# I goofed.... big-time, doe now in trouble



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Our Elliot, the first born kid ever on our farm here, is almost 4 years old. (She is a Boer/Alpine mix. )She is in trouble now, sadly, due to my failure as her guardian. She is very pregnant with quads or quints, I am sure. We have never had either. We have had trips a couple of times, tho three times already this year out of only 6 kiddings! 
Elliot had twins her first year, and needed calcium. We did the oral paste. It worked, tho, she never forgot it, and has shied away from having her face touched, ever since. I KNOW it burns... I tried it, myself.....
Last year, she delivered triplet does. (I helped, as they were mal-positioned) but she, and her three gals were fine.

She is due on the 15th of Feb..., and has been having trouble for the past few days. We have been giving her the CMPK injectable. It seems to cause her horrendous pain. We still have some paste.......but I remember how bad it tasted, and I am sure she remembers as well....I went 30 miles yesterday to buy some drench. She does not seem to mind that a whole lot.....it does not seem to burn her throat like the paste did. However, she is not wanting to eat much. We are offering her hay.....great hay, as well as crappy.....grain, and triscuits....She LOVES triscuits...... I KNOW, that this is entirely MY fault. We normally start does on grain 30 days prior to kidding, as they all get high-quality alfalfa... I am thinking now, that she is lacking in phosphorous, and so have increased her grain, tho she is not real interested.....We are hoping to just get her through a few more days, at which point we can induce labor, and hopefully save her AND her kids. The calcium drench-we are doing it every 2 hours... she seems no worse than she was 3 days ago, but no better, either....She IS still eating, tho not much...any other ideas?


----------



## luvmigoats (Feb 4, 2009)

Does she have ketosis? That would call for propylene glycol. We gave 60cc at least 2x a day. You should be able to get some veto strips from your vet to see if that is the problem. I hope she gets better.


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

ah yes. we are also giving propolyne glycol....60 cc's daily. Sorry! Forgot to mention that......we also began today giving power-punch,,,,,a tasty dose of vitamins......


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

oops. I'm sorry. we are giving the propolyne glycol.....60ccs TWICE daily.. so far, she not worse...........PHEW!


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

If the injectable CMPK hurts her, see if your vet has Norcalciphos. That's what I use and it does not seem to cause my goats pain.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

CMPK doesn't burn, make sure and get it under the skin. I also put it in 2 or 3 different places. How far out are you comfortable with, as far as permature kids goes? A week early is about all I want here. Which means giving the lute and Dexamethazone 8.5 days before her due date.

CMPK has about everything they need but fluids which you should be doing subq. Goats don't get ketosis unless starved for energy or slouth fat and they are eating their own fat internally...most of the time it's missdiagnosed hypocalcemia and the PG does more of a number on their rumen than any helping it does if the doe doesn't need it to live. IF she is eating any grain at all she doesn't need PG. If you stop the PG she will eat, continue it and she won't. It certainly is a catch 22 once you start down the road of giving PG.

Make sure you continue the calcium during and after delivery, if you have a sluggish labor she will need oxytocin after she pushes until she is up and around and milking. Continue the calcium after delivery so she doesn't then go into milkfever.

She also may have a huge accumulation of fluids being the cause of all of this and not be carrying more than the typical 3 anyway. We had zero of our boer crosses have quads or quints even when they were out of our nubian does who always had quads. Vicki


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

Though it's probably unusual, our only set of quints was out of Isis, a Boer/Spanish/La Mancha cross bred Nubian. She developed what I now assume was hypocalcemia a few days before she kidded. We thought it was ketosis and treated with PG. She ate both hay and grain right after kidding, but got even sicker the following day with MF. She was rushed to the vet where I got my first lesson in giving shots of Norcalciphos. He actually gave it subQ reather than IV and showed me what I needed to do. This was in the days before I found goat forums. What he told me was that goats aren't really designed to carry large litters and between all those babies absorbing nutrition inutero and the large fluid loss delivering them things went haywire. A couple years later, after Goat Flower delivered quads and succumbed to what I believed was MF, I developed the protocol of giving oral CMPK to any goat who appears to be carrying a large liter before trouble starts and giving shots of Norcalciphos post kidding.


