Doe acting odd....thoughts?

[LoneStrChic23]

Sabrina, my alpine doe is acting odd.....

Past 2 days I've seen her with her head lowered, turned to the side and gazing upwards at nothing at all. When I interrupt these odd starting sprees, she pushes her head under my jacket and snuggles up to me, or tries to lick me from head to toe...I checked her ears just to make sure the odd head tilting wasn't due to some ear problem but both ears look fine....

She's a pig usually....bad enough we supervise feedings or she bullies the others away from their grain. This morning she ate about half of her grain (and that was with me coaxing and hand feeding some of it) and spent the rest of the time trying to crawl in my lap. Checked her temp & eyelids and all normal. She is however, chowing down on tons of hay like it's candy...just not interested in her grain mix.

Can all the weirdness just be hormones? She is due to kid on February 17th. She has no goo, hoo-haw changes or super loose ligaments...but she does have a tiny softball sized udder now....

Odds are she's probably just being weird to make me worry huh? How early can a doe safely kid with healthy offspring? Are really premature births common in goats?

When Tootsie kidded, she got very loose ligaments and was lovey dovey the day she kidded.....She didn't go off grain, stare off into space like in a trance, our try to crawl inside clothing and be held...

Anywho, just thought I'd ask if anyone else had dealt with this... I'm checking her every few hours, just in case..

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yup, I'd say hormones.

Just in case, do you have Thiamine or B Complex on hand? You could give her a B Vitamin shot just for good luck.

[LoneStrChic23]

No I don't Alice

Where can I get it and what brand name is it sold under? Would TSC have it or something similar? I could run and get it before they close tonight if she needs it..

Just don't want anything to be wrong with her.....

[Goat Servant]

Bcomplex is over counter at feed store. Thiamine is vet Rx.
How does her breath smell?

[LoneStrChic23]

Originally Posted by Goat Servant

Bcomplex is over counter at feed store. Thiamine is vet Rx.
How does her breath smell?

My husband is laughing at me because I just walked out in the rain to smell a goat's breath. Didn't smell off.... so I sniffed the other girls breath and they all smell the same.

What is the bcomplex sold under.....would TSC have something that would work? If so what's it called. Can't get the RX from the vet...had a fight just to get Bo-Se. No feed stores but TSC is open today..

[LoneStrChic23]

Originally Posted by Goat Servant

Bcomplex is over counter at feed store. Thiamine is vet Rx.
How does her breath smell?

My husband is laughing at me because I just walked out in the rain to smell a goat's breath. Didn't smell off.... so I sniffed the other girls breath and they all smell the same.

What is the bcomplex sold under.....would TSC have something that would work? If so what's it called. Can't get the RX from the vet...had a fight just to get Bo-Se. No feed stores but TSC is open today..

[Backfourty,MI.]

At TSC it's called Vitamin B Complex, it will help with her appetite. Is she getting any alfafa pellets also?
Sounds like hormones to me too, sure hope it warms up for you down there by the time the babies come!

[Alice In TX/MO]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livesto...lement-2209147

[LoneStrChic23]

Awesome! Thanks y'all!

Yes, they get as much alfalfa pellets as they want..... I don't limit them on the pellets and I usually take them out 3x's a day so they're always fresh. They have a separate feeder for alfalfa pellets, its not mixed in their grain....

Sabrina ate grain tonight without issue & wasn't acting weird at all really other than licking my hands....

I think they just like to make me stress and make extra barn trips just to amuse themselves

[Laverne]

Get the fortified B's to get the higher thiamine levels. My goats seem to want baking soda this time of year more than usual. I mix it 1 to 4 in the mineral mix to get them to eat more minerals, but they're really after the soda. Grass hay is alkalizing and she may need her rumen ph balanced. Grain is can be acidifying so maybe she is avoiding it.

[LoneStrChic23]

Hi! Sabrina ate well this morning and other than being a velcro goat, she's normal. I bought the B Vitamin complex that is in the link Alice posted...Doesnt list a goat dosage, but says 5ml per 100lbs for sheep. Do I use that dosage?

