Goat emergency-HELP!!!!!
 

My ~4 yr old purebred La Mancha, Daisy, kidded 3 weeks ago. This is her third freshening. I left the kids with her for the first 2 weeks, then pulled them and started milking her. She was nervous about weaning the kids, pacing some during the day. I had her housed with another doe that she is friends with and their guard llama. She was produced ~2 qts at morning milking, and another 1.5 qts or so at night.
She had lost some weight due to the pacing and not eating as much as normal due to her nervousness, but was otherwise just fine...healthy, jumping up on her stanchion normally, drinking. pooping normally.

On Tuesday, a friend picked Daisy up and took her home to see what having her own milk goat would be like. This is where the problems started:
Daisy refused to eat on Wed morning, but produced a full 2 qts of milk. My friend noticed that Daisy was hunching up on and off that morning, as though she might be in pain?
My friend tried introducing her to her other pet goats, Daisy hopped out of the hotwired pen, then proceeded to run around like a crazy goat, finally ending up in the neighbor's pasture where she managed to get one of her hind legs stepped on by the neighbor's horse :(

My friend caught her up, put her in a 12 x 24 covered stall by herself. Daisy was becoming increasingly depressed, still not eating so I brought one of her kids back to her last night to see if that would perk her up. She accepted the kid readily, but was otherwise looking puny.
This morning she looked worse. Friend called the vet out, vet administered 500mls IV fluids and banamine. Thought she might have a slight uterine infection post kidding (not a goat vet, so take that for what it's worth), though her temp was normal.

So here are the symptoms:
anorexic
hunching
appears to be strained to pass feces

She has been on a diet of grass hay and alfalfa pellets, supplemented with a bit of Equine Senior when I milk her.

I normally deworm my goats post-kidding, but have not done so yet.

What I have onhand:
penicillin G
LA 200
banamine paste
cydectin
ivomec 1%

Appreciate any advice y'all have as to how to proceed.

forgot to mention that on Tuesday night when I was showing my friend how to milk her, Daisy refused to load on the stanchion on her own. I assumed she was reacting to having new people around, but perhaps she was feeling sore/off starting then?

Be sure to check her udder. Check both sides, see if one is swollen or warmer. Check the eyelids, are they inflamed? Or are they pale? Any weeping from nose or eyes?

I would be concerned about worms for sure. She has had three stresses in a row, her immunity getting knocked back each time.

Anything here that involves stress and eating would get Thiamine right off the bat.
This goat has had way too much too quickly. She needs brought home to her own barn, kids, and friends. She needs gentle calm treatment, Thiamine to get her rumen working properly and her stress level reduced. She needs electrolites, probios, and watched to be sure she's eating and drinking. Wormed when she gets home.

I'm not sure about the main issue, but I would try to get hold of some B vitamin complex to stimulate appetite.

What Manchamom said. Goats are emotional creatures, and she's been through waaay too much.

Thanks for the quick response. I agree now that it was too many changes in too short a span. Friend lives about 60 miles from our farm. I am her place now, prepared to camp out with Daisy for the next several hours. I'm concerned that hauling her home may be too stressful? She did perk up when she saw me and heard my voice.

What is her temp?

Is she eating normally now?

My friend is a farmer and works from home. She is able to pay very close attention to Daisy tomorrow. I have to work and will be gone from home for approx 9 hours. Thoughts on whether having her stay in the new environment with close supervision is better than moving her home where I can monitor her until noontime and then not being able to check on her until around 10pm?

We are all worried sick about her!

Temp is 102 at last check. She is NOT eating normally. I will go to her now and attempt to get her to eat. Maybe she will eat in my presence. Wanted to post here first to get your ideas rolling in.

Thank you!!!!

I also vote for this course of action! Take her back!! The friend's place is a constant reminder of all the trouble. Take her home!

Don't underestimate worms either...a vet explained to me that eggs can lurk waiting for an opportunity (STRESS, STRESS, STRESS) to pop and overtake.

Good Luck!

Okay. I will bring her home. She did perk up and eat one handful of hay from my hand :)
I have another question: is it okay to give her an over the counter salt water enema? She has very dry poop just inside her rectum. I'm started to think that the hunching is due to pain from constipation due to dehydration and anorexia.
My thought it to dose her with the enema, wait about 30 minutes, then load her into the kennel for transport. I can move things around in the cab/put the passenger seat down, etc so that I can transport her and the kid inside the cab.

The enema won't hurt her, and might help. Go ahead with it...then get her home.

Tomorrow morning, get thiamine from your vet (preferred) or B-Complex from the feed store (not preferred, but better than nothing). Manchamom gave perfect advice.

I am following this wisdom. I respect those of you who have chimed in very much and I thank you so much for your help. I knew you would not let me down :)

We are all home now. I have Daisy and her kid back in the pen she kidded in hoping that will help her be more comfortable.
I have administered banamine injectable orally @ 1cc/100pounds.
Also gave her cydectin at 1 cc/25 pounds orally.
Gave her a big dose of Probios gel.

We did the enema before travel and she passed a hard clump of very dry stool covered with mucus.