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

If this goat isn't drinking lots of water then as Vicki said she needs lactated ringers.


----------



## wheytogosaanens (Oct 26, 2007)

I am thinking Hypocalcemia as well. The grain (phosphorus) does help make the calcium more readily available to the doe, but a lot of grain is not necessary. Just something to help with energy. We did give MFO/gatorade mix to a a Boer doe last year - you could see where the flesh had sunk on her spine (classic sign of hypocalcemia/ketosis). She kidded with Quints. Boer kids have so much more bone than dairy kids, that I suspect that their kids do require more calcium from their dams.

Only one other case here - and in that case I had a young Boer doe due 1 month before her pen mates. Forgot to switch to alfalfa hay at 100 days bred, and she not only had the skin pull down on her spine, but started walking like she was on eggshells (painful to walk, small hesitant steps). MFO/gatorade twice a day for about a week. Also moved her in with smaller dairy doe kids where I fed alfalfa pellets as well as free choice alfalfa hay. She couldn't resist the competition factor, so started snarfing up the alfalfa pellets. Oh, we did give her some karo syrup and molasses in the drench for the first few days as she just didn't want to eat much.
She and her kids were just fine.

Agree on the lactated ringers. If they get dehydrated, they just kind of go catatonic - Lactated ringers and they start to perk up. There are some extra goodies in lactated ringers as well. One of those, "can't hurt, will probably help" things you can do for your goats.

Good that you are doing something proactive now. I would try to hold off on the lute as long as possible.... but you will have to gauge the condition of your doe. 

Camille
P.S. The CMPK injectable burns our does as well - we try to warm it up, but they still give me the "glare" if we use it.


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Okay! Thanks folks for you help!
We also warmed the CMPK, and injected it into many different areas sub-Q... It burned...it was obvious that it hurt her ALOT! She has not been dehydrated, as we take her hottish water 3-4 times a day, and she guzzles it...(It has been in the teens here... ugh.) 

We are going to Lute her at 5 am on Tuesday morning... We have stoped the PG...as she is eating tiny bits of grain....maybe a small handful or two a day. We are now FINALLY just 1 week away from her due date, and she is still somewhat okay, I guess...If we Lute in the morning, we SHOULD be having kids on Wednesday morning, or early in the afternoon, according to my goat-medicine book..... I know... the kids may already be dead....but instead of aborting her a few weeks ago, we decided to try and save all of them......We will know, in a few days, whether or not we made the right decision.......We had one Boer/Alpine who kidded naturally 3 days early and her kids and she were just fine... This is only 2 days earlier than that, so are hoping for the best......Thank you for the suggestions....keeping our fingers crossed here.....I will let ya know!


----------



## mamatomany (Aug 7, 2008)

pokyone42 said:


> Okay! Thanks folks for you help!
> We also warmed the CMPK, and injected it into many different areas sub-Q... It burned...it was obvious that it hurt her ALOT!


The nerves that come in contact with the mineral are firing like crazy causing her pain. It is not necessarily the CMPK but the nerves responding to the minerals...


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Best of luck for you, if her blood pressure didn't get to high the kids could still survive. Don't expect a normal delivery, you likely will be pulling kids, she has lost considerable muscle tone to do much pushing. Get oxytocin, as she delivers the last kid, even if you pull it give her 1/2 cc, then give her 1/4cc every 2 hours until she has passed the placenta. Even if her kids are dead milk her, you want that stimulation of her udder to bring down her normal oxytocin levels. She needs CMPK all the way through from today until she is several days post delivery. Vicki


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks Vicki.. we are prepared to pull kids. well....as prepared as we can be....we have Oxytocin,,,,we have antibiotics, we have pain meds...we have bravery.... and I have two small hands that have gotten alot of experience this year with pulling young-uns! .....we are as prepared as we can be, I think. PHEWWW!

