# Goat Emergency - Fine to Can't Stand Overnight



## HomesteaderWife (Jan 17, 2022)

*EDIT: 1/20/2022 We sadly update that she passed away. 

For future reference - - Please scroll down to read the results of her veterinary visit. We will update and make posts with any progression updates good or bad.*

Hi everyone, I have a young female goat we have had for quite a few months who has been doing well and was behaving as normal yesterday evening.
Nothing about her diet has changed. Nothing has, no stress causing, nothing weird eaten I can see.

I went to feed this morning and she was walking very slowly with her tail tucked between her legs. Abnormal for her - she is a runner and a food hog bless her. She went to the food bowl and has eaten, but when she leaned over to eat she gave a rattly cough just once. I went back to check on her an hour later only to find she cannot stand at this point at all. She gets her back legs going, but her front legs cannot push up. I picked her up and laid her in the barn on some hay - she did not offer to eat that. I have not seen her drink. She's also abnormally vocal now as well.

Any ideas as to what has suddenly happened with our girl? I am very rural with limited stores around and not sure what I may be able to find. Any help on how to tend her or what may be happening is greatly appreciated.


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## Alaskan (Jan 17, 2022)

Ack.


Well...

First, look her over very well for any injury,  warm spots,bites or stings. Swollen parts

Take her temperature 

Listen to her gut...  can you hear normal gut sounds?

Look at her gums/eye lid color...  nice and pink?  Or pale?

Check her for dehydration...  does she have spit?  If you pinch her skin,  does it go right back when you release the skin, or does it sluggishly move back into place?


Hopefully,  the thorough exam will give you an idea of what is going on.

BUT, especially if you don't see a clear and fixable cause...  if you think she is worth the money....  you might want to call a vet ASAP.

That is a fast down turn.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 17, 2022)

If she can hold on until then, we got an appointment to be seen with veterinarian at 3:30 - low temp and pale gums and eyelids. Will update with what is found.


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## Ridgetop (Jan 17, 2022)

Waiting on vet results.

Cough and weakness sounds like pneumonia.  Pale gums and eyelids sounds like parasites. Heavy parasite load can also cause coughing.


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## Alaskan (Jan 17, 2022)

Can the vet give you any help over the phone?

If you have redcell on hand, and she can swallow, that can help.  Red cell is an iron supplement. 

Not sure what causes a low temp...  unless it is cold where you are at.​​Maybe, if she has a high parasite load, and it is super cold...  that might have been too much for her. .  Then yes, she needs the red cell, and she needs to be warmed up...  and then b vitamins and a warm electrolyte solution.​


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## Legamin (Jan 17, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> Hi everyone, I have a young female goat we have had for quite a few months who has been doing well and was behaving as normal yesterday evening.
> Nothing about her diet has changed. Nothing has, no stress causing, nothing weird eaten I can see.
> 
> I went to feed this morning and she was walking very slowly with her tail tucked between her legs. Abnormal for her - she is a runner and a food hog bless her. She went to the food bowl and has eaten, but when she leaned over to eat she gave a rattly cough just once. I went back to check on her an hour later only to find she cannot stand at this point at all. She gets her back legs going, but her front legs cannot push up. I picked her up and laid her in the barn on some hay - she did not offer to eat that. I have not seen her drink. She's also abnormally vocal now as well.
> ...


