# Goat with labored breathing



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

Melia is an eight year old Nubian doe. She is CAE negative. She had triplets in March. One was pulled and bottle fed. She raised the other two. In earlier years, she maintained a good weight after kidding. Last year. she looked a bit thin afterward, but put the weight back on by fall. This year, she continues to look thin and her hair looks dry. She was wormed with ivermectin. My main concern with her is that she breathes very noisily and sometimes almost sounds like she's having an asthma attack. She does not have a fever and is eating normally. A few weeks ago, I sold her wether and she had a bit extra milk for me. I later sold her doeling and she immediately dried up on her own. Her dam also had breathing issues when she was about ten years old and died shortly after I gave her to someone who had the time and space to pamper her. Any ideas as to what she may have going on? Could it be congenital? I've seriously been thinking about putting her down when it's cool enough out that I can necropsy her myself and put the meat in the freezer.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I wonder if her and maybe her dam too, might have congestive heart failure? There are a lot of heart conditions that can be genetic, so maybe.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

No clue, Kathie, but keep us posted.


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## KJFarm (Oct 26, 2007)

You might have her checked for Lungworms. And yes, it could be heart related.


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## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

How do they test for lung worms? Do they show up on Xray? I somehow think it's probably something else as none of the other goats are showing the same symptoms, but if it is lungworm, it should be easy to treat.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Send a fecal sample off for a Baermann test. I believe that will show lung worms and liver flukes, if present.


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

Kathy - you may be able to tell if she has a heart murmur (which could very well be something that was passed down from her dam) if you hold the flat of your hand against her left side, just behind her front leg. A normal heart beats with a distinct beat-beat-beat rythym, but if a goat has a heart murmur, you'll feel something more like a purring. It's a pretty obvious feeling that's different than what a regular heart feels like when it's beating. I've noticed it in two kids over the years when I picked them up to put them in the disbudding box. I always pick the kids up with my left hand cradling their chest and when you do that with a kid, it's really easy to tell if they have an out-of-the-ordinary heartbeat. On a full-grown animal, you may need to use a stethoscope, but I'd try first with my hand and see if you can feel anything like I've described.


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## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

Caroline, thanks for the suggestion. She's big enough I couldn't feel her heart. When I tried listening, I had rumen and breath sounds competing, but from what I could make out, I wasn't hearing a murmur. Of course, that doesn't mean she doesn't have some other kind of heart condition. She's such a sweet goat, it's hard to see her falling apart. Her shoulders are getting loose as well and I know that's inherited from her dam's side per the dam's breeder.


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