baby goat not feeling well question

DownHome · #1 03/02/10, 11:12 AM

She is 10 days old. Was just dehorned and is in our kitchen still. She just doesn't seem to be as spunky as usual and has actually fallen down and doesn't seem to have an easy time getting back up. She seems to be favoring one of her back legs.

Any ideas?

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Minelson · #2 03/02/10, 04:15 PM

Need a little bit more info...temp? what are you feeding? eating/drinking ok? poops normal? How did the disbudding go? Could she have injured the leg? Did you use any BoSe?

susanne · #3 03/02/10, 04:20 PM

we need to know her temp and other vital signs.
could it be the iron was too long on her head? that would be vet time. you would need banamine from vet to get the swelling in her brain down and antibiotic. problem with hindleg either injury because some body hit her or she did a wrong jump, or brain swelling and result is neurological problems.

DownHome · #4 03/02/10, 05:19 PM

She is drinking 12 oz 4 x a day. Her temp is normal. The disbudding went very smoothly, about 5 seconds on each side.

When I pasteurized the last batch of milk, it got too warm 190 degrees. Could that cause it?

We didn't use any bo se

eating pooping and peeing have all been normal...until this afternoon. She seems to strain to pee and little comes out. pooing still normal.

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Minelson · #5 03/02/10, 06:32 PM

I don't know! and I have my own crises going on right now. I don't have experience with bottle feeding...but all the symptons don't seem to add up to one thing. I wonder if she has a urinary tract infection that isn't showing a fever. If that is the case then anti-biotcs would be in order.
Hopefully someone else will chime in...

DownHome · #6 03/02/10, 10:26 PM

She seems to be pushing sometimes and no poop coming out. She definitely is having pain in her tummy. I gave her some baking soda and some kid paste that I had. Any other ideas?

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Helena · #7 03/02/10, 10:31 PM

OK..could she be constipated ?? A little mineral oil or even veggie oil would work..but since she hasn't felt well since the dehorning..maybe that is the problem as mentioned before. Did you give her the the tetnaus vaccine at time of disbudding..but really don't think that is the problem.. Get her vet checked..

Minelson · #8 03/02/10, 10:34 PM

hmmm.sounds like she is constipated. I have read that some give the young ones enemas to help relieve that. Baking soda is a great idea.
here is a post about enemas
Help please, buckling acting funny

betsy h. · #9 03/03/10, 01:03 AM

This very well may bacterial- this may likely be joint ill.

Did she get a tetanus shot when she was disbudded? If not, she needs one now! The back leg, in conjunction with the disbudding is very suggestive to me of joint ill- Pen, and banamine.

I've dealt with joint ill before and this is very like what happens early on. Just banamine will help, but it will come back and be worse because the root cause is not being dealt with. Joint ill is not pretty, joint ill kills.

Minelson · #10 03/03/10, 05:35 PM

How is the baby doing today?

DownHome · #11 03/03/10, 06:03 PM

She is better today than yesterday. It seems to be an upset stomach. I don't think she is processing the milk right. I have been giving her baking soda and probiotics. She had one regular poop today and one white poop.

downhome.

Minelson · #12 03/03/10, 06:17 PM

I'm glad she is better...I hope it continues. I am on poop watch myself with my goats

Baking soda and probios too! See...we have a connection now

betsy h. · #13 03/03/10, 07:25 PM

white poop is e.coli- e.coli is the cause of joint ill. the drug I would use to to correct is tetracycline. subcue and oral. time is of the essence!

susanne · #14 03/03/10, 08:15 PM

e-coli is also watery diarrhea. first time i heard this is reason for joint ill. in kids this young, navel ill/joint ill (because joints get enlarged) is a systemic infection caused by bacteria that travelt though umbelical if unlean condition in the barn and why we dip navels in iodin or nolvasan solution.
i really doubt this kid has e-coli infection.
what kind of milk are you feeding her?

Bricheze · #15 03/03/10, 09:19 PM

Did you dip the umbilical chord in iodine?

betsy h. · #16 03/03/10, 11:40 PM

The first sign you see w/ joint ill is LIMPING! on one or two legs and it goes from there.......

susanne · #17 03/04/10, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by betsy h.

The first sign you see w/ joint ill is LIMPING! on one or two legs and it goes from there.......

yes and high temperature and a kid that does not want the bottle

this kid has a normal temp and is drinking good.

how is she doing now?

betsy h. · #18 03/04/10, 06:21 AM

'high temperature'- not necessarily......

I've had goats in this incarnation since 1994. In all that time, last year was the first time I have ever had a case of joint ill.

It started in a few days old buckling after a big rain storm. I noticed he wasn't keeping up with his mates and he began limping on a hind leg. He did not want to eat as much and I took him aside to medicate and feed. He would walk kind of tucked up like his tummy hurt, and after about 48 hours, I noticed his back leg stopped hurting and he began limping on a front leg. Keep in mind this was after bio-mycin, etc. And he and all the other kids had been given all the usual meds and precautions at birth.

The stuff went systemic and he ended up limping on all four legs at some time or another and both front knees pumped up pretty well during this. I kept him on antibiotics and banamine, plus b-complex, and while he did get better, for the most part, he did not grow out. By this time he had really captured my heart and was one of my little shadows that always followed me around. Then one day, I found him dead at about 2 months old.

His dam was CAE negative, he never had a temperature and his litter brother never showed any signs of any illness whatsoever.

DownHome · #19 03/04/10, 08:18 AM

She is still limping around. When I feed her a lot it seems to make it worse for a while. She never hit the ground when she was born and has been in our kitchen ever since. Her navel was dipped shortly after birth, but after we got inside. There is a bump where her navel is, but it feels and looks normal to me.

More yellow poops today, but foamy?

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betsy h. · #20 03/04/10, 09:01 AM

*Please* give this baby some oral tetracycline.