I’ve only dealt with a few problems in our goats that struck a similar chord.  First was bloat.  ’Brownie’ lay down and bleated but seemed too weak to rise.  I put a quart of pure cider vinegar in the drinking water and put a dish of loose mineral in front of him with mixed 50/50 with baking soda.  I would not normally do this for bloat…usually just vinegar because it raises the acid balance and sometimes can help things move along the rumen by themselves.  But it was clear there was an hour or two at the most left for him.  I encouraged him to lick up some of the mineral/soda and then got some 20/80 vinegar/water (respectively) and used a medicine syringe to put 60cc down his throat.  In my case it worked.  He was up and active in one hour, calm and running with the boys in two.
I would check the eyes.  Are they bloodshot? Has she been treated for lung and fluke worm in the last 6 months?  Winter time especially is the time of wet ground, concentrated poops and the nibbling of fallen food off said wet, poop, ground…this is the perfect storm for the spread of worms.  Pale or blood shot eyes, squinting, pale lips and tongue (if they are not black) and inside the nostril.  The next thing is breathing.  Course and raspy?  This is also the perfect time of year for pneumonia or respiratory distress.  Unusual to be sure unless it’s going through the flock.  Time for pennecillin properly dosed for the illness and the weight of the goat.  One common cause of distress is hoof rot but you probably would have noticed limping before now…but if you haven’t checked for it…now when she is down in the perfect time.  Clean the hoofs but don’t trim an infected hoof..that can come later.  Clean off nastiness and rotting skin and coat it in antibiotic, give a shot of antibiotic and use pine tar to coat the ankle and hoof so that there is a strong antiseptic coating keeping the hoof clean.  Such hoof rot, once  infected,  can lay a goat low in far less than a week.  If there are no injuries, scours, ‘hot spots’ or external disease demonstrated your only course left is to call a vet.  If this is not an option you may need to isolate her and help her into the great goat beyond if she gets to the point of loud painful distress.  As an absolute emergency (I hesitate to share this because I was an army field medic and most people will NOT want to try this) but I have once isolated a clogged and gas bloated rumen and very carefully inserted a large, long 18g syringe and removed the plunger allowing the gas to escape.  Then I put pressure on the wound and held it in place to heal for an hour until I was sure it was sealed. I gave saline IV to help her hydrate and then forced electrolyte fluids….but If this goes sideways it can be MUCH WORSE for the goat…I do NOT recommend doing it without a vet on the other end of the phone!
In the end just do your best for her.  That‘s all you can do.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 17, 2022)

Took steps to try and help her before she was taken to vet. We have another washer/dryer for animal bedding and I threw a clean pet blanket in the dryer briefly and wrapped her up so she would warm up. This seemed to help greatly. Vet visit came,

So are the details:

a very fair vet visit cost of $115.
Temp was okay, didn't hear actual reading but clearly I was unable to get a good read at home.
Ran bloodwork and fecal - high parasite load causing anemia. We dewormed after getting them but it was not broad spectrum so I think she must have been overloaded when we got her and we missed something with initial dewormer. Gave three injections - Ivomec, DEX I think it is, and Vitamin B12.
Received Power Punch supplement for her.
Received extra Ivomec for our other goat and gave injection to her as soon as we got home.
Received "Prohibit" for both goats as well.

We are working to boost her and get the parasites gone. He recommended picking up sweet feed for her but feed store closed so we will go in the AM if all is well. Recommended putting her in a warm area so she is crated in a side room and will also move her buddy inside tonight.

Paperwork did not give specifics of testwork levels/findings.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 17, 2022)

Thank you for all of the input and advice especially in regards to checking her out. When crating her, and unwrapping her from the blanket, she stood up!


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## Alaskan (Jan 17, 2022)

Excellent update!

Thanks.


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## farmerjan (Jan 18, 2022)

The Ivomec is for the worms, the Vit B-12 is an appetite stimulant to help get her to eat and the Dex is for swelling, labored breathing, a corticosoid?... helps with inflamation.... 
Once you get her to feeling a little better then using the prohibit will get rid of more parasites.  It is the go to around here for severe problems... and we have the barber pole worm that causes all sorts of havoc with goats and sheep here.  
Glad that you got in to a vet, got some good help and you are seeing a little bit of an improvement just by getting her warmed up and all.  I hope that it continues to improve.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 18, 2022)

As of today, she's still very limited standing but she is standing on occasion. She's fighting her medicine but still has an appetite and is going potty and taking water. A little vocal but I think mainly she's just concentrating her energy on trying to pull through. 

The vet suggested picking up sweet feed to concentrate on protein instead of fiber for her dietary needs at this time. We got some this morning and offering it to her. She's slowly eating. She's indoors at a comfy 60 degrees F.


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## Ridgetop (Jan 18, 2022)

Amazing how the constitution in animals keeps them going until they are nearly dead! Probably because in the wild a sick animal_* is *_a quickly dead animal.

When we raised calves, if they went down, they were dead in hours.  At the first signs of lack of appetite we dosed them with probiotics and electrolytes.   Once they were eating hay they seemed to be a lot less susceptible.  

Summer pneumonia was another silent killer.  Any animal with a natural high tolerance to parasites is also in danger since they will show few signs until they are almost dead.

Glad you got her to the vet and caught it in time.


