# twisted stomach



## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

A fellow goat person had a doeling die and her vet said it was from a twisted stomach. How does that happen and is it common? I've heard cows and horses get this sometimes.

Before the doeling died I was called out to see her. She had pale membranes, was floppy and her temp was low. I was told by owner's kids that they found her laying in the barn and they they had just recently ( last few days) started giving her grain. I had them stop the grain and gave the doeling baking soda in her mouth. I tried to stand her up, walk her, and massage her stomach to get things moving. I called my vet and she said to do what I had already done. 

She died about 2 hours later.

Is twisted stomach from too much grain or was it acidosis?


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Did they open the doe up to know this?


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

If the vet did not do a internal exam after death he could not know that.
I am guessing if he did not do that he does not know about goats because you are right in your suspicion of the newly started grain ration. If she had never had any before this could well be the problem. Pale membranes indicates worm burden. Did the vet look internally?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Same question, how did they know. Sounds like entero to me, when you say grain, how much? There are only a few things that cause sudden death like this, how much pain was the kid in before dieing?

Single stomach animals can twist a gut, get colic etc...it's really tough for a ruminant to do this. How old was the kid? Vicki


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## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

The kid was about 5 months old. I also suspected a worm overload when I saw the membranes but thought it wasn't the time to worm her in her condition. She was weaned at 3 months and then given hay. So she was small and lean. I had at one time suggested that she give the young kids (there were 2 of them) some goat grain. 

I took the other doeling's temp and checked her membranes also. The other doeling had a normal temp and pink color. 
The vet did not look internally. He is primarily a "old school" vet. I haven't heard too much about him except he is very affordable.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's never not a time to worm. The info on horses is simply not used in goats. The wormer can not kill a goat, the worms can. Vicki


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Well, it's hardly "affordable" if your stock dies.


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

It is sad to be a goat sometimes, poor baby


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

When we had the dairy farm years ago, we had 2 cows that twisted their stomach as a complication of bloat. Each one had to have surgery to untwist the stomach and the vet attached it to the abdominal muscle with stitches to hold it in place. He said that once it happens, they will always have a higher risk for it to happen again. I guess it could happen to a goat, but I'm not sure how common it would be.


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