# Help please - sick dairy goat



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

Hi everyone,
We are new to the world of farm animals and in particular goats. We picked up twelve goats just about a week ago. The one milking goat is three years old and was producing almost a litre per milking. 
Yesterday morning her production was down to about half a litre, which I figured was just due to us not sticking to a perfect schedule and it had only been about eight hours since she was milked. 
Last night however she was down even more and we only got about 1/2 a cup. Then this morning, barely anything and she wouldn't even eat her grains.
I did notice yesterday she had a bit of white around her mouth, she doesn't seem tender songwriter. She is very lethargic and is really not eating or drinking. 
I called the breeder we got her from, they suggested molasses and water, she hasn't touched it.

I am really concerned for her and I don't really know what to do. Does anyone have any thoughts? Please help she is our sweetest girl.

Thank you


----------



## Laverne (Apr 4, 2010)

Take her temperature with a rectal thermometer so the forum can know.

Check her lower eyelid color with one of these charts http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=famacha+chart&qpvt=famacha+chart&FORM=IGRE She may be very anemic from worms. Find out what she has been wormed with and when. She may need moxidectin which is Cydectin or Quest horse wormer, at the dose of 1cc per 100 lbs. orally.

What is her ration and how much is she getting of alfalfa and grain. What kind of grain have you been using?


----------



## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

What are you feeding her? And more importantly, how is it different from what her previous owner was feeding her? 
Have you taken her temp? What kind of goat is it? What size?


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

I don't have a thermometer, and no where to get one on a Sunday around here. She feels warmer than the other girls, but that is by no means a scientific calculation. They were being fed a 16% dairy ration, I am feeding the same. They are getting naked of alfalfa hay grass mix in the barn and then free grazing/ browsing all day. I think they were mainly bale fed, not so much on pasture. 
She is a pure bred alpine. They were dewormed shortly (within a couple weeks) of when we got them. It is just her, not the other 4 adult girls. 3 of which are also milking and getting the same feed.


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

You don't need a veterinary thermometer. Walmart or a supermarket should have a digital thermometer. When a goat is showing the symptoms yours is, the most likely causes are acidosis, pneumonia, hypocalcemia or polio. With hypocalcemia, the temperature is subnormal. With pneumonia, there is usually a fever. If you have injectable calcium, give that. I'd also be giving an antibiotic such as Nuflor or Naxcel if she's feverish along with fortified B complex or thiamin. Acidosis is treated with baking soda. With feed changes, such as putting your goats on pasture, only one goat may be sensitive to the change or she could have eaten a weed the others didn't. Is the person you bought her from near enough to you to come see her and help you out? Also, if she's not drinking anything, she needs subQ lactated ringers to hydrate her.


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

The nearest Wal-Mart or super market is about 2.5 hours away from me. The normal shopping area I go to is an hour but nothing is open on Sunday.

I don't know if I need to call a vet, or what, I don't have anything really to give them other than baking soda, stuff for bloat, scours and something that starts with a c ...

The farm we got them from is 3.5 hrs away


----------



## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

If that is all you have, then yes you need to call a vet, otherwise you'll probably lose y our doe. 
She needs more than what you have for her right now.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

I am guessing she has upset her digestion by adding fresh greens and browse after being only on hay and grain.
Give her some mylanta or some milk of magnesia. 30 cc and do it again in about 2 hours. She doesn't have milk fever only milking a litre.
That is extremely poor production and would not require much calcium. It is the change in diet.
Ruminants have to have organisms that digest WHAT they are eating. Each class of food requires different critters. It takes time to develop a population of them and you should limit their exposure to fresh green grass and browse to just a short time each day until they adapt. The key to success in small ruminants is consistency and that means slow changes in diet. Baking soda will be good if you don't have any thing else to take care of the acidity in her rumen. 
There is much to learn if you are to be successful and if all the previous owner had to contribute was molasses water then that is a waste of time.
Go to the 101 section here and read read read. 
Get a thermometer so you know what you are dealing with in the way of temp. It is a primary way to sort what can or cannot be wrong.

Please fill in your personal details in your profile- where you are located and what kind of goats you have so it is easier to answer your inquiries.
Lee


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Are you able to see froth around her mouth? You said white....like foam? She is very acidic if she is foaming. Do the neutralizer immediately. Is she grinding her teeth? 
Is her rumen hard ?? Can you hear digestive noises???
The rumen should be rumbling every minute or so.