We have assisted already in 6 of 8 deliveries this year. (Malpositioned kids) ack....so, I guess we are not in for a surprise.....a HAPPY and nice surprise WOULD be, if Elliot, AND a kid or two survive this......we'll see, and I will be sure to let ya know....(deep breath....) thanks again, and we are also prepared to give her the CMPK after delivery, and whatever other care she may need. We have had good luck (as well as lessons learned from this forum,) as this year, of 20 kids, we have had 19 live kids born, and who are thriving... The only one we lost, died long ago in utero...) You folks have given us the confidence to intervene when necessary. If we had NOT intervened, I am convinced that we would have a bunch of dead kids as well as their mamas.....ICK! What a horrible thought, as we love our goats like we love our dogs.....!
Again, we thank you, and will let you know how we make out with our Elly-Belly!
and this year, only FIVE kids would have survived of 19.,...had I not had the confidence to "go in" and help.... THANKS! (and my goat medicine book says that 95% of births are natural...) LOL! Not in OUR herd! 
I will let you all know how we make out with Elliot and her babies...Thank you again!


----------



## Natural Beauty Farm (Feb 10, 2009)

Good Luck


----------



## red farmer (Feb 5, 2009)

:yeahthat

good luck for you as you do what is right. and good luck for the lovlie goaty.

Jacque


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

A quick update....
47 hours after luting her, Elliot had her first kid at 3:30 am this morning. (She had been down and unable to get up for almost 36 hours..) The kid did not look or act normal....head-tilted, jiggly eyes, extremely depressed, tho weighed in at over 7 pounds. Next kid, I helped, and a 6 pound healthy strong doe kid. Third kid, a large 8 pound buck who acted just like the first kid with jiggly eyes and head tilt and depressed. 4th kid, a 9 and 1/2 pound buck kid also with jiggly eyes and head tilt. All kids were brought into house, dried, tubed, etc. Over the past few hours, the doe kid is standing and appears perfect, tho a little weak. The 3 boys eyes now look normal, and only one has a head tilt, and that seems to be getting better by the hour. All had Dex, bo-se, vit. E. They are in a dog crate with a heat lamp. This is our first set of quads! All are now taking the bottle just fine. 
Unfortunately, Elliot (the mom) still cannot get up, and she kidded 12 hours ago. We are doing everything we can for her, but she is very weak. She is eating a little and drinking quite alot, fortunately. She needs some positive thoughts, I think. 
Thanks again for all of your help!


----------



## Guest (Feb 11, 2010)

Sally, you did a wonderful job and i hope she pulls thru for you... 
Barb


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Thanks for the update. So great that you don't have to worry with fluids. That is so often the hard job- keeping enough going. When is the last time you gave her CMPK? I would continue and I would get her up forecefully and don't take no for an answer. Sling if you have to and get her milked out. If you have several helpers you can each get one quarter and lift and support and rub her legs and get circulation going. If you leave her down she may not get up. The longer they are down the harder the comeback. 
Congrats on a very long haul very well done!
Lee


----------



## Legend Hills (May 29, 2008)

Hoping for the best for her. Thanks for the update. 

-Kim


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I don't know why I didn't check this post...how are the kids, I have given kids like this CMPK and PG when born. Vicki


