HUGE gall bladder on sudden death goat?

**mygoat** · #1 04/22/13, 06:18 AM

A friend called up on Saturday saying he was at TSC getting supplies because his new goat was down. He'd had her all of 4 days and the day before she was a happy goat, then Saturday she was circling the drain.

Her temp was 100* that he took before I got there. Went over to meet him, and she was pretty much in her death throes, so we didn't do much more but call his neighbor over with a gun. Her eye membranes were a bit pale but didn't seem deathly - Her gums and eye membranes were a bit blue, though, but she wasn't respiring normally anymore (death gasps essentially, very spaced out) and that may be why. He didn't end up needing the gun, she passed before he got there. Looking at her, there was NO reason she shouldn't be happy/healthy. He said he bought her to feed the bottle doelings he also bought as well as milk for the family. She dried right up when he brought her home, he said she didn't like drinking but she wasn't dehydrated. She probably did have a rapid diet change and was browsing on our short grass up here (not a ton of fresh good growth yet in his pasture, also shared with chickens) Udder looked fine, no diarrhea, no bloat, no foaming... just a dying goat.

We opened her up, bit of gas in the intestine but she didn't look bloated so I'm not sure if it was an issue or not. Everything appeared normal. The only thing we really found was her gall bladder was HUGE. I've done adult goats and this one was ginormous. Bigger than a softball at the 'big' part of the sac. Lungs looked great, heart was normal, stomachs appeared normal.

The best diagnosis I could come up with is entero from moving/diet change. Kidneys were normal.

Any ideas/suggestions? Has me mostly stumped.

Minelson · #2 04/22/13, 06:57 AM

I would think it has something to do with that gallbladder. I'm going to ask the vet at work this morning.....

**mygoat** · #3 04/22/13, 07:03 AM

It looked normal, just huge! Much bigger than I've ever seen on a goat.

Alice In TX/MO · #4 04/22/13, 07:19 AM

Gall stones?

SkeeterBlue · #5 04/22/13, 08:01 AM

Did you open the gall bladder to see what was inside? Was the goat kept on pasture with cows?

**mygoat** · #6 04/22/13, 08:13 AM

Nope, didn't open it.

She wasn't with cows at her new home, He didn't mention cows at the old place, but I suppose it's possible. Are you thinking liver flukes?

Cyngbaeld · #7 04/22/13, 09:37 AM

Any creature that has not been eating will have a very large, full gall bladder. It just means she wasn't processing any food so the bladder wasn't emptying for several days.

If she promptly dried up upon moving she was already sick.

**mygoat** · #8 04/22/13, 01:29 PM

She had been eating until the day she died, from what I understand. I saw no indication of illness in the way she appeared - body condtion good, no diarrhea, no snot etc - and neither had the owners' friend/neighbor who raises sheep/goats and is a good friend of the owner. This neighbor had seen the goat many times after the owner got them, confirmed happy/healthy/not sick when they arrived. Stomachs and intestines had food in there, so stuff was moving to some degree... They knew she was off the morning she died, not hungry that day and just seemed ill (I wasn't able to see symptoms because I was too late, but I guess increased respirations, lowered temp from what I was told). Since they hadn't seen her drink, the owner figured dehydration and drenched her with water and then some molasses water because she wouldn't eat that day. Owner found some goat emergency online thing and called a couple people for advice, and then remembered me, so I headed over with 2 5 gallon buckets full of everything I could think to bring, since I had no idea what we'd be working with.

Now that I remember, He mentioned on the phone that she was 'bleeding' from the vulva. When I saw her in person, it was almost like a clear red discharge more like meat juice. Weird. No odor. Hadn't kidded in over a year, so it wasn't recent. She was not bred (no buck where she came from, plus we opened her up). Uterus looked red, but then I normally butcher animals that have been bled out and tissues are much paler that way... so I'm not sure if it was abnormal or not. There might have been a cyst on an ovary becasue I don't think she was ovulating but I could see what looked to be a follicle but large for the size ovary... that may explain the discharge if she had uterine problems but I'm not sure it should've killed her.

Cyngbaeld · #9 04/22/13, 01:51 PM

Did you notice any bruising? Did you open the gut and check for bleeding? I've seen abnormal vaginal bleeding in DIC, in humans. Usually had a rapid intestinal bleed out that killed them.
Sure hard to know what killed animals sometimes.

**mygoat** · #10 04/22/13, 03:09 PM

I did not see anything abnormal with the intestines... I was thinking entero, so I definetely checked them over. Seemed fine - no blood at least, but had gas - but they didn't look or feel distended, so it was probably 'normal' gas.

The vaginal discharge was clear but red... very liquidy. Looked like abnormal discharge, not really 'blood'. But, no odor and she didn't have a high temp. So weird! Something was wonky with her body systems, I just don't know what it was!

Wish I had better answers to give him. He was saddened obviously, and had to tell his kids 'momma goat' (they didn't even have time to name her) had passed away.

Minelson · #11 04/22/13, 04:18 PM

Shoot ... we were so swamped at the clinic I forgot to ask the vet

Sorry...I'll be back on Wed and TRY to remember!