Sick Goat

If anyone has ideas, I would really appreciate it.

We have a pygmy doe two to three years old. About five weeks ago she started to look a little rundown and we decided to worm her later that week. Before we could she became bottleneck. We wormed her immediately and started giving her Red Cell and B12 shots for a week. She started to improve and was eating and drinking well. Two weeks later we wormed her again, but then she developed severe diarrhea and started getting physically weak. We started her back on the Red Cell and B12 and are also giving her Probios and Bounce Back. She eats and drinks, but won't stand up at all, and her legs are getting more week.

I don't know--they do get coccidia--but there are other people on the forum who do have experience with goats.

What is bottleneck? I've never heard of it...

I'm sorry I can't help with the goat's symptoms, but hang in there.. someone will be here soon.

Here's some of the causes of diarrhea...
"Diarrhea can be the symptom of many different illnesses, including bloat, ruminal acidosis, laminitis/founder, copper deficiency, aflatoxin poisoning, anaphylactic shock, plant toxicity/poisoning, renal failure, selenium toxicity, coccidiosis, enterotoxemia (clostridium perfringens type C&D), salmonellosis, E. Coli infection, caprine herpes virus, heavy parasite infestation, and goat polio. "

Does the goat have a fever? Has it had any vaccinations? Is it anemic?

In a healthy adult goat, it's rare that parasites alone would cause this. And because the symptoms you describe are pretty non-specific and could be caused by a lot of things, I'd suggest you call a vet.

We called the vet Friday, and he said with the symptoms she is having he couldn't think of anything. He said he could do bloodwork, but until continue with what we are doing. I'm going to have to call again tomorrow. She doesn't show any symptoms of pain; just seems very week. The problem that I am really concerned about is she won't stand. We have her in a sling to put some (very little) weight on her hind legs. She doesn't like it and lets me know when ever I get near her.

Jayryunen - I said 'bottle neck', but meant 'bottle jaw'.

Is she pregnant maybe, and you've got a dead fetus? Seems like she'd be a lot sicker, but... Does she have a fever?

Is her abdomen hard or painful to the touch? Distended? Does she have feeling in the hind legs... does she protest when you pinch them?

What color is the diarrhea?

It's tough when they go down like this, not very encouraging but getting a correct diagnosis and persistent nursing can turn a lot of these guys around. Hang in there with her...

Ah, now THAT I've heard of. LOL
Seems like you've got the sick goat version of it, rather than the parasite version of it. Well, you've probably eliminated one possible cause of her illness, now there's only about a dozen more. =0(

Any news on your doe?

She is the same.

=0(
Did the vet make it out?

Boo didn't make it through the night. She didn't seem to ever be in pain, but just became more and more weak.

Thanks for the advice and concern everyone.

Oh. So sorry. =0( {{{hugs}}}

Just saw this thread. I am so sorry jasmerr on the loss of your dear Boo. My heart truly breaks for you. She looks like she was a wonderfully sweet doe.
Sorry to bring this up as it can be a sensitive subject but can you get an autopsy on her to see what the cause of death is as to keep any others in your herd from getting the same thing? Whether it be parasite, toxin, ect.

Oh, so sorry, jasmerr, know how it hurts to lose them :( I have a couple pygmy pets here.

My first thought other than regular worms is coccidia which of course regular wormer doesn't kill. Another thing that can kill a goat real fast in the humid summer is pneumonia, especially if they're already stressed like with a high worm load or worming or even the heat. It can kill before you even realize the goat is sick.

Something I've learned to watch is pasture height, if the goats are on short pasture grazing, especially if you have plenty of moisture ie: rain, dew. It allows the worm nematodes(?)to crawl to the top of the grass and the goats will eat them as they're grazing increasing their worm load VERY QUICKLY. Goats are browsers like deer not grazers like sheep, cattle, etc, so goats don't have the resistence to worms that grazers do. I had this problem when I had a large herd, was worming every 2-3 wks during the summer which is certainly not the ideal way to control them. Opening fresh high-growth pasture is optimal though not always feasible. If you're able to open fresh pasture make sure you worm all animals being moved and treat for coccidia. That will keep the pasture fresh longer.

Sorry for writing a book. Hope things work out.

Lana
www.daisypatchrabbits.homestead.com