# baby with rapid breathing



## alidansma (Aug 23, 2009)

Hey guys - I had a goat freshen with quads at the end of February. 
I came upon her and she already had all four on the ground but one was still in the birth sac, so we got that one out and rubbed and suctioned and worked until she was crying and breathing good on her own. After a couple of days it became apparent that the momma didn't want to care for all four babies so we pulled them and went to a lambar system.
This one baby was always quieter than her sisters - active but not rambunctious. We did notice that once in a while she would lay out in the sun and pant, but we thought she just might be getting overheated from the sun. A few days ago I sold her and one of the others to a family with young kids - they thought her quiet nature would be a good match for the family. They live more than a few hours away.
Today the mom called me and said the baby had cried out during bottle feeding - like she gulped too big of a swallow, or hicupped or something. Since then she has been breathing rapidly, although her appetite is fine, she is kinda lounging around. I asked the lady to listen to the lungs to see if there was any wheezing, but she said they sounded clear. 
Any ideas on what else I should be doing or looking into thanks! ~ali


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## alidansma (Aug 23, 2009)

Just a few hours after showing symptoms the baby died. 
I wish I knew what the cause was.


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## ellie (Nov 17, 2007)

Might have been pneumonia from inhaled fluid before you got her out.


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## alidansma (Aug 23, 2009)

well she was a little over a month old.
I was wondering if fluid in her lungs from when she was born could cause sudden death later on like this. 
The buyer said she was jumping and playing saturday and sunday. :down


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## tjgoatgirl (May 2, 2008)

I'm so sorry to hear that. I would guess pneumonia too. There are times when pneumonia has no signs, just comes on fast and hard, and then it's over. I lost a little doe this year too. She was about 5 weeks. Broke my heart. She had coccidiosis which we treated, but she never got back to normal..... which turned into something worse, and eventually she was breathing heavy too, not really eating and crying out when I tried to bottle feed her. Could also have maybe been Enterotoxemia, but in our case, we treated for this w/ the cd antitoxin and strong antibiotics, and she made it 3 days longer than that.

She was one of three and the meekest of the bunch (2 bucks and her) I think she just didn't have as much nourishment and will to survive as some of the others. 

I am sorry for your (and your buyer's) loss


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Well, my thought was that she aspirated some of the milk into her lungs when she was eating her bottle. My younger ds had reflux and had problems aspirating food...one time he went from perfectly normal to wheezing and such in nothing flat...he aspirated baby food and the problem was immediate. Of course, he wasn't dx'd yet with reflux, and the dr's would just not listen when I said, "He was fine and then he ate his dinner and he was not fine after that." So they said "croup," then a week later it was "bronchitis" and a week after that, he had full-blown aspiration pneumonia and was in the hospital for a week. And it was during that hospital stay when I kept saying, he's always had a problem with wheezing after he eats, and I want you to see what I mean. And they were like, "yup, you're right" and the pulmonologist dx'd him with reflux (GERD). That boy got no "tummy time" because it made the whole problem worse. Anyhow, just my thoughts. Sorry that she died.


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## alidansma (Aug 23, 2009)

Stacey - I think you might be onto something there - this goat would be one that would rest more often than the others - maybe her lungs were just never quite as stong as her sisters and a tiny bit of milk was enough to do her in. Hopefully it is a crazy fluke and will never repeat itself. :?
Thanks for the suggestions though - I feel so bad for the family.


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