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Okay... now, 2 of the kids are standing on their own, and the other 2 REALLY are trying!  They are all doing wayyyy better than expected, as lastnight, I expected dead kids, as Elliot had been down for so long already. They are taking the bottles very well, around 2 ounces every hour and a half or so, and they all look normal (only young.) We put a little karo syrup in their first colostrum tube feeding. All kids have passed the meconium.
Elliot still has not passed the 2nd placenta...been giving her Oxytocin ...she is pushing now, again..Been giving her the oral drench CMPK every 2 hours....she is drinking, (hot water-warm gatorade, etc.) and nibbling at hay. She is very aware, and the poor lady just wants a baby. We have blankets on her, as it is so cold again, darnit. It is just me and my husband here...I am somewhat of a weakling, and hubby is disabled, (not to mention that we have been up all night for the past two nights with Elly-Belly, and are cross-eyed with exhaustion) so I do not think we can lift her ourselves. We are racking our brains to try to figure something for a sling, to somehow get her up. She is trying... seems the back legs just will not cooperate. She manages to get into a sort of sitting position every now and then, but only for a few seconds. Any ideas are welcome, and aha! I just thought of something...A pulley, and a truck cover....Ill be back! Gotta go rig that up and sling her...Thanks!


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

if you have some lactated ringers I would give them to her also even tho she is drinking. Also some B Complex and some BoSE I have put those down over a hay bale for a few minutes at a time if I can't rig up a sling. Massage the legs as if walking just to help with muscle tone.


----------



## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Good for those babies! Keep us updated!


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

GREAT idea to use the bale of hay! We did manage to lift her to her feet, but could not hold her there for more than a couple of seconds...and of course she was really wobbly and could not support herself, but I think we can probably get a bale of hay under her...Thanks Sondra. Am warming the ringers now, and she has been on B-Complex for 10 days or so, and had her Bo-Se this morning. Thanks again folks.......


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Be sure to drape the bale as the hay will poke and irritate her skin since she will rest all her weight on it.
Hope you guys get some rest soon because this will take a bit of doing.
Take care of you too.
Lee


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes...we placed a soft blanket over the bale of hay before getting Elliot over it. Thanks. We moved her over it, and it seems to be her left rear leg giving her trouble. It was SO stiff-was all I could do to move it at all. I worked it and worked it... rubbing. bending, massaging, and it did get a bit easier to bend...etc..But, as soon as I would stop, she would immedietaly cross it back behind the right rear leg... Weird. The right rear leg seemed fine, as she was moving that leg herself. I dunno....Gave her a bag of ringers...wormed her, etc. One more thing... yesterday, and lastnight, while treating her, and early in the am, when we were delivering her kids, I could hear her heart beating (more like pounding...ugh) while squatting next to her...That had me VERY worried, and still does, that all of this mess we got her into has caused some major damage. I cannot hear it beating anymore, thankfully..just wondering what ya think about that. Oh, and do I continue to give her preemie babies dex every day for a while, or, because they seem fine, is it not necessary? Thanks again.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

She must have a pinched nerve or is out of alignment from laying so long. 
It is so hard to say about the heart thing because both too much and too little calcium can cause heart irregularities.
It is good that she has normalized. Is she producing milk?


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

When I had a preemie baby the vet only gave one dose of dex. I'm glad the babies are doing well.


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

I probaly would only give one dose of dex to the babies but daily Vit E. don't leave the dam up on the hay bale more that 15 min at a time. also thenkeep her kinda propped up so she is more on her chest/stomach than her side all the time or turn her every so often .


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

okay, thanks guys... We are building a sling for Elliot at the moment...(as we had her on the hay for a few moments lastnight, and it was extremely uncomfortable for her...her breathing got really fast and labored....even tho her feet were on the ground and we were also supporting her along with the hay......vit E for the kids.....thanks... They are all standing on their own now, and doing great!


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

here is another update... the preemie quad kids are doing good...tho, they have been a challenge.....(had a bout with FKS with one of them, but he is okay now...thanks to Sue Reith) 

Sad part is, we are losing their mama.....Our Elliot. 
She seemed SO good lastnight...she was trying so hard to get up, and we were helping her.. She was eating and drinking........was cuddly and coherent, and her usual wonderful self....she was trying so hard....
(It got down to 9 lastnight...tho we had Elliot covered in blankets, and she LOVED the blankets. When I treated her at midnight, she was all curled up and snuggled in her blankets, and looked so peaceful) I hated to wake her, but I did.)) 

