Baby goat question

[mamascheets]

Unfortunately I am asking this question because I just lost a baby goat. The mama had this goat in an ice storm She didn't go into the barn and I found the goat almost frozen. Well I brought it in the house and warmed it up and got it walking and feed it. I proceeded over the next week to bottle feed it and bring it out to the mama who was in a stable herself in the barn. I put heat lamps in that stable so it was about 55 degrees in that stable on average. Anyway to make a long story short I put her in there for two hours at a time for the first couple of days and then increase it to four hours at a time. After a week I put her out there when the kids went to school and when the kids got home we went to bring her in and she had died. It wasn't very cold that day and the stable was plenty warm. What my main question is what happened? I am new to these goats and have only had babies last spring and summer so I wasnt sure about the winter. If anyone has words of wisdom that would be helpful for the future.

Thanks

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

It is impossible to know why. Kids need lots of calories to keep themselves warm. Was the mom being mean to her? One thing that we all have seen is mom's who reject a kid who later on, no matter what we do, to die...most of us feel that the mom knew all along this kid would not make it. Instinct perhaps. Vicki

[Sondra Peterson]

Did you ever take her temp?? she could have gotten pneumonia and sometimes it is a silent killer and quick. Also wondering if this kid got any colostrum in the first 12 to 24 hrs 12 hrs preferred

[JAS]

Same thing happened to me last month. The mother went outside in -6 degree weather to have her twins and went back inside to past the afterbirth. I found the kids--one was frozen and had not been cleaned off at all, the other one I took inside, warmed up, and started to bottle feed.

The baby died after about a week. He was doing great then in one day he was gone. We figured pneumonia--hit fast, he quite eating, humped back, raspy breath. I think I would of been better off just keeping him in the house, but I was trying to get the mother/kid back together.

The interesting thing is that the mother did not have any milk--I tried to milk clostrum that night for the little guy, but nothing after fifteen minutes. I did get some from a friend. Now that same mother is sick. The vet gave her some shots but we are not sure what is wrong. She probably knew the babies would not make it.

[mamascheets]

The mama of the kid that I talked about loosing in January had decided to quit eating. She is getting close to skin and bones. I don't know how to get her to eat or what excatly to do. I really would rather not take her in to a vet but if it comes down to it i will but am trying everything first. Any suggestions?

[shorty'smom]

That goat has something wrong. Is her mouth sore? I think a vet is in order.

I've had a go-round with a pneumonia this winter, and if the kids start having raspy breathing, you're loosing time fast. We got antibiotic for the whole bunch and injected them all. Teramyacin didn't work on it either. I had to go buy a cephalosporin to get it, and even treated a few adult does and the herd sire. Rain, mud, 70 degrees one day, freezing the next day; it's all so hard on these animals. I'll be glad for Spring.

[rhjacobi]

Hi mamascheets,

Not enough here to say too much, but as a guess I might say Ketosis. A vet is an excellent way to learn without loosing goats.

I'll list three web sites that have information about diseases anf treatments. Perhaps you can look at some of the symptoms to help determine a diagnosis.

goatwisdom.com
jackmauldin.com
fiascofarm.com

I hope this helps some.

Bob
Lynchburg, TN.

Originally Posted by mamascheets

The mama of the kid that I talked about loosing in January had decided to quit eating. She is getting close to skin and bones. I don't know how to get her to eat or what excatly to do. I really would rather not take her in to a vet but if it comes down to it i will but am trying everything first. Any suggestions?

[rhjacobi]

Hi again mamascheets,

I am sorry about your loss.

It sounds like you may have a similar climate to ours. It can be 60/70 degrees and then a couple of times a year we will get an arctic blast and the temp can go to single digits or even zero overnight. This can complicate things somewhat not only because it is cold, but because it seems to help push some kids out a little premature.

I can't tell from here if the kid got enough colostrum. If they don't get any, they may seem healthy, but you would generally loose them in 2 or 3 weeks. If they only get some, but not enough, it can be pretty tough job saving them.

From our experience with this kind of weather when we get it, I generally assume that the kid is a little premature and that they will have to be watched closely. Premature kids will be even more vulnerable to secondary infections. I also usually assume that if they get cold, there will probably be, if it isn't at least part of the reason for the chill, some secondary infections (usually respiratory like pneumonia). If we loose a kid in this kind of weather, this is generally how it goes.

I listed some sites when I responded about the doe. If you can compare the symptoms, you may be able to determine what happen.

Sorry about your loss. I hope this helps some.

Bob
Lynchburg, TN.

Originally Posted by mamascheets

Unfortunately I am asking this question because I just lost a baby goat. The mama had this goat in an ice storm She didn't go into the barn and I found the goat almost frozen. Well I brought it in the house and warmed it up and got it walking and feed it. I proceeded over the next week to bottle feed it and bring it out to the mama who was in a stable herself in the barn. I put heat lamps in that stable so it was about 55 degrees in that stable on average. Anyway to make a long story short I put her in there for two hours at a time for the first couple of days and then increase it to four hours at a time. After a week I put her out there when the kids went to school and when the kids got home we went to bring her in and she had died. It wasn't very cold that day and the stable was plenty warm. What my main question is what happened? I am new to these goats and have only had babies last spring and summer so I wasnt sure about the winter. If anyone has words of wisdom that would be helpful for the future.

Thanks