Very Sick Doe!!!!!!

us4davis · #1 04/28/08, 02:07 PM

HELP!!!! We have a very sick dairy doe. She all of sudden has a loss of appetite, she is skinnier than she should, she will drink water but that is eat, no grain or hay, she has the scours, not terrible but it looks something like slightly wettened cow pies. She is down and doesn't want to get up unless she has to, her stomach is tight like the bloat almost, and she has nasal discharge, that is a light brown/green color. When she breathes she moans slightly. She has no fever. And I don't know if this helps but she kidded about 3 weeks ago. I have not yet started milking her I wanted her to give her kids a good start and was going out this morning, to start on milking her, she didn't have hardly any milk. I went back about 2 hours later to check and still no milk but she appeared fine. I decided to wait untill later tonight to try and milk her. We went out their later and she was sick looking,with the symptoms described above. After she kidded we DID NOT give her any wormer because I wasn't sure of the with drawl period. Today we have given her, Ivermec wormer, BOSE, nutri drench, pro-bios, and electrolites in her water. Right now I am doing all I can to comfort her. I really do not want to loose her, she is my favorite goat. So for now I am doing all I can to comfort her.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!

susanne · #2 04/28/08, 02:27 PM

what is her temperature?
the first thing you do if a goat is down, take the temperature. a plain digital thermometer from the pharmacy will do it.

us4davis · #3 04/28/08, 02:45 PM

we checked it twice it was 98.8 the 2nd time

Backfourty,MI. · #4 04/28/08, 03:00 PM

The green/brown nasal discharge makes me think infection but she's not running a fever. I sure wish I knew what to tell you what to do, I'll be worried about her all day till you figure it out. I did have 1 of my doe's I think got too much green pasture(alfafa feild & grass) the other day & didn't want to eat & seemed bloated so I mashed up 4 Mylanta gas in a tiny bit of water(enough to help melt them), mixed it up in some strawberry yogurt & fed it to her in a huge cattle syring(no needle) & she was better that night, stomach had went down & back to eating like normal.
Sure wish that was all that was wrong with your girl but she sounds worse if you can't get her up. Sure hope someone else jumps in to help you soon, since I know it's soooooofrustrating when you don't know what to do next for them & they are counting on you to fix them! Good luck & let us know how she does.

Janis Sauncy · #5 04/28/08, 03:03 PM

Isn't a goat's temperature supposed to be in the 101-102 degree range?

If it's under 99 degrees, what would that indicate?

Janis

LomahAcres · #6 04/28/08, 03:15 PM

Yes, that is a very low temp, I would think hypocalcemia? aka Milk Fever (which is not a fever, but causes the temp to drop, due to low blood calcium).

In which case a calcium drench, or Calcium Gluconate 23% Solution orally 8 oz 3 times a day, until she is up and eating again.

Signs of Milk fever may include:

Weekness, Wobbly legs feet, inability to stand,
Decrease in appetite, mild boat,
Trembling / shaking / shivering especially after milking
Low body temp, decrease in milk,
May stop ruminating, have difficulty urinating / defecating.

With the nasal discharge and scours, it could be something else . . . Vit. B complex shot will also help boost her.

Missbeckysgoats · #7 04/28/08, 04:34 PM

I have no idea where you could get it since I do not live in NC, but have you heard of Colloidal Silver? it looks like water, but tastes a little thicker than water, my Sister in law has got a silver generator and has done a TON of research on this stuff. She says people use it on their animals. If you could get a hold of some just pour it into her water and then she'll drink it (you could google, 'colloidal silver' and find out more on like wikipedia or something). It's pretty good for wiping out sickness in humans as well.
Other than that, I don't have any idea what else to tell you,
I hope she does okay, I just lost one of my baby goats, I think he had pneumonia and I found him to late to help him.
I'll pray for her, and you.