Thanks in advance

[Jcran]

When we've had goats either be close to labor, or actually while they are in labor, they will "clean off" anything nearby...licking, licking, licking. She's practicing on you

That being said, we had one goat with OCD on her first freshening...she licked her kid off thoroughly and then couldn't stop. She licked him every time she could get him to stand still...she licked him for a week straight, I kid you not. Her tongue swelled up so much we were worried, but she finally relaxed.

[saanengirl]

Yes, use the sheep dosage.

I notice with a lot of does, particularly mature does, that when they approach parturition they get increasingly uncomfortable. Kind of like a pregant lady during the last month of pregnancy. The behavior you described is pretty typical. They start groaning and staring off into space on a regular basis. One reason they don't eat as much is that there is less room for food with all of that room being taken up by kids. They need more frequent small meals because of this.

[Jcran]

We currently have a boer doe on her third freshening who isn't due until March 11th, and is going to give birth to a propane tank. We are providing alfalfa but with water in the adjoining pasture so she has to walk to it. We also cut browse (acacia) at the back of the pen so she has to walk back there...the idea being that she needs to keep moving. She is starting to prolapse so we are going to use a "save-ewe" to keep things where they belong until kidding. We are very concerned that she have snacks all day long so she doesn't go into a ketosis...good luck with yours!

[coso]

Yep, Just hormones. We had one kid Sunday night. She had been talking to us and licking you if you got close for about a week before hand.

[secretcreek]

Originally Posted by LoneStrChic23

Hi! Sabrina ate well this morning and other than being a velcro goat, she's normal. I bought the B Vitamin complex that is in the link Alice posted...Doesnt list a goat dosage, but says 5ml per 100lbs for sheep. Do I use that dosage?

Thanks in advance

You can't really overdose a goat on Vit B Complex as the body just gets rid of what it doesn't need. You can give it orally too- but it doesn't taste good-( I sneak it in mixed with molasses and water. Do know you will smell like vitamins for a week if you get it on you LOL... Plus, It will give her more of an appetite. It's great stuff to ALWAYS HAVE...as it contains thiamine that the brain needs. If a goat goes off feed for more than a meal or so they start burning the glucose in the blood and then the all important thiamine level drops and the brain swells causing neuro problems... this is the beginning stages of goat polio. Never ever hurts to keep that thiamine level happy!! Your goat was regulating her grain to roughage ratio by chowing on the hay to make heat and energy, as those kids are now putting all the groceries she's eating into getting bigger before birth. Don't overfeed grain too much though....that topples the cal/phos or grain/roughage ration and a near term doe can crash quickly.

Don't forget www.fiascofarm.com for wonderfully detailed goat info

-scrt crk

[Alice In TX/MO]

My FF (about to be) Mini-Alpine had a hormone attack yesterday when I went to feed. She's due next Saturday, but she's showing small amounts of goo and has a nice udder.

She rubbed her head on the ground, went to her knees, and walked her butt around her front end in a circle, went dancing off across the goat pen snorting and cavorting like a kid. Then, she went in one of the small goat shelters and tried to dig to China. She dug, got up, lay down, sat up on her fanny like a dog, and repeated the process several times.

Went out in the dark to check her later, and she was TOTALLY calm. Looks at me with that "WHAT?" expression.

Gotta love pregnant goats.

[LoneStrChic23]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

My FF (about to be) Mini-Alpine had a hormone attack yesterday when I went to feed. She's due next Saturday, but she's showing small amounts of goo and has a nice udder.

She rubbed her head on the ground, went to her knees, and walked her butt around her front end in a circle, went dancing off across the goat pen snorting and cavorting like a kid. Then, she went in one of the small goat shelters and tried to dig to China. She dug, got up, lay down, sat up on her fanny like a dog, and repeated the process several times.

Went out in the dark to check her later, and she was TOTALLY calm. Looks at me with that "WHAT?" expression.

Gotta love pregnant goats.

LOL! Hubby says they feel miserable and just do weird stuff so I'll be paranoid and check them more. Sabrina was THRILLED when I went out last night around 11 to check on her...she was acting quite smug actually. She's chowing down like crazy on the minerals (put fresh out this morning) and the alfalfa pellets and acting fine now. Will give her the B vitamin shot subq in just a bit....Thanks for everything