The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: cuckoo on August 20, 2014, 10:31:57 pm
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I have a poorly goat about 4 months old. She was bottle reared and is still very interested in a bottle but has been weaned a while now. She will drink a bit of rehydration fluid from it but not much. She has stopped eating and I cant find anything to make her eat. Have tried all the usual ivy, grass, readigrass, other fresh browse even toast with honey and branflakes. We think it is cocci took her friend to the vets yesterday and that is what he said) - she has had vecoxan and oramec and antibiotics and meloxidyl pain relief and also a vit and mineral drench. I think she would eat milk from the bottle but don't want it to make her get worse. She is a bit loose but not loads of diarrhoea. She hasn drunk much since early afternoon when she did drink a whole litre of warm rehydration fluid straight from the jug.
Thanks
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I don't know what else to advise but it sounds like your doing your best.
Animals are such a worry, :fc: she turns a corner
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Actually all of mine are still on the bottle and are now coming up for 6 months (but they are dairy breeds). If she takes some milk give it to her but encourage eating hay/straw - she needs her rumen to work. However don't overfeed on milk.
Will she nibble on willow or other branches?
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i was giving one of my weak kids some milk in a syringe and when I turned round one of the others had come up and slurped all the milk that left in the bowl ::)
fingers crossed she gets better soon :fc:
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Mine all suckle until at least six months so I would try it. It'll help keep her strength up but do have hay available to her at all times.
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Aww poor little girl, what about getting her some goat probiotics, little powder sachets. The drinking rehydion well is a positive, brilliant stuff isn't it?
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I would give her some milk, but you might want to water it down slightly, so maybe 200ml to 100ml water just so that she is taking some water too. If you dilute it too much she won't like the taste and then won't drink it.
Beth
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do what ever you need to.....I just lost my little 10 week old Rowan tonight, peacefully in my arms. :'(
our vet gave us rehydration sachets to mix with her milk which we had to syringe her with as she just couldn't eat anything but in our case we were just unlucky.
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Thanks for all the replies - sorry not to have been in touch - has been a manic few days. Rosie is eating now - hay, barley straw, willow, brambles, coarse mix and drinking over a litre of rehydration fluid via a bottle too. I did give her some milk - only a few hundred ml and it kick started her interest in the bottle again. She has diarrhoea today though so wont give her anymore - and have given her kaolin to bung her up. Sadly she doesn't have the strength to stand but she is very bright in herself and eating so all good signs, Vet says could be some kind of gut worm. But she has been treated for all eventualities so I guess will tell. Am continuing the pain relief and antibiotics. :wave:
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thats great, sounds like there's some good improvement :fc:
just watch that diarrhoea though, I tried kaolin with Rowan but no change, will wait for the post mortem and see what was wrong.
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Good that she's eating.
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how is she today?
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Bit concerned that she's not up first- eating that well, she should be up and about...
How is she?
Beth
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Please check out goat probiotics, as I was taught early on here they're incredibly sensitive to any change, stress etc, please look into them, especially that she's been on anti biotics, themselves being rather harsh on the gut. Is the scour gel like or thicker poo x
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Hi All,
Thanks for all the replies - Rosie was sadly euthanized last sunday. Her mind was willing but she just couldn't stand and was showing no other improvement. She was still scouring as well. Vet didn't think there was anymore we could have done for her when I had spoken to them and she took a turn for the worse on sat, but did improve a bit after another LA antibiotic injection. We have been away and I just couldn't leave the responsibility of looking after her to anyone else.
She was a bottle fed kid and will be missed especially by my 6 year old daughter who was very upset.
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:hug: :hug: so sorry for your loss, I've had to deal with that particular emotion 3 times this week, 2 kids died and my favourite big Daisy diagnosed with Johne's Disease so I completely empathise with you :bouquet:
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So sorry to hear this, cuckoo. :bouquet: It's such a hard decision to have to make. Your daughter will obviously be upset but she will learn a valuable lesson about death from it.
FRH, you've had a horrible week, haven't you? Sorry you've had to cope with three deaths. :bouquet:
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:hug: :hug: so sorry for your loss, I've had to deal with that particular emotion 3 times this week, 2 kids died and my favourite big Daisy diagnosed with Johne's Disease so I completely empathise with you :bouquet:
So sorry to hear about your tough time too. It always seems worse when you feel you have fought hard for them :hug: :hug:
And :hug: :hug: to you too cuckoo.
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Thanks for the kind thoughts - just shows we cant get complacent. Have had goats 6 years now and consider ourselves to be good goat keepers - it is often the simple things which get you. Have lost several kids in last few weeks - vet thinks due to cocci or a gutworm which can manifest quickly as kids very anaemic and went downhill fast. This is despite me thinking these things were in hand. :(
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Just seen this - so sorry for your loss. Have had goats for 40 years, and two year ago I had an awful time with cocci in my goat kids ..... this year have reared 12 and all fine. I did nothing different - just one of those things that hits us sometimes. It is really upsetting though when it happens.
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I think it's important to try not to feel guilty, which is easy to do. I still feel a bit bad that I couldn't get a breech kid out this year so she died. I'm just so glad I called the vet and he got there in time to save the next two who were also stuck.