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## Legamin (Jan 18, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> Took steps to try and help her before she was taken to vet. We have another washer/dryer for animal bedding and I threw a clean pet blanket in the dryer briefly and wrapped her up so she would warm up. This seemed to help greatly. Vet visit came,
> 
> So are the details:
> 
> ...


So good to hear that you worked it out.  With our goats the parasites were our primary issue (oddly, we have never once had parasites with our sheep).  I always inspect the eyes.  They are the windows through which you see worms!  Pale, grey-white border and bloodshot and I knew without doubt that worms were present.  It is well worth getting an Amazon microscope (of decent ’student’ quality) for this purpose.  I found a top quality 10x-15x-20x- with an adaptive eye piece for X10 and X40 (which is generally unnecessary for seeing worms but great for blood work).  Coming from the medical field I’m a little more comfortable doing more advanced urine, stool and blood testing on a broad range of issues.  For under $1,000 I have a sterile lab setup and can handle lab work and if necessary postmortem tests.  I found used serum spinner and tissue slice photographing with magnification equipment for brain, liver, kidney and lung samples.  Used equipment is everywhere, very cheap and still like new.  Your only real limitation is a space to do it in that is fairly sterile and clean and building knowledge through reading and doing…ask you vet every question you can about what they are doing and why.  They KNOW that they can not always be there and if you have already built a relationship with them they understand that you are not trying to be the vet but just be able to handle the normal daily stuff.  Six vet visits eradicates all profit from one animal.  And that is the most generous ratio…if you have one big emergency you can wipe out the profit of a small farm for two years in a visit with follow-up.  Your vet knows this and actually is grateful to have you use them as a resource and handle the little stuff.  As farmers we are ‘field medics’.
Sounds like you did exactly the right thing!  And it sounds like you have a great vet.  An onsite visit for basic services here runs well over $450…so in our area we do more of our own low level testing and treatment.  But having a professional that is willing to work with you is essential to any successful operation.  Without one I think the average flock losses will run about 20%…which in my mind is unacceptable.
Your a good goat parent, great job!


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## Legamin (Jan 18, 2022)

Ridgetop said:


> Amazing how the constitution in animals keeps them going until they are nearly dead! Probably because in the wild a sick animal_* is *_a quickly dead animal.
> 
> When we raised calves, if they went down, they were dead in hours.  At the first signs of lack of appetite we dosed them with probiotics and electrolytes.   Once they were eating hay they seemed to be a lot less susceptible.
> 
> ...


Sheep seem the absolute ‘worst’ (best?) at hiding their symptoms.  If you have a sheep that falls down and can’t get up…you’re too late.  And they can go downhill so fast that if you are on vacation for a week and leave an inexperienced person in charge you can lose animals.  I only had goats for about 5 years so I’m not anything like an expert.  I’m much more comfortable around human disease and anatomy which was my training.  But it seems that the rumen is the core of the ruminant’s health.  The rest is either live/die kind of stuff.  My sheep that quit eating out of fear of the barn went from a ’4’ on the health scale to a ‘1’ in just 10 days.  She has enough wool that it was not at first apparent.  It took two days to figure out the issue and ask for advice and now a week later she is back up to a solid ‘2’ and growing happy and active!  
You are right on with the probiotics and electrolytes.  If you learn to do an IV for the most severe cases you’re golden!  A feeding syringe for the probiotics and a steady hand to get all of it in and to stay in is a must.  Altogether and auto loader syringe, oral syringe and IV kit (also a vascular cutdown kit for intensive urgent cases…but you should be very experienced (at least 4 years training in medical and surgical procedure) before trying…is a great skill to have.  Though to be very clear …I do NOT recommend any treatment whatever which requires specialized knowledge or skills…NEVER experiment on your animals for ’training purposes’…that is WRONG!… 
But all animal owners should become comfortable with the basic stuff..nutrition, vaccines, simple medication, worming etc.  We all been a good vet on our side and should not try to go it alone.


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## Legamin (Jan 18, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> Took steps to try and help her before she was taken to vet. We have another washer/dryer for animal bedding and I threw a clean pet blanket in the dryer briefly and wrapped her up so she would warm up. This seemed to help greatly. Vet visit came,
> 
> So are the details:
> 
> ...


