Well, I'm totally bummed.
Naomi our 10+ year old Nubian is not doing well today. She has been acting her age this past year - really old, and not getting around so well this year. We were most likely going to put her down this fall - depending on how she did through the summer. Anyway, last night I noticed her milk production was down - I didn't think too much of it, she still ate most her grain - Our weather went from warm and sunny to cold and rainy and even some snow - so a little less milk is usually expected.
Come this am - she is lying down, not getting up - but in an upright position not her side - head down, depressed and drooling. My first thoughts were polio or listeriosis - so I gave her some thiamine and bio-mycin (what I had on hand). I tried to take her temp, but she was sitting on her rump and I just couldn't get the thermometer in there. Every now and then she would move a little and moan, like in pain, so I gave her 1/2 dose of banamine as well.
For a while she seem to improve a little - she would lift up her head, and was moaning less.
Later this afternoon, she had moved around a bit so I was able to get a temp - 97.5 - cold. I also noticed she had red - like blood in her vagina - it wasn't running out, and there was nothing on the thermometer, otherwise I would have said she was bleeding inside? I guess it's still a possibility. I did give her some CMPK in case of milk fever - but I've seen milk fever before and this just doesn't seem to fit.
She is not really eating or drinking anything - she is having a hard time swallowing so I did want to try and stuff too much in there. I put out some warm molasses water for her as well.
I guess I'm going to give her another 12 hours and see what we can do? Before we decided to put her down. I just don't want to see her in pain. She is 'ok' for now - I have her covered up in a nice mound of straw to help keep her warm.
Any other ideas as to what this might be? I am checking on her hourly and keeping up with the thiamine and antibiotics in case. Also starting her on probiotics as well, as long as she will swallow.
Oh, also, she did kid 5 weeks ago - could it be possible she had something go wrong internally and it's just been slow to come about? I was there at the kidding and it all seemed normal. Everything good- she was eating well, wormed as usual - she didn't want to get up on the milk stand - but she hadn't been doing that for a while - just figured it was her old bones not wanting to be athletic. It was the blood that made me think of this.
I think she is probably just old and coming to her end, not able to fight whatever it is off, but I want to give it some fight myself - any ideas as to what to try would be appreciated.
Thanks !
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Sad day - Sick goat, ideas?