She has shown no further signs of interest in eating.

I will check on her hourly throughout the night.

Will pick up the Thiamine from the vet's office in the morning.

I do have an electrolyte solution on hand that says it can be dosed diluted or undiluted. It only has the instructions for adding it to the water bucket. Do any of you know if the amount suggested for adding to daily water would be the same amount recommended for undiluted oral dosing?
I'm thinking it can't hurt, but hate to give her anything else that would make her even more queasy/upset.

I think smaller amounts spread out to equal the daily dose might do a better job. Is she drinking now that she is home? Is she pooping on her own yet that you have seen? Have you ever done a cud transfer? That is where you steal a cud from another goat, without losing a finger, and put it down the sick ones throat. This is the very best way to replace the enzymes she has lost in her rumen.

She is very depressed. She perked up when I unloaded her from the cab of the truck (lifted her down so she didn't have to jump) and saw the dogs and familiar surrounds.
I have not seen her drink, though there is a bit of water missing from the bucket I put with her and the kid. It's possible that she drank it, but also possible that the kid did.
I have never done a cud transfer.

I know she is weak from not eating and drinking, but it's hard for me to see her laying down and looking lifeless and not want to make her rise. I am fighting the urge to check on her constantly because I know that too much attention will just further stress her.

I doubt I'll sleep at all tonight. I am SO worried :(

I have never had a goat get sick. It never occurred to me that moving her was a bad idea. I thought she would get over weaning the kids faster if she could not see or hear them. I just feel so awful or putting her through all this stress.

I massaged her tummy and talked to her, then let alone for 2 hours. I just went outside after the two hour wait and offered her a handful of hay, which she refused. I carried the 1.5 gallon water bucket to her to see if I could get her to drink and SHE DID :) She drank slowly, but drank the bucket down by about an inch. That's only about a cup or so of water, but it's a start!
I'm gonna leave her alone for another two hour break before repeating the above process.
Please hold us in your thoughts and prayers.

Just a thought, but you might try giving her very warm (almost hot) water to drink. Maybe with a little apple cider vinegar in it. Sometimes they will drink that when they're off.

When my doe was sick and wouldn't eat someone told me to give her a ripe banana. I had to mash the first piece up and stick it in her mouth but once she got a taste of it she wanted more. It seemed to perk up her appetite.
Prayers for both of you.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will bring a bucket of warm water with me when I check on her again. It's warm here now, mid 60's over night, so I hadn't thought of warming the water for her. I will give her a small dose of the electrolyte solution with an oral syringe as well.

Vet's office should be open in another 3 hours. I will run in to pick up the Thiamine just as soon as they have the Rx ready.

I will try that. I can stop by the store to pick up some ripe bananas on my way to the vet's office. I have home canned apple sauce. I wonder if that would interest her any? I'm thinking that if I can get her drinking a bit more, she might eat something if I make a slurry of it....

No added advice for you just wanted to tell you I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your doe.
Mine too all Love warm water with apple cider vinegar in it. They'll drink that before regular water everyday.

The homemade electrolyte water recipe which my girls love when I give it after kidding is
1 liter warm water
2 Tablespoons honey or sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Just thought if you had those things on hand & she'd drink it, it would be could for her & more liquids in to keep her hydrated.

Ditto on the banana, yes on applesauce. Real yogurt, too.

Sending Reiki to both of you (I hope that's okay). What color is she? Knowing color and breed helps me form a mental image.

Are the trees greening where you live? Sometimes goats will eat new leaves when they won't eat anything else. We pulled a very sick goat through that way. Just be certain you don't hand feed her something poisonous. They will sometimes eat greenery from your hands that they won't normally touch.

And when she starts feeling better, you can further stimulate her appetite by feeding her dark beer. Don't laugh. Alice, a Welsh shepherd on my sheep list suggested it when my big wether, Salem, was sick. We'd already done thiamine, so we figured, why not give it a try?

We've only done it twice now and it might have been a fluke both times, but both wethers started eating well within 12 hours. She says you need real, dark lager. We're in the boonies so the best we could do was bock beer but since bock is German for buck, we thought that should work. :o)

We had to drench Salem but once he got the taste, Tumnus drank it from a bowl (and wanted more). You can't use a drench syringe because of the foam; someone has to pry the goat's mouth open and another gently pours in some beer, allowing the goat to swallow before pouring in more. Alice said to use a full bottle per feeding but this was for big, Boer-Nubian wethers.

Neither John nor I drink but we keep a 6-pack of bock beer in the 'fridge for our sheep and goats.

Sue

YES on beer.:goodjob:

If she is still not eating, I'd buy a bottle of injectable dextrose..... $5 from TSC. I tasted it, and unlike power punch, nutridrench (both contain propolyne glycol) & propolyne glycol, it does not burn (try a dot of PG on your tounge.....Painful!!) It just taste like sugar water, but you can do a double whammy by giving SubQ & orally...