One thing you can do for future recovery/build up feed needs is to have ‘cob’ on hand.  The non-sweetened will store for a couple of years.  You can order unsulphured molasses to mix with the cob and you have a medium protein, high carbohydrate, easy to digest sweet feed that will boost energy quickly and help balance the rumen.  Keeping the rumen in balance is super important for goats and sheep. 20lbs dry cob to 1-1/2 cups unsulphured molasses…mix well and feed.  about 1 lb serving max at a time, half that every four hours for a weaker animal.  Keep their hay available but try to give them only fines until they are on their feet.  I use a grinder to break down rough hay into .5-1” bits.  Easy to chew and gives plenty of fiber for the weakened animal.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 18, 2022)

Thank you for all the input on future planning for these babies. We have goats on a small scale as pets who also help us with some brushwork! The pair of girls are clicker trained and very special to us in the short time we've had them. Not intended to be moneymakers but I am relieved our veterinarian has ALWAYS been fair and works with us. He tells the truth and lays out all options and has done much to help us. My husband, loving soul he is, said it was important to take her and give her a fighting chance. She is still very weak and only stands on her own occasionally, but eating and drinking and alert. She gives occasional vocalizations and is staying warm. We're not out of the woods so just following instructions and helping her along.


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## farmerjan (Jan 19, 2022)

It is going to take time for her to get some strength back if the worm load was high.  It is like they just keep functioning until they fall over... as you saw, and then it takes time for them to rebuild the strength because they have gotten so far down without you realizing it. Eating, drinking and alert is great... the warmth helps for her body to not be trying to keep warm on top of just getting back he energy.  You do all you can do and that is all that you expect.  
Hoping she continues to improve.


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## Legamin (Jan 20, 2022)

S


HomesteaderWife said:


> Thank you for all the input on future planning for these babies. We have goats on a small scale as pets who also help us with some brushwork! The pair of girls are clicker trained and very special to us in the short time we've had them. Not intended to be moneymakers but I am relieved our veterinarian has ALWAYS been fair and works with us. He tells the truth and lays out all options and has done much to help us. My husband, loving soul he is, said it was important to take her and give her a fighting chance. She is still very weak and only stands on her own occasionally, but eating and drinking and alert. She gives occasional vocalizations and is staying warm. We're not out of the woods so just following instructions and helping her along.


So glad to hear that she is getting better!  So often it is the simplest things that derail our fuzzy loved ones!  I was amused to read that they are ‘clicker trained’.  I have used a small bell with my sheep but the clicker might be a great option if we decide to go back with goats.  We have a ‘back 40…about an acre with a large barn that has been standing empty and it is too steep for sheep grazing and mostly weeds and thorns.  My wife has had the thought that we turn this area into a well fenced goat shelter for ‘Craigslist Orphans’ that are too often mistreated and then given away or abandoned.  We have thought that it would be a fun idea to rent a goat herd for weed and grass control on business properties.  The fertilizer alone is a great money saver to the people who hire us and we can follow up the goats with a riding mower to leave the areas looking nicer than when we arrive.
looking forward to reading that she is all better and completely healed!  Best of luck!


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 20, 2022)

I must inform sadly that our sweet girl passed away overnight. 
Yesterday she had begun to holler when she went potty and if you tried to move her a little to clean under her, she would just yell then too as if it really hurt her. 
She had been doing good, eating and drinking and taking her medicine but remained unable to move to stand or shift around. 

Don't know if I'm just overly sensitive to things for an animal that is not usually considered a pet, but after only 2 months of having her, it's still tearful.... We have called and left a message for the vet who is out on farm call, to see if our other goat simply just needs to have a poop sample taken in in a few months as they wanted done with the baby who passed. We'll wait to hear back from him and update on any extra information. I'm sorry I couldn't provide a happy ending to this emergency.


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## Alaskan (Jan 20, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> I must inform sadly that our sweet girl passed away overnight.
> Yesterday she had begun to holler when she went potty and if you tried to move her a little to clean under her, she would just yell then too as if it really hurt her.
> She had been doing good, eating and drinking and taking her medicine but remained unable to move to stand or shift around.
> 
> Don't know if I'm just overly sensitive to things for an animal that is not usually considered a pet, but after only 2 months of having her, it's still tearful.... We have called and left a message for the vet who is out on farm call, to see if our other goat simply just needs to have a poop sample taken in in a few months as they wanted done with the baby who passed. We'll wait to hear back from him and update on any extra information. I'm sorry I couldn't provide a happy ending to this emergency.


Still... good to know.

