# Abandoned Goat - Starving? Worms? Not Sure...



## BarnyardBlast (Sep 28, 2017)

We have raised Nigerian Dwarf goats for several years. I can identify and treat simple issues. I know our goats well enough to know if something is "off" but I'm not a goat expert. One of our neighbors moved here about two years ago and purchased goats. (We live in the country and have very few neighbors). He contacted us a few days ago and said that they had moved. They wondered if we would take their goats. 

We rode over last night and ended up bringing them home with us. There is a Nubian adult female with a 6 month old (approx) male kid (intact). There is also an adult female Boer. The kid is missing half of an ear from a dog attack. (They have lost other goats to dog attacks, including one that we put down for them because they couldn't do it). It was almost dark, so we put them in an extra pen near another goat yard, fed them, and left them for the night.

This morning has been the first time I could see them in the light. They are all thin with hip bones and spine showing, but the Boer goat looks alarming. The flank is caved in to the point where the spine is the widest area. I'm going to try to upload some pics in the next post.

She is acting fine - her tail wags when she saw me and she ate an animal cookie out of my hand. She ate well, but nervously. They would all eat a bite or two, then back up, look around, before eating another bite or two (and then look around again, etc). She is moving around. I didn't notice any sign of diarrhea. Her tail wasn't wet. I looked around the yard for signs of odd bowel movements, but saw nothing (it's possible I missed it, but all the pellets in the goat yard looked normal but a bit clumpy in some). She doesn't look to be in distress. 

I was worried that over-feeding would make them sick, so I gave them about twice what I give my adult Nigerians (although they would have happily ate more - they wolfed it down). I'm thinking about feeding a bit more in a couple of hours and then again tonight. I don't know what they've been fed, but I think they were forage-only goats. We looked around for food and water but didn't see either for the goats. (There is also a cow and bull, horse, and two dogs over there. I am going back over this afternoon to make sure that they have water at least. I told my husband to call the neighbor back and ask who is watching the other animals for them.) Our large animal vet is out of town this week, but I've left a message asking for a home visit next week. I want him to check for worms, usual goat testing and also to treat for worms (and preventative treatments for the goats in the yard next to them). I have worming medication here, but I'm almost afraid to treat her because she's so thin. I would love some suggestions.


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## BarnyardBlast (Sep 28, 2017)




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## babsbag (Sep 28, 2017)

I would say that checking for parasites is the right place to start and boy is she thin. How does her lower eye membrane look? White, light pink, bright pink? That will give you an idea if she is suffering from the most common problem...Barber Pole worms. I wouldn't worm if they are white or light pink without getting the vet to look at her. Feeding good hay is probably your best bet and go easy on the grain.  Good for you to take care of them, but please keep them quarantined.


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## Hens and Roos (Sep 28, 2017)

lucky for the animals to have you step in and care about them! I agree with @babsbag


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## maritown (Sep 28, 2017)

Wow, poor goats!  Good on you for taking them.

I agree with the above poster.  You can feed grain gradually to get weight on them but goat rumens depend on hay and forage.  I would get an all over vet check and a fecal done so you can treat for any parasites.

Also, you need to separate the buck.  He will breed them and the last thing you want is emaciated pregnant does if he hasn't already.


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## Latestarter (Sep 28, 2017)

Since you also have no idea regarding CL/CAE/Johnes, it's a really good idea to keep them quarantined away from any area that your own animals might use near term. Those folks need to be reported for just moving and leaving those animals to fend for themselves. That's a shame and a crime. Thank you for going to their rescue. I hope it doesn't bite you in the hind end for caring. Please give us an update as you can. Best of luck.


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## BarnyardBlast (Sep 28, 2017)

My husband forgot to check the eyelids when he went out to feed them tonight, so I'll check in the morning. He was a bit shocked once he had a good look at her and said that he was so mad he forgot to look at her eyelids. He spends a lot of time talking to the animals and petting them - it was dark when he returned tonight.  

I spoke to one of the neighbors and they insist that the goat has "always been that way". They said that she might be a bit thinner now than when they left, but she's always been skinny. They said that she was not quite that thin before she kidded several months ago, but after kidding she always looked emaciated. I asked if they had wormed her and she said that they did worm her with the pellet feed wormer. She indicated that the goats were able to graze and eat whatever they liked. (I don't know if they ever supplemented with any type of feed and she said the goats were never sick so never needed a vet). I really didn't know what else to say, so ended the conversation. Afterwards, they drove back to their house next door and fed all of the other animals. They also stopped by here to go look at the goat and again, insisted that she has always looked that way. 

I've put a freeze on moving any animals on our farm until the goat issue is resolved. I'm hoping for a call back from the vet's office tomorrow to let me know when he can come out. There are two goats in the pen next to them and I'm going to leave them there for now. I plan to have the vet treat them along with the new goats. (I also want to document the goat's condition...). They aren't sharing any yards but they share a fence line. Since they've probably been exposed, I'd rather not move them and contaminate another area. 

I've been reading and have seen posts by others that some goats become very skinny after kidding - but am I wrong in thinking that this is a bit extreme? 

I plan to separate the boy out soon. He hasn't shown interest in the ladies, yet, but I know he will soon. He's sweet but a little scared. He is the only kid that survived several dog attacks in the past and half of one of his ears is missing.   Once the vet clears him, he'll move into a different area. 

Today, we fed them every few hours a small amount of feed/grain. They've had a small field to themselves and we put hay and alfalfa in their shelter. I'm scared about doing too much, too fast. They all seem happy and excited to see us and they are wolfing down their feed. I'm still so furious I can't think straight. I'll feel better once a vet arrives and gives me a treatment plan. I plan to go to Tractor Supply tomorrow. Anything in particular I could purchase to help, gently, put weight on her? We give our goats regular feed, sweet feed, and BOSS. They usually get hay unless they're kids or milking - then they get alfalfa. I've never had a goat look like this, ever. I'm not sure if there's anything else we can give her to help her out.


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## Southern by choice (Sep 29, 2017)

Kidding can cause stress and parasitic bloom, some goats can crash after kidding as well and become taxed by nursing their kid/s.
Yes, she needs weight BUT the coat is very shiny and that is a good sign.

Deworming after fecal and continued deworming to break the cycle is important.
I would take it easy on too much rich stuff at once or you can cause more issues.
A good grass hay with some alfalfa mixed in or as a little each day is far better than throwing straight alfalfa to her.
Grain slowly. Looks like your plan from what I read. 

After you check the eye membranes, if the goat is anemic I would give red cell (its for horses) this will provide all nutrients the goat needs.
Talk with your vet of course first but it is gentle and