Whats wrong with my goat?

[BrokeFarmer]

She started acting funny a couple days go. She wouldnt come when i called her and wouldnt come with the rest of the goats. Today she just stands with her head aginst the wall and acts disoriented and wobbly on her feet. Cant see anything physically wrong with her. Any Ideas?

Thanks Kenny

[fishhead]

We need more information.

What's her temperature?

Has her diet changed?

What is her diet?

Is she vaccinated? For what?

[Goat Servant]

Have you taken here temp? It is abnormal to stand with her head in a corner there is definitely something going on here. There are many things it could be..has she been eating or drinking? If not get something into her asap beofre her rumen shuts down. Do you have any probious?


Someone with more ideas will be here soon!

edit to add..your first plan of action is to get something into her. You have a sick gal. Give her some warm molasses water with a syringe. A turkey baster will work. If you have B vitamins crush up a couple with a little yogurt and syringe it down her minus needle of course.

Another option is equal parts black coffee, whisky or any hard alchol and water. Give several cc. this will give her some energy.

[BrokeFarmer]

Sorry here is a little more info. She is on free choice hay, has free choice minerals and gets fed a small ration of 18% goat feed. She will not eat or drink. Her diet hasnt changed. The rest of my goats seem fine.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

If she isn't bred it's polio, get thiamin from the vet or vitamin B complex from a supply house and give it to her. Dosages for Thiamin from the vet or Fortefied B vitamins on dairygoatinfo.com in the Goatkeeping 101 section. How much you give is dependant upon how many MG or B1 is in the bottle you buy. Give every 6 hours until she is 100% and then twice a day for several days so you don't have a replapse. Figure out what is effecting her rumen that caused this, mold in the hay, a new bag of your sacked feed, old feed...etc.

If she is bred and near the second half of her pregnancy it is hypocalcemia...go to dairygoatinfo.com click on goatkeeping 101 and read Sue Reiths article on how to treat this. Vicki

[BrokeFarmer]

Thanks, going to read the article on hypocalcemia now.

[BrokeFarmer]

Well, everything I read on hypocalcemia seem to fit to a "T". I gave her a calcium drench first thing this morning and some probios just a short while ago. She seems to be a little better this afternoon. I also bought some alfalfa pellets. Maybe everything will be OK.

Thanks for the help.
Kenny

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Keep up the oral dosages. Better would be subq of injectable CMPK. Your doe is the perfect example of what happens to does with many kids or a larger than normal milk supply when not fed enough dietary calcium. She likely has dietary calcium in the form of calicum carbonate/sorbate only in her mineral or perhaps a 2 to 1 level in her meat goat pellet. With other defficencies in your farm, likely copper and selenium, and excess iron especially if you use Sweetlix minerals and sweet feed, she can not get to the stores of calcium in her blood and bones, so she starts with hypocalcemia. Had you taken her to the vet they would have treated her for ketosis with proplyn glycol orally and when she got worse because she did not get calcium, only sugar energy, then they would have you abort her to save her, with the loss of her kids and her milk supply for the year.

Keep up with the calcium you are using, expect her to have a sluggish labor from low calcium in her diet, even with the alfalfa pellets added now. Also all the way into weaning her kids she can start trembling with a low temp (milk fever) which is simply lactational hypocalcemia.

Glad she is perking up so quickly means likely no harm was done to her pregnancy.
.................................................

If goats build stores of calcium in their blood and bones than why is this doe in hypocalcemia, and why is just treating her with simple oral calcium (certainly not the most efficent way of treating, is she responding so quickly?)



I was hoping for a teaching case to come on the forum after the other threads fiasco...but wasn't expecting it quite so quickly.

Vicki

[BrokeFarmer]

I thought I had posted back that the doe recovered and has been doing fine, all from oral supplement, took about 3 days for her to become "normal" again. Thank You Vicki!

The doe kidded yesterday while I was at work, her first time, she had triplets. One was dead and the other 2 were small and seemed weak, I dont think they had nursed. I finally got them both to nurse and have done this every couple hours all night. They still seem weak, they cant walk yet.

Any suggestions would be appreciated very much.

BTW:One of my other does kidded last week and everything is great with her and her kid One more doe to go.

[goatkid]

Make sure they keep eating and don't get laid on by their dam. I usually bring weak kids in the house and raise them on the bottle. Make sure they are pooping and are warm enough. They should gain strength and stand in a day or two. I'd also give the kids 1/2cc BoSe subQ.

[BrokeFarmer]

Thanks for the reply. I have seen both kids poop Do I have to get BoSe from a vet?

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by BrokeFarmer

Do I have to get BoSe from a vet?

Yes.

[BrokeFarmer]

Kids are doing much better this afternoon, they are nursing by themselves and are walking. Thanks for the help.