You can inject the dextrose, SQ, 30cc every 2 hours (15cc on each side over the ribs) in addition, give her done orally. I just lost my newly purchased, most valuable doe to ketosis this weekend (also had hypocalcemia & toxemia) & though she was too far gone when I started the dextrose, it did keep her going & gave her a boost until we were able to try an emergency csection (lost the kids).

Good way to get the blood sugar up without drenching with propolyne glycol products that are harsh on the rumen. Warm the syringes of dextrose before injecting....... I wrapped in a small damp towel that I had microwaved & it got them VERY warm.

Be sure to put a coat on her at night since she's not eating. Try to offer pine or honeysuckle or cedar or whatever you have that's green and goat friendly. Check rumen sounds and make sure things are moving correctly in there. I just lost a doe that got chilled while sick because she got out of her blanket in the night. The rumen is what warms a goat. Cud xfers aren't that hard. Stand around while a doe is chewing cud. When she swallows, be ready. When up comes the next wad of cud, swiftly but calmly get her head and smash your hand on the cud in her cheek. Makes them stop. Then use your non dominant hand to open the mouth with your thumb and your dominant hand, put your finger in the cheek, go carefully in the cheek and hook the cud and pull it out. Try to keep tight to the cheek side to avoid the teeth. I had to do this for a sick doe about 7 or 8 times before it was over. Got bit once. Goats do have scissor like teeth in the back. But it was worth it, she pulled through despite being on deaths door a couple times.

A bucket of warm water with some black strap molasses and a good pinch of cayenne will supply some nutrition and may get her to drink more. My doe that survived really went to town on that stuff when she wouldnt drink plain water.

Our vet would offer oatmeal (uncooked) with a little molasses on top to tempt the appetite.

Another thing that one can keep on hand, Lactated ringer solution. You can inject it SQ in and totally rehydrate and animal. Check body temp. One of the fastest ways to heat a body internally, that I have found is to heat the bag/bottle in hot water and inject it SQ in several areas. (Shoulders preferably but with kids you can run out of spots.) LR run about $6-7 for 1000ml.

I don't know very much about goats, but being a nurse, if this was a human being, I would say she had a bowel obstruction. Ive seen a lot of them and what you are describing are most of the same symptoms.

Ill be watching this thread, and I hope she feels better =/

Well, what should have been a simple call from one vet to another to call in a script for the Thiamine has turned into to me wanting to pull my hair out. I did manage to sleep two hours last night, but spent the rest of the time focused on helping my doe recover, and now the vets are failing me? Argh!!!!
Something about procedure for ordering a script, blah blah blah for a freakin' b vitamin.

So, I am headed to TSC to pick up the dextrose injectable recommended above and the Bcomplex. In reading last night, I found that the Bcomplex dose only contains about 25% of the amount of Thiamine needed to boost the appetite. Meat goat breeder north of us recommends giving the Bcomplex at 4 times the suggested dose if no straight Thiamine is available.

I gave Daisy a squirt of the electrolyte concentrate just now. She spit some of it out but I'm sure ingested some. She drank a very small amount of water at my urging. She was sitting up when I found her this morning. I made her get up and moving around as she seems to be wanting to give up.
I need her to rally. Still no interest in food. I did manage to wipe about a teaspoon of homemade pear sauce on the roof of her mouth. She still fighting me about putting stuff in her mouth, so I figure that's a good sign.

Gums are pink and normal looking. She urinated for a long time after I made her rise and walk around some. No guts sounds this morning, but she I did get sounds when I massaged her at 2:30am and again around 4:30a.m. and she did belch a little. I will continue with the massaging as it seems to made her feel a bit better. She will walk up to the feeder, stare at the food, but not eat.

Shy,
I'm suspicious of that too. I think she has hard compacted dry feces farther up the track that I can see or feel. I did give her an enema last night and can repeat that this morning if you think it would help. She is quite dehydrated.

Just got word that the vet agreed to call in a script to Walgreens for me to pick up. Thank the Goddess for that! Heading there now and will pick up the dextrose and some over ripe bananas while in town.

Y'all are my lifeline with this right now. Thank you so much for caring :)

An enema will help rehydrate her, too, won't it? Nurse people?

Do you have another goat you can steal a cud from? She needs a cud transfer if her rumen has shut down.

This makes me want to go out and look at mine just to be sure they are OK.

Not really, an enema is meant to come right back out and bring things with it. She needs fluids, going in the other end, if you are wanting to rehydrate something. Either drinking or IV or sub Q.

Wow, I can't offer much advice, but it sounds like you are doing a great job and I hope she gets better for you!

I am a little confused, you weaned the kids at just 2 weeks old?

I'm thinking she must have put them on bottles, but .... it's hard to do at that age if she hadn't started them already.

thats what I was thinking...

I agree with whoever said don't rule out worms as a possibility. The FIRST goat that we bought looked perfectly healthy at the farm she came from. A couple days after she came here she dried off completely over night and stopped eating. We were told that she had been kept on a regular deworming schedule, so we ruled out worms as a possibility right off the bat. She didn't make it because we ruled that out, and didn't rethink our decision until it was too late :( If there are parasites in the paddocks, deworming will only help for a short period of time.