this morning, was a different story....she developed a uterine infection. We switched the antibiotics, from prophylactic to aggressive. The difference from lastnight to today, was HUGE. From a happy tho uncomfortable and fighting to live goat, to one that now wants to die. It is very sad.. We have been doing everything possible......but she has really gone downhill today. So sad....To be fighting the metabolic crap for weeks, and to get her quads almost to term....giving everything she had, sacrificing her all for her kids, and now, to get a uterine infection......how can she fight all of that?! We are trying, tho the odds are NOT in her favor,,,,,it is very hard,,,but we are now, thinking of euthanizing her, just to end her pain......
oh.. and we finally pin-pointed the problem, as now other does who are due in the next 3 weeks are having trouble, too.....now.... ugh...
The hay.....We have been buying great hay ..wonderful alfalfa.....for the last year....last month, we got a delivery of alfalfa....3rd cutting, and terrible.....right at the time when the does ned the good stuff the most......live and learn... AND. to top it off, we paid MORE for this CRAP, than for good hay! Chuck went and bought some better hay this morning......Our poor goats!


----------



## Natural Beauty Farm (Feb 10, 2009)

I'm sorry. Maybe a good dose of anti-bodies and she'll be better today.


----------



## Drycreek goats (Sep 8, 2009)

sorry had a nurse cow do that once took 9 days of lifting her and dring she went on many years.Good Luck tammy


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

prayers and good thoughts are with you and her....


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

No bad news this time!
Well, after we decided to just let Elly-belly slip away peacefully..., apparently, she had another idea. She suddenly seemed alot brighter, and happier, and has been eating and drinking well. I think we somehow managed to get the uterine infection under control, (amazingly, as I was SURE she was a goner after coming down with that, too. It was SO nasty, and she was as sick as I have EVER seen a goat!) 

We did another uterine flush about 48 hours ago, which flushed out ALOT of REALLY gross crap...and we have had her on the stronger antibiotic for about 4 days now....twice a day.
Seems to be working well, as now, her temp is normal, her appetite is good, she is drinking plenty of water and keeping herself hydrated, and she looks normal, except for the fact that she still cannot get up. She has even gained a little weight! (She was SOOO painfully thin.) 
She is at the moment, anyway, in good spirits, and does not seem to be in any pain at all, thankfully. (We could hear her heart POUNDING, from 3 feet away before and for two days after kidding....... not any longer...phew.) 

I have been able to milk her a tiny bit... just enough to relieve pressure in her udder, but she appears to be drying up, which is a good thing. (We are locking up Clarice's, Grace's and Ash's kids at night, so we get plenty of milk in the morning, for Elly-Belly's quads, and the 2 older bottle brats that are in the barn
And so, we have been working and working with her again. Even getting her up does not seem to be too uncomfortable for her now that her uterus is not full of infection. It is very hard... we have been trying to make a sling for her. We had her up a few times today, but our sling is not working very well. We will get her up one more time tonight, and then we have another idea for a better sling for tomorrow. Anyway, all of this with Elliot has been like a roller coaster ride that just does not end. It has been very hard emotionally on both of us, these ups and downs, but there is still hope, after thinking there was none at all. I can SEE her in my mind.....being okay, and walking again...and running down to the woods with the rest of the herd to stuff herself on pine, poplar, and weeds.....and SO happy!..... Man.. we sure hope that day comes again....

One of her front legs is working a little, and tho she can move her back legs, they are not working right, and cannot support her. One is also very swollen-I think she lays on that side more. We turn her now and then, so that she does not get sores, and she has none, thankfully...not even any reddish skin or anything, and she has been down for a week now. We are doing physical therapy with her, the best that we can, and hopefully, it will help.

Anyway, IF we can get her to use her legs again, I think she will be okay...Unfortunately, that is a big if. In the meantime, she is doing well, except for that. (Too bad she is not little like Freckles or Emmy-lou, as she would be so easy to lift and hold up..) Oh well.....

Her kids are doing VERY well, now... the same kid that went downhill a few days ago, did it again the other night... ) We had to give him a bunch of different meds again, just like the first time, which brought him around in a hurry again, and he has been fine since. (knock on his little wooden head.)He was the first, and most stressed kid.... He might be blind and I think he has been since birth, as he does not ever seem to focus, but bumps into the walls or me all of the time..., but just today, I think he might have looked right AT me! He sure SEEMED to!  
They are all gaining weight, and the other three, ("Chunk"-the BIG boy, Brown-Knee,(Brownie) and Dirty Diana...DD,) are all starting to play now!  Little Stevie the odd one, is kind of in his own little world, but he seems fine now!   I am sooo happy that we at least got one little adorable doeling out of this mess... My dream, is to have them all make it, and their mom, too....
We have been locking the milker's kids up with Elliot in the creep at night, (as she has been in there for a week, and we do NOT want to drag the poor gal to a kidding pen..) That way, the kids get to eat a little grain and junk, and she has some company.  This morning, two of Gracie's kids were sleeping right next to her. Awww....Elliot really likes babies.. We have NOT taken HER kids up to see her, as they are still so fragile... They just cannot handle temp. changes at all yet, and I am not willing to risk it. I am positive that she would not recognize them anyway at this point...
Anyway, so that is where we are at the moment. 
Carla (Elliot's sister who twinned the other day,) has picked up now, and seems to be doing great, tho she still looks VERY preggers. lol... Her girls are wonderful. 
Libby (Elliot's 2 yr old daughter) was due yesterday, and is just happy being in a kidding pen...she is alot like Elliot.. unflappable, and happy-go-lucky if ya give her a scratch under the ears.... We put Floppy in with her lastnight for a while... (her HUGE yearling daughter who dwarfs her. lol) and they enjoyed being together for a while, til Floppy wanted out. This morning, Flops was sleeping right outside the gate where Libby is. Cute, huh? 
All other kids are fine... 25 of them! WOW! We are tired, but doing okay... Any other ideas to help Elliot get up on her feet would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Love ya
Sally


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Wonderful news! I would put her on tetracycline injections for days after her other antibiotics run out, maybe even think about a feed through after about 10 days of subq teracycline. You don't want this infection to harbor behind a closed cervic and you should think about breeding her, so you have the heighthend immunity of a bred doe, and working uterus, rather than one harboring infection and causing scar tissue to form. Just a thought. Vicki


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Glad all your care is getting results. Thanks for the update.


----------



## mamatomany (Aug 7, 2008)

WOW....this has been quite an ordeal for you! Too much to learn right! My goodness, I give you a ton of credit for continuing....I'm thankful you have the time and your around for your goats  They are blessed too


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks Folks.
Hi there, Vicki... thanks for resonding...Elliot has been our sweetest AND most productive doe we have ever had! I just want her to LIVE, at this point! I would happily retire her, if we can just get her through this tough battle! SHe has earned it! 
She is not even 4 years old yet (March 18th.. yes... I know...silly...but I DO know my goatie's b-days.. lol...)... this gal has given us 11 gorgeous kids, (6 of them does..., one doe kid sold, and 5 of whom are wonderful additions to our own herd..) and she milks like an Alpine, and has helped raise 6 calves! AND, she is a doll! Elliot is just the sweetest, mellowest, (tho kind of homely) darling goat! She has never been any trouble at all (unlike her sister Carla, whom she used to tattle on all of the time, which we appreciated!. lol) All we want now, is for her to live, and enjoy her life, as NO goat on our farm, deserves it more than she does.
She is on oxytetracycline twice a day now... this is her 3rd or fourth day of it....She is about 160 pounds. We are giving 5.25 cc's twice a day. Is this the correct dosage? 
We also did 2 uterine flushes with Oxytetracycline and sterile water... one right after kidding, and again, when she was pushing out foul-smelling **** a few nights ago.....She seems totally normal now, surprisingly, other than she just cannot get up....Her leg muscles seem to be somewhat atrophied already....Please... any help is appreciated! We love our Elliot so much......Thank you.
We are still giving her Banamine... (she has been on and off it for two weeks...1.5cc's at the moment.. I lowered the dosage...) She is SOO close to being where she needs to be! I can FEEL her soo close.....We just got to get her over that last hurdle, but we have not been able to....We just cannot give up on her....(tho, we thought she was giving up a couple of nights ago...) Dex.. 3 cc once a day... B-Complex...8 cc's....probiotics.. figured they can't hurt....


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

This sounds a little city-crazy to my farm raised ears, but I had an old dog a few years ago that hurt his spine in a fall and was very similar to what you describe, he could sort of stand if we helped him up, but legs were not working right, and different malfunctions for different legs. Somehow one vet talked me into trying an acupunture treatment, and although I thought it was ridiculous and I was very skeptical, it had a miraculous effect on him. 

Each treatment the good effects would last longer until he was well on the road to recovery, and then he suddenly died from a medication. Despite the ending in his case, and my skepticism, the effects on him were profound from the acupuncture, and the very first treatment he was so much better it was unbelievable. Then I think the inflammation and injury would sort of flare up again and he'd be down again and another treatment would bring him back and the effects would last longer. For a truly beloved goat, if I could find a veterinary acupuncturist, I might try it. In her going down, something might have wrenched in a weird way.


----------



## Oat Bucket Farm (Mar 2, 2009)

Wow, you have really had a time of it. Congratulations on all of the babies.I will keep my fingers crossed for your doe. I wish I knew of something that would help her.


----------



## Ping (Jan 21, 2010)

Wow, just wanted to say our thoughts and prayers are with you.  Hang in there Ellie!


----------



## pokyone42 (Oct 26, 2007)

Hi folks.
Thanks for the well-wishes for our gal.
Elliot seemed to be going down healthwise again yesterday, after seeming to be feeling pretty good for a few days. She would not eat or drink anything, and had lost that sparkle in her eyes. She seemed disinterested in most everything.
We had ordered a sling for her through Jeffers, (a calf-sling.) and had it flown in yesterday...Sadly, it does not fit her very well, (as calves have smaller bellies and are not as wide in the rib area, ) and it seems to hurt her chest badly and make it hard to breathe.... We have tried and tried to make her a sling out of anything we can think of....towels, sheets, tarps, etc....... but nothing seems to work. 
In the meantime, we work and work with her legs to try and get them moving, but she is showing no improvement in that department, and the right rear leg is still extremely swollen. After feeling obviously lousy yesterday, this morning, she seemed to be feeling a little better again. eating, drinking, greeting us, etc...Every time I think that she is tired of trying, she perks up again...hard..... As for a vet who does acupuncture....that might be worth a try, however, we cannot even find a vet willing to see a goat for anything at all. Thanks for the thought, tho
Elliot's preemie babies are doing wonderfully, and are bouncing around the bathroom at the moment.  We disbudded them this morning, at 8 days old.
All seemed to come through it just fine. Phew. Having never dealt with preemies before, they make me a bit nervous, but they are catching up fast I think.


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

I just got my new Hoeggers catalogue today and they have a sling for goats. Too bad you don't live near me. There is actually a vet in Helena who practices alternative medicine including accupuncture and does farm animals as well as house pets. I've never heard of goats going down for that long from hypocalcemia or a uterine infection. Is there any way she could have gotten injured? Could she have a tumor on her spine? I've been dealing with a paralysis issue with Cozette, but in her case, it's one side of her face. It's likely either a stroke or tumor. She had a bad day a little while back and Sondra suggested B-12. It's really helped and Cozette is back up eating and not drooling bad like she had been. You might want tio try the B-12 if you haven't done so yet.The other things I've given her include Norcalciphos, B complex and BoSe. I hope your girl makes it.


----------