It would be good if the vet could tell you exactly why she passed....

As in...  exactly which worms, as well as how high a load?

If you know the exact worms you are dealing with, then it will be easier to manage.



And YES,  of course you are teary.  It is incredibly sad to lose a goat! Goats have huge personality.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 20, 2022)

@Alaskan - thank you for your kind words. And yes, I am going to ask if I hear back from them also. Because of the short time we had them and the way our other goat has not had issues, I am fairly certain it was something she had terribly when we bought her and the dewormer we gave was not broad enough to cover. I will ask though.

This is what we learn I guess for going to a poor quality auction instead of buying from a responsible farm with caring individuals. A rough lesson but we are glad to have had her nonetheless. Our other baby will be by herself for a little while, but not 100% - when we bring her in during the cold, our dog will be crated beside her at night. They've met a few times but usually she smells her then tries to headbutt her and the pup runs away (polled), even though our sweet Heeler just really wants to be friends with her. We will be searching for a good farm to get her a companion from, who tends their goats and their health. After checkup and quarantine, then they'll be introduced.


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## Alaskan (Jan 20, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> @Alaskan - thank you for your kind words. And yes, I am going to ask if I hear back from them also. Because of the short time we had them and the way our other goat has not had issues, I am fairly certain it was something she had terribly when we bought her and the dewormer we gave was not broad enough to cover. I will ask though.
> 
> This is what we learn I guess for going to a poor quality auction instead of buying from a responsible farm with caring individuals. A rough lesson but we are glad to have had her nonetheless. Our other baby will be by herself for a little while, but not 100% - when we bring her in during the cold, our dog will be crated beside her at night. They've met a few times but usually she smells her then tries to headbutt her and the pup runs away (polled), even though our sweet Heeler just really wants to be friends with her. We will be searching for a good farm to get her a companion from, who tends their goats and their health. After checkup and quarantine, then they'll be introduced.


Sounds like a good plan.



Be kind on yourself. 

I am very "livestock" and not "pets" but goats are incredibly hard to lose emotionally. 

Another reason to have a list of the specific worms,  is that different worms need different meds.  Also, they all have different life cycles.  So... it is way easier to deal with, if you know exactly what you are dealing with.


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## farmerjan (Jan 20, 2022)

Sorry for the loss.  There is no way to not get attached... and this from a person that doesn't especially like goats, but they do have personalities.   Unfortunately it sounds like she was just too far gone when she collapsed and you took her to the vet.  It happens.  And yes, you learned about auctions and such.  Not all animals that go through are neglected or mistreated or anything... she could have come from someone who just didn't know enough to take care of them right either.  
We sell alot of our feeder calves at auction and we try to take good care of our animals.  But there are some that just have problems that may not be noticed either.  
I hope the vet can give you some closure on her and yes, the other one should be rechecked and wormed again.... some are naturally more resistant, but if they came from the same place, they could both have a high load and it can affect some worse than others.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jan 20, 2022)

@farmerjan - Thank you for making the point though that yes, not all auction animals are uncared for. And that there are those who do not know enough, as I myself am still learning. I simply meant that the conditions of the place and handling and the way some of the other goats that were with her group looked, I should've been more aware and expectant.


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## farmerjan (Jan 20, 2022)

Sorry you had to learn the hard way... And emotions get in the way for people... even experienced buyers... when a "cute"  animal comes in the ring.... Not everyone is a good animal husbander.... in any type of animals.  You gave her a chance, that counts for something.


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## Legamin (Jan 22, 2022)

Alaskan said:


> Still... good to know.
> 
> It would be good if the vet could tell you exactly why she passed....
> 
> ...


I found that was the most difficult thing with our goats, when we made the change to sheep, they had such individual personalities!  We determined not to name them when we got them and then one bit my wife in the fanny…”Bitey”…he never gave the habit up!  Another was just…off…sweet as candy and always needing love but willing to let everyone know that he was in full command of the yard…yet he wasn’t really..”Silly Boy”…the one other I recall remained nameless for ages until a large truck used it jake brake on the level road in front of the farm..he jumped four feet in the air and when he landed he went right back up…thought he had super springs!…
”Scairdie”.  Every time we decided not to get attached they would pull a peculiarity out of thin air and surprise us with it!  they are far more affectionate than sheep but in the end, at my age, sheep are more compliant.  But loving goats is easy!


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