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

Yes kind of like a white foam, I am definitely not the best at describing it, not a lot, mainly right around her lips. 
I tried calling a vet but no answer, go figure it is Sunday night.
Baking soda would be a neutralizing agent, correct? How do you get it in them?
Yes her ruminant is making noise, she is still going to the bathroom and that looks fairly normal.


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

You have two options to get the baking soda into her. You can mix it with water and drench it into her with a large syringe or just put a small handful of it dry directly into her mouth if she won't willingly eat it.


----------



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

How is your goat this morning? Were you able to get any baking soda into her?


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

I managed to get some baking soda into her last night, and a bit of molasses water. No real change this morning. I stood her up and took her outside, she stood there for a minute and then went and laid back down in a different shelter. I gave her some fresh hay and she is kind of snacking on it but not really interested in it.

I think I am going to have to take her to the vet today... not sure what other options I have.

I am thinking it may be calcium issues, she was giving us 2 litres per day and milling her kid and she adopted another one of our momless kids....


----------



## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes, take her to the Vet. You have not given us enough information to really be of help to you. 
We need to know her temp. What you are feeding and how much. How long has it been since she kidded. Has she ever been treated for parasites? 

From the sounds of it, she is going into milk fever...

i still recommend the vet


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

You neglected to mention that she was feeding kids in your original information. 
That means you need to be supplementing them since she is not feeding them the milk they are used to getting. 
The foam means acidity. She will never regain appetite until you restore the correct ph in her rumen and the longer you wait the more of her digestive organisms die off.
You have to act quickly when a goat stops eating. They are not like people. Their digestion is quite complex. The longer you wait the harder it will be for her to recover.
I would get her neutralized and start pumping calcium into her any way you can and not wait for a vet. Not eating means no calories to make milk with so even if she is not hypocalcemic she would not be producing. 

Is she cudding? Do you see her chewing her cud?
Are the kids eating? Are you supplementing them?
They need the calories or soon you will be doctoring them too.
Lee


----------



## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

Will she take some tums? I give my milkers a few and they gobble them up. They should provide calcium and help with acidity. (If I'm wrong someone correct me please


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

The kids were born in March and are eating grass, hay, etc as well, they are not nursing much at all.
Just got back from the vet, he figures it was the start of ketosis. He gave her a steroid/ anti inflammatory. But she was already starting to perk back up when we left here this morning. Her temp is normal, he said it sounded like she was a bit gassy. He said the stuff he gave her should stimulate appetite, he gave me another two doses for the next couple days.
When we got back here she was out eating with the other girls, I laid out a full bale and let them all go to town, the vet suggested that the grass grazing maybe too quick to digest and could be throwing her off and to feed more bales at least for a little bit.
As far as the kids go , they could be weaned fully anytime. The main reason I haven't is to give everyone time to settle in after moving.
I think tonight I will start separating them and see how that goes.
Thank you everyone for the input, and I'm sorry I didn't have all the info, but I am learning and trying to notice any changes but not knowing if they are relevant or not or even what to really look for.


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

It takes time.
Being observant is your best tool.
Glad she is improving.


----------



## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

Good job! You're doing the right thing, paying attention and asking for help. The time you spend with them, the more you recognize when something is off. Some of the best advice I ever got with goats is to use "coffee management". Every day take the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee just watching your goats/spending time with them. It's a great way to stay on top of things.


----------



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Glad she is recovering.


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

Again, thank you everyone. 

I did try getting tums into her the other day based on something I had read and there was no way she was taking them, maybe when she is feeling better.

Rachel H - I only have one question on the coffee management... does that mean things will slow down enough to have a cup of coffee? Lol. I don't think I have managed to finish a cup of coffee since we got the goats... assuming I didn't put it down somewhere and the animals didn't knock it over


----------



## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Glad she is improving. Getting twelve goats all at once is a big undertaking. Reading through all the old threads here was really helpful for me. I literally went back through page after page of old posts reading other folks' questions and seeing what the "experts" had to say.


----------



## BCHomesteader (May 14, 2013)

I have done tons of reading, and thank goodness for smart phones, I am constantly looking up various things as they come up. She is almost back to herself now, and friendlier than ever. 
The twelve goats last week were just the start, we also got chickens and a horse within three days, it was a bit of a crazy week. 
This weekend is expanding our fenced pasture. I didn't realize just how much goats eat and how quickly the do so. 
Things this week have been better, we are getting into a routine and I actually had time today to sit and start catching up on some paperwork.
Thank you again to everyone!
Now I just have to figure out how to use all the milk


----------



## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Thanks for the update. Y'all have sure been busy!


----------