-Rebecca

susanne · #8 04/28/08, 04:37 PM

low temp and no milk is typical for hypocalcemia.
she needs cmpk injenctable from your vet, now.
what did you feed her during last trimester in her pregnancy"and after kidding?

nubiansinny · #9 04/28/08, 06:14 PM

If her belly is tight i'd tread her for bloat first. Yogert is the best thing for her if she's not eating.It will help no matter what she has. It's better than giving probios. Keep her warm and away from the other goats just incase.
When my goat went down before she kidded her temp went down and stopped eating.I treated her for everything,With the vet having been consulted. calcium drench, vitB shots, yogert w/1 pump of nutra drench every couple hours.It was cold so i put a sweatshirt on her and put hot rice packs under it to keep her warm.Lost the kids but she made it,much to the vets suprise and is milking.
the symptoms are of more than one ailment so you might be getting a snowball effect. keep her warm keep, her hydrated and it might buy you some time to figure out what it is. I"d call a vet some times it's all you can do.
Good luck I hope things go as well for you as mine did

deetu · #10 04/28/08, 08:00 PM

I had a pygmy that had a hugh green discharge from her nose. Vet said it was vomit, that she ate something poisonous. He tubed her with charcoal and Pepto. Sorry to say, I lost her.

Can't suggest any other treatment but thought you'd like to know in case.

us4davis · #11 04/29/08, 07:45 AM

Guys thanks for the help!
We lost "Truly" late yesterday afternoon. We tried everything we could. She was our very first goat and no other will ever be able to compare to her!!!! She was the whole reason DH agreed to let us have more goats. DH said he can not do this anymore(he is a softy). It just breaks your heart when you see a grown man cry.
We made sure she had extra calcium (alfalfa pellets) at every feeding the whole pregnancy and afterwards. I have preached to the girls and everyone else about how important it is to have enough calcium in their feed during pregnancy. We are at a lost as to what started this. We are not sure if she ate something. We had her up walking around and rubbing her sides to help relieve the bloat and her stomach had gone down greatly and then it expanded really fast and before we could do anything she was gone.

Alice In TX/MO · #12 04/29/08, 08:03 AM

Not enough calcium. Even with the alfalfa pellets and the best management, sometimes the does go into milk 'fever'.

susanne · #13 04/29/08, 08:41 AM

reading again, i think she might had enterotoxemia. low temp in this case was because she was already dying. sorry you lost her.

nubiansinny · #14 04/29/08, 09:30 AM

Sorry you lost her.

sometimes there is nothing you can do. Go hug her babies . It will take some time but the sadness will pass and those goats know how to warm your heart.life will go on so goes life with all animals. Good and bad you have to take it all.But it's worth it in the long run. So sorry again and {{{{{huggs}}}}} to your hubby and you. Mine is the same way.

goatsareus · #15 04/29/08, 09:31 AM

I am so sorry you lost your goat

It can be so heart breaking

I hope you and dh recover soon.

Backfourty,MI. · #16 04/29/08, 11:21 AM

I am so, so Sorry you lost her. I cried right along with you & probly many others as I read your post. Please post pictures of her babies! They will help you get through this loss.

Minelson · #17 04/29/08, 12:54 PM

oh I'm sorry you lost Truly. It's going to be rough for awhile...but you will be ok. I know exactly how you feel...especially about your husband. My husbands emotion over our beloved dog death really sent me into a tailspin. I'm not used to that, but I'm glad he did even though it made me feel worse. It's been 2.5 weeks...we are still very sad, but it is better. Big hugs to you and your family...

Naturaldane · #18 04/29/08, 01:43 PM

First let me say Im sorry for your loss, I know how had it can be not to know.
Im not sure if this can apply to goats but it may be worth a try for some one who is perhaps in your shoes and is concerned about bloat.
This is a APP that is for dogs to relive bloat, its one of those things it works when it works but isnt reliable but here it is, maybe it will work and save a goat for some one some day,
http://www.iwane.org/A_P.htm

Sweet Goats · #19 04/29/08, 01:58 PM

I also am so sorry for your loss, but like the others have said you will go on.

You will NEVER EVER forget her, and you shouldn't, but you have two babies that need you now more then ever.

Go pamper those babies and it make you feel a lot better ever time. Just remember you did not lose that beautiful doe in vane. Learn from it that is what you need to get from it.
As soon as a goat acts just a Little off, that is when you try like hell to find the trouble. You know you goats better then anyone else, so only you will truly ever know if something is wrong.
As soon as a doe that is in the last of her pregnancy starts to act off, or one that kidded I take action right away. It is normally a lack of Calcium, and that is a very easy fix.

Again, I am so sorry. Hugs to you all. I lost my first doe in 8 years last August and I still tear up thinking about her.