Very Worried

[NannyMcFee]

I have had my Nubian goats since August. So still figuring things out. My 4 year old Nanny was bred, I think in beginning of October but could be November. The other day she slammed hard into a fence trying to get away from a calf and the next day she didn't want to get up when we went out to milk her and had bloody discharge. We don't have any vets that do goats around here but after reading and reading I decided she is probably miscarrying. She layed down most of the day and I had to hold water to her. She did not have a temperature. So the next day I expected to come out to a stillborn baby goat but she hadnt yet. We didnt milk her but through out the day she started to get up and she even eat good and the discharge was gone. I thought maybe she stopped what ever was going on. So today I think she is really wanting to be milked but I had a hard time getting her up again and she has a small amount of bloody discharge again and she has a temp of 104, which as I have read is not high but she did have a 102 temp the other 2 days. And she would not let me milk her. I am so sad for her and don't know what to do! Help!

[KrisD]

So sorry to hear. Are you saying she was bred in oct or nov? Freshening means she just gave birth so her milk is freshened. Do you have antibiotics? She should be started on them she could have had a tear of some sort. You should have seen a fetus by now if she was aborting. Others will chime in and I will get some coffee so I am less foggy so I can think of more. When was the last time she was wormed too?

[NannyMcFee]

Oh sorry she was bred in October or November! Not freshened, still learning terms.. We put her with the buck in October but she went into heat again in November so we are not sure. What kind of antibiotics?

[Alice In TX/MO]

OK, I'm confused.

When did she have the last kids?

Why do you want to give her antibiotics?

Sounds like she's sore from getting slammed.

[KrisD]

Was she rebred in nov? If she wasn't rebred and you are sure she went back into heat then the discharge is not normal. I don't blame her for not wanting to get up but a fever and discharge makes me uncomfortable.

[NannyMcFee]

She was rebred in November. She is definantly pregnant. Is 104 considered a fever?

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'd just keep an eye on her for a while. Make sure she's moving around, peeing, pooping, etc.

104 is very slightly elevated, but if she's sore and uncomfortable, not *that* high.

Have you felt her all over for broken bones? Is she able to stand up and move around without indicating that she's in bone distress?

[NannyMcFee]

She was walking around yesterday. We have the minerals kinda high and she wouldn't go up to get them even though I knew she wanted them. She ate tons of mineral out of my hand. And she won't go up on the milking stand. She does pee and poop but I can tell she is having to push a bit for the poop. We had her down to 1 a day milking and were just about to do the every other day milking when this started but now she won't let us milk her at all. Should we push her to milk and push her to get up and walk around or let her be?

[susanne]

WHY do you have the minerals high up???????

if she is bred and still pregnant, she should not be milked and that is what she is telling you. what is her diet? enough calcium in form of alfa hay or pellets?
put the minerals down for her so she can get them when ever she needs to.
have fresh water at all time available.
my goats are getting fresh water at least twice a day and buckets are cleaned out every time with a brush.
goats can get constipated if not enough water available.

[NannyMcFee]

The minerals are not really high just a little bit so they don't poop in it. We feed her alfalfa hay, pellets, sweet feed, and they love ucaliptus leaves. We live in Arizona and it doesnt freeze hard so we have automatic water bowels that are a constant supply of fresh water. The bowl is always clean. I read that you can milk the goats up until 2 months of delivering. Was that wrong? We were just starting to dry her up since she should deliver in March. We were down to once a day and just starting to to every other day.

[rootsandwings]

I dry off two months before delivery. It sounds likely that she did miscarry. Depending on when she was bred in November, you may not see any sign of a fetus. If she miscarried, she should go back into heat within three weeks, but it is late in the season, so if she normaly doesn't cycle in Jan/Feb she may not.

[NannyMcFee]

I just checked her and now she has a little bit of a snotty nose. Could she just be sick? I never noticed if that is normal or not.

There would be no signs of a fetus?

Thanks for all your help and wisdom. I have just fell in love with my two goats. I can't believe more people don't have them. It just makes me sad that she is not feeling well and I don't know what to do for her.

[Donna1982]

Whens the last time you took her temp? My own LaMancha has a snotty nose every morning but thats my girl and its normal for her. If I was you I would take her temp again and run my hands over her to see if I can feel anything abnormal. Like swelling or broken bones.

[LoneStrChic23]

Ok, so you brought her home in August, in milk. Then she was bred in November & due to kid in March... Correct?

She got rammed into the fence, had bloody discharge, 104° temp, but no sign of an aborted fetus.

Is the snotty nose a new thing? What color is the snot? What is her temp right now? Has she been eating her hay & such? Was she on a normal milking schedule before this happened?

Sorry for your girl, but I bet we can get this figured out. Just wanna make sure I have the facts straight. And yes, you can milk while pregnant & dry them up the last month or 2 to prepare for kids.

[TroutRiver]

Is there blood in the milk, also? I didn't think that was normal for a miscarriage, but I could be wrong. Is there any way you could have missed an aborted fetus? Are there dogs around that could have found it first? Could it have gotten buried in loose bedding?

[NannyMcFee]

Crystal that is all correct. Thanks for the clarification. My emotions are high. I just checked her temp and it is now 102. The snot is new but it is clear. She will eat a little and drink when I hold up the bucket to her. We were on a once a day milking getting ready to go to every other day. Last night we should have milked but she would not let us and this morning was very insistent that we not touch her utters either. I didn't want to force her and cause her stress. I got close and touched them and they did not appear to be hot or anything.

There was NO blood in the milk last time we milked her. I had no idea the fetus could be so small. I just went and looked around but didn't see anything. No dogs could have gotten in their pen. She is still just kinda sad and laying around. She is peeing and pooping with effort but none the less doing it. Now our other goat is kinda laying around too like its sad for her or something.

[Donna1982]

Could she gotten into something she shouldn't have? Chicken feed? Moldy hay? Anything she hasn't normally ate before?

[rootsandwings]

A 30 day old goat fetus is less than 1.5 cm in length. So what you are looking for is a "body" that may be less than an inch long. Even at twice that size - if your goat goes into a field, odds are you will never find it - imagine looking for a mouse.

[Alice In TX/MO]

She got bred in November? That's more than a 30 day fetus, unless I am reaaalllly calendar impaired.

I'd massage firmly along her spine, watching for her to flinch, and feeling for mis-alignment and soreness. I think she's hurting.

[LoneStrChic23]

No worries, even in situations that I can easily handle, I sometimes panic & am not 100% coherent when relaying info when it's MY babies in distress.

Do you have access to banamine? The injectable dosed at 1cc per 100lb may help with the pain enough to get her up & eating her hay & such.

Is there any sign of anything broken?