were using. Whenever a goat eats something new, it doesn't have the "tummy bugs" to digest it. This is why feed changes are always made gradually.

fishhead · #35 12/08/07, 08:08 AM

I'm sorry to hear you lost him. You certainly did try to save him.

I wonder if he didn't eat something that plugged him up like a piece of plastic or something.

christij · #36 12/08/07, 08:57 AM

I was hoping to hear that the vet could help. I am still hoping things make a turn for the better for you. Please call/email if you need anything!

deafgoatlady · #37 12/08/07, 10:21 AM

Thanks. It just so hard to figure out. Becuz We are not postive and it never happened to us before.. I mean. I have to worry about my children first. So This is going to be my first experince going thry and Hopefully that I will remember this then if something happens again then I know what i am suppose do to .. And Yes he passed away peacefully. Yes they are testing right now to see if have rabies. I really pray hard and I dont think it is rabies. It doesnt sound right to me. But I think it is listerosis.. That what I am thinking the most... And also I am having trouble figure out why and how......

My questions:

How come none of MIL's goat didnt get sick from their hay???

How come my rest of my girls are fine with my hay ??

How can they get listorsis??

How can I treat them if they have listorsis??

Also I wanna to add that I always let my buck to MIL for two years but it was a different buck. And surprisily that Monkey got really sick. It seem soo weird. Becuz It is like a dream to me.. Becuz Monkey is the best buck that I ever owned. But MIL have been complaining about Monkey not being intrested in her girls. I said it was becuz they are not in heat. So dont worry. He was not aggressive. Oh My hubby thought he was kinda gay.. Well I dont care becuz he was the best buck that I ever own no matter what!!! I am proud that I had him for over a year. I brought him when he was 4 weeks old. Sweet little thing.. I hope my three girls are really pregnant by Monkey. I am glad that I got my girls bred by him. Hopefully that I will get one male baby buck so I will keep it becuz it is from Monkey... I wish that there is another way I could explain better to MIL. Thank u so much. I did try my best for what i did for him... Thanks...

cowgirlracer · #38 12/08/07, 11:00 AM

Hugs to you. I am very sorry you had to go thru all of this. Hugs and more hugs.

Anne

susanne · #39 12/08/07, 11:23 AM

listeriosis is a herd wide problem. if no other goat under the same feeding management is sick, than most likely it was not listeriosis.
since you gave him fortified b complex ( hopefully sq) i doupt it was polio as you would have seen some improvement. i don't know your area but i doubt it is rabies. my guess would be poisoning.
very sad, sorry for your loss.

goatkid · #40 12/08/07, 12:28 PM

Sorry you lost your buck. I'll try and explain the feed thing to you. A goat's rumen functions by kind of composting what it eats, in that the rumen has good bacteria that help them digest what they eat. The bacteria becomes specific to the feed the goat is eating. When a feed change is made, some of the bacteria is killed off. The rumen then is not functioning at full capacity. When you make a feed change in your goat's diet, you do this slowly so as to not upset the rumen flora. You said you feed Brome hay, which is grass hay. Your MIL feeds alfalfa, which is alot richer. She also feeds Purina Goat Chow, which is very rich and loaded with molasses, which is not good for a goat's rumen. I never feed a molasses product by itself. I mix it in with dry COB and BOSS. So, Monkey was used to the grass hay, and suddenly he was eating a richer diet. Your MIL's does are used to that diet. Monkey was not. His rumen flora got upset and this can lead to a whole host of problems including entero, polio and listeriosis. If you were giving just B complex from the feed store, it did not contain enough thiamin to deal with polio. I always keep a bottle of thiamin from the vet on hand for emergencies. For treating listeriosis, large doses of antibiotics are used. My vet recommends LA200. I think other folks on these boards have used Pennicillin. If your goat was poisoned from the acorns, perhaps the charcoal was given too late. As for why you other bucks did not succumb to the fed change in past years, my guess is that they were simply lucky.