The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: ambriel on August 07, 2011, 10:35:00 am
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Bella, one of our two goats, is under the weather. It came on quite suddenly during the course of yesterday.
She's listless, off her food, appears bloated and constipated, looks a little unsteady on her feet, and with some foam around her mouth.
She's a bit of a bugger for raiding the henhouse and I wondered if this could be caused by her having eaten layer pellets?
Flash, the other goat, seems completely normal btw so I'm not suspecting anything contagious.
I was half suspicious she might be about to give birth but as we've not put her with a billy this would have to have happened prior to our gettign them both a few weeks ago.
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I know nothing about goats, but reading the first part of your description I thought labour too :-\
Can you mix some oil in with her food, this would maybe help if it is constipation ?
Hopefully the goat experts will be along soon ;)
Karen x
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do they foam around mouth in labour? i think it sounds belly related. does she have bloat at all? isnt that an emergency (with cows anyway)
has she eaten barley? we lost a lamb to barley poisoning once, even though he had his stomach pumped by vet. it ferments inside them.
good luck
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Jut been speaking to the vet and she says it sounds like bloat, too. Trouble is the vet's forty miles away :(
I'm going to try getting some cooking oil down her throat and walk her around a bit.
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u can save their lifes by stabbing them and letting out the gas, if u know where and how. rather u than me. good luck :love:
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If you suspect chicken food...GET THE VET QUICKLY... poultry food is toxic to goats.
Without help she might not last the night... sorry to be rather blunt but you do not have time on your side.
Another poster on this forum had exactly the same problem & lost the goat.
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Yes, I know about chicken feed being toxic. Fortunately she's only been able to get at small amounts where she sticks her head into the henhouse.
Managed to get some vegetable oil down her earlier and give her a good walk round.
She seems quite a lot brighter, has passed some sloppy poo, and there are clear signs of movement from within.
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good luck ambriel, i hope she is ok
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She seems quite a lot brighter, has passed some sloppy poo, and there are clear signs of movement from within.
Clear movements ?
Do you mean in terms of passing poo/gas or something moving inside her (like a kid) ? :o
Hope she's back to her old self soon ;)
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Yes, she's passed a little runny poo and urine, too. I've been massaging her stomache as well as walking her round. You can hear gurgling inside and feel it, too.
Looking brighter. I'm not going to give her any food when I put her away for the night but will make sure there's plenty of water.
Fingers crossed for the morning.
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bicarb of soda, cream crackers, as well as the oil might help.
It'll help the rumen neutralise
hope she ok,
:goat:
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Yes, it was me, who lost a goat a few weeks back, when she and two others got into the feed store. She had not had a lot of layers pellets, just ripped a hole in the bag, but it was enough to cause serious damage.
Do hope your goat is ok.
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Should she have some hay though? I've not had a goat with bloat but have had some with digestive problems and have a feeling its important to keep the rumen working with hay or it will shut down. I could be wrong though :-\
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She's looking at lot better this morning.
The bloating is very much reduced and she's showing some interest in food.
She's tucked up in their house with plenty of hay and a blanket over her as there's quite a fresh wind today.
I'll try her on some crackers and bi-carb - thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to drive over and collect some rumen start from the vet, too.
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Glad she's doing better.
My granny used to put a cardigan on our castrated billy when it was cold, folks used to think she was ever so slightly mad though - seems not ;)
Karen x
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I noticed she was a bit shivery around lunchtime so rang the vet again.
As a precaution against pneumonia she gave me some penicillin and an anti-inflamatory for her. Have to inject her daily for the next five days.
She's taken some food and water though so I'm hopeful she'll be back to normal soon.
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Is she producing a reasonable amount of droppings ... is it near normal in consistency. If so, the gut is working but slowly.
Natural live yoghurt would be the best way to kick start the rumen... a small carton down the throat.... because the penicillin will also kill off the the bacteria in the gut.
Have you got any Heptavac P ? It may be too late for it but worth a shot.. give her 4ml under the skin even if her vaccinations are up to date... this will help prevent the pasteurella taking over which is what I think the shivering is the start . Keep her warmly rugged up at all times & only give warm water.
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I hope you little girl is better soon. Please keep us updated.
Good Luck,
Mary.
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Fingers crossed, poor love :-*
Wytsend, my silly goats eat some layers pellets and sometimes the duck food every day, they seem to really like it :o What is it that's poisonous, or is it the effect on the rumen (so bloat, acidosis etc.)? I will try to change the feeders if I am chancing with their health, cos I love my goats to bits and I didn't realise it was dangerous :-\
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I don't know what the problem is with poultry food of all types.... I only know I have lost a goat to eating it, so has Roxy.
It is one of the documented absolute no-nos and every time I hear a goat has eaten poultry food, I shudder.
The amount eaten at any one time is more probably the cause of fatalities, but nobody seems to have the answers with regard to a build up of the toxins.
Much better to prevent access to any poultry food of any type.
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She's much better today. She's walking round, eating and foraging, and looking a lot more like her old self.
The shivering has stopped completely.
I've a pack of rumen start that I might give her with her supper and I'll carry on with the penicillin injections for the rest of the week, as a precaution.
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Very glad to hear she's doing well :)
My cheeky goats are into the layers pellets as they swipe them from the feeders as they pass through the chicken yard on the way to their paddocks. And the little Houdinis, otherwise known as goat kids, often let themselves back in and munch a bit more at some point :P
Guess I'd better try to find some more goat-proof feeders if such things exist!
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It does say on the layers pellets bags that we have, that it must not be fed to other animals including sheep. Goats do seem to like layers pellets - whatever causes them to be ill by eating it, I do not know, but please ......do your best to keep your goats away from it ......it still haunts me remembering Primrose lying flat out, and she has not eaten a lot. The other two goats who helped her, were very lucky they survived.
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Ive been lucky so far then, I won't chance it any longer :-[ Difficult to manage today, the weather is so awful both goats and chooks are in the goat byre. Will have to get my thinking cap on.
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Both stayed indoors this morning as it was raining but this afternoon they were both out and ravaging the willow trees.
Business as normal, methinks.
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Glad things are ok with you.
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Is it poisonous because of too much Vitamin 'A'? manufacturers use Vit A as a preservative and anti oxidant, Look at your dog food bags and read the contents, there are thousands of units of vit A as a preservative,
Layer pellets are probably the same , vitamin A in large quantities is poisonous , the liver can't cope with it.
If a human eats too many carrots they turn yellow and can die of liver failure from this vitamin poisoning.
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I doubt that very much.... goats are the only domesticated species that I am aware of that can get rid of any surplus minerals/vitamins not required. Which is why they don't suffer from copper poisoning like sheep do... they dump the surplus.
I am more inclined towards the binder that is used for poultry pellets... I was once told that it is totally different to other feeds !!!! ... but of course you must remember that poultry food also contains elements to keep the crop/gizzard working, which is why it is not essential to feed grit to layers. Advisable but not essential.
It maybe that this is the 'enemy in the camp' !
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Well she's back to her normal troublesome self :)
Had to pull her bodily out of the henhouse hatch this afternoon. Hopefully she didnt get more than a few pellets. I've stopped filling the hen feeder so much and no only give them enough for the day/night.
Pickked up a syringe and tube from the farm supplies store I use so at least it'll be easier to get the oil down her if she gets poorly again.
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Well she's back to her normal troublesome self
Sounds good :)