Doe behaving oddly, may be sick.

CraterCove · #1 10/29/13, 11:19 AM

I have a yearling Saanen doe, this is the first year she's been properly covered, she should be about a month along, we've come past her days she was in heat last month with no show of heat.

Today I looked out while they are grazing and she just seems off. Nothing really terribly definable yet but I haven't been wrong yet when I feel something is off with a goat. I have checked the baking soda supply and came out and offered some directly to her. She has picked at it a bit.

I think she is having some kind of stomach upset today. She isn't eating as enthusiastically as normal. Her eye lids are a little pale perhaps between a B and C. I am looking for my darn thermometer to get an accurate temperature...

I have pepto and milk of magnesia on hand... I just watched her lie down, it seemed a little awkward to me and all the other does are still grazing away. She's not looking at or poking her belly and she doesn't seem overly firm on her left side, but I am still thinking she's got an upset tummy. Should I try and get a cud from someone else and give it to her in case her bugs are off?

**mygoat** · #2 10/29/13, 11:25 AM

Does she have a wet chin? See if you can get her to move around and obs her behavior. Temp is a good idea.

Minelson · #3 10/29/13, 11:33 AM

What does a wet chin show Dona?

Since she is a little pale I would deworm and/or fecal test. Temp will help

Could be pneumonia.

CraterCove · #4 10/29/13, 11:33 AM

Still tossing the place for the thermometer... moving a lot and having only temp places for everything is aggravating.

Went out to check her chin and she was lying down again but when she saw me hopped up and immediately started grazing. ~shakes head~ But no, her chin is not wet. ETA: Also poops are normal, she was kind enough to demonstrate for me.

Could I be over reacting? Do does pregnant for the first time feel off and yet have nothing wrong?

Minelson · #5 10/29/13, 11:37 AM

I don't think you can over react when you have as much experience as you do. Follow your gut.

CraterCove · #6 10/29/13, 02:06 PM

Okay, so she's now grazing as if nothing unusual happened. What I _think_ happened was that this morning she got ahold of something that got her really gassy and when I brought the baking soda to her and she ate it, it relieved her discomfort.

I am still looking for the blasted thermometer. I may just have to get another when I go into town. A lost piece of equipment is as good as a nonexistent piece of equipment.

I am going to be keeping a very close eye on her...

dozedotz · #7 10/29/13, 02:10 PM

Goats can really surprise you! One minute they are just dandy - or so you think - next minute they appear "different" and then BOOM! Hopefully, the baking soda relieved her and she does not locate that plant or whatever again!!!

punchiepal · #8 10/29/13, 02:36 PM

Well, as crazy as it sounds, we have a doe that every year seems to have "morning sickness" as we call it. About the time she misses her first heat she mopes around, just kinda hangin'. Seems to last at least to the next missed cycle then gets better.

**mygoat** · #9 10/29/13, 04:29 PM

Glad she's feeling better. A wet chin is one of the first signs I've noticed in animals with listeria/polio. As they loose function in their face/mouth they begin to drool. Some eventually drool a LOT - all have a damp chin at least though.

CraterCove · #10 10/29/13, 04:30 PM

I will keep that in mind-- again now she seems to be doing fine. Maybe she is just having some 'morning sickness' I don't know but she is on my watch list right now and being scrutinized.

wintrrwolf · #11 10/29/13, 06:09 PM

Glad she is doing good.
If she is still pale you could try a B12 injection but since she is in her first 50 days of pregnancy try to avoid doing anything stressful to her if you can.

CraterCove · #12 10/29/13, 07:02 PM

I try to do as required worming but then I don't want to do worming early on in pregnancy-- I've only had goats four years so I am still working it all out. Our place in GA has cedar trees and we had relatively low worm loads once we turned them out with those trees. They seemed to self worm to a degree-- but then again the weather has been off kilter, it feels like to me for the past two years, I can count the amount of fireflies I've seen all year on two hands yet the fleas have been horrible!

I'll start up a solution tomorrow and do a fecal on her and see just what seems to be up in that area so maybe I can target the worming better. And in the meantime I will be watching out for any other abnormalities.

Clovers_Clan · #13 10/29/13, 08:47 PM

We just got our first frost here in Northeast Georgia. Watch for cyanogenic poisoning. there are some plants in our area, such as vetch, that are a problem when they wilt from frost. She could have had a light case.

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/...tml#cyanogenic
http://www.infovets.com/books/smrm/F/F835.htm#contain glycosides

CraterCove · #14 10/30/13, 08:20 AM

Okay, something has to be up. When I let them all out this morning her rumen is not nearly as 'deflated' as I would expect it to be after being in all night. She also seems to be looking for something in particular to eat. She is walking fine, her head is up, she's not hunched or stiff seeming.

Poops are still normal, there is a little green at the corner of her mouth. I am leaning more towards her eating something that was really not good for her. I think I am going to dose her with Milk of Magnesia.

Is there any reason _not_ to put her on a course of B shots?

CraterCove · #15 10/30/13, 09:53 AM

Gave her a dose of milk of magnesia and she is chowing down on fresh oak leaves. Maybe I will keep her in and on leaves not grass or hay for a while. If I am not mistaken that should help her digestive system.

chamoisee · #16 10/30/13, 12:44 PM

I also have observed newly pregnant does acting as though their appetite is sub-par, as if they have morning sickness/queasiness.

Frosted Mini's · #17 10/30/13, 08:38 PM

I would NOT make a drastic change to her diet, that will just upset her rumen more. You could keep her in for a few days, but I would feed the leaves alongside the hay. B-vitamins don't hurt, and are usually good supportive care for ill goats.

CraterCove · #18 10/31/13, 10:20 AM

Still keeping a close eye on her, I am hesitant to keep her in too much because really 80-90% of what my guys eat is browse on the land and just a little hay when they are put in. So instead of increasing the amount of hay she is getting, when we put her in we've been putting oak branches in with her.

She seems really good today, more herself but I am keeping her under observation. Just when I had started to feel like this coming year was going to be a good goat year, like I had mostly gotten myself together! She is stressing me out lol