I need to vent....

pourfolkes · #1 01/31/10, 04:05 PM

I have (had) 4 French Alpine does and one buck. All does were bred. 3 weeks ago, they went through the electric fencing and knocked down about 30 feet of fencing, little brats that goats can be... they were wandering around the woods in back of us. We got them back in the yard. 3 days later, one of my does was fine one moment, and then 15 min. later, she was as dead as can be. The only sign was some bloody mucus. The next morning, I saw afterbirth on one of the other does, ran out and there were 2 dead, very premature babies on the ground, the 3rd doe also had blood but no babies and I think she aborted also and my LGDs just cleaned it all up. The 4th doe has not bled as far as I have been able to see so I have no clue if she is still pregnant or not, but if I had to bet on it, I would say no.

I am thinking that they ate something in the woods that caused this to happen. Any ideas? I am heartbroken over it. I just love babies and have been waited all year for them. Oh well, I guess next year...

mamajohnson · #2 01/31/10, 04:52 PM

Wow! That is terrible. Maybe they got into some Azalea? that is the first thing I can think of off hand. SE Texas? You should go to the woods and look around, see what you have. We are in NE Texas, and I can't think of anything other than Azalea that would be around this time of year. Or maybe a recently downed wild cherry? Oh wait, that would be leaves, shouldn't be any wild cherry leaves... My goats have roamed the woods quiet often, and not found anything bad. Maybe they overate on whatever it was.
So sorry for your loss. So glad your does are all ok.

Alice In TX/MO · #3 01/31/10, 05:04 PM

Oleander, Lantana, Mountain Laurel, frost nipped Johnson grass, bracken fern, holly berries, thinking.............

List:
http://kinne.net/poi-list.htm

Backfourty,MI. · #4 02/01/10, 07:24 AM

That is terrible, Sorry to hear about the adult doe too. Hopefully all of them will be OK & you can re-breed them. Will it be too hot for babies born in the summer if you re-breed them there next heat cycle?

Rockytopsis · #5 02/01/10, 07:48 AM

Sorry for the loss of your adult doe and loss of kids, keep us posted on #4.
Nancy

mary,tx · #6 02/01/10, 11:49 AM

Do you have pine trees where you are? If you google pine needles + ruminants you will find articles on ingestion of Ponderosa pine needles causing abortions in cattle. I can't open them on my new computer, so am not linking.

mamajohnson · #7 02/01/10, 02:24 PM

Mary, you worried me! We have TONS of pine and the goats eat it all the time.
So, I looked up Ponderosa pine, it grows in the west, and not in Texas... so I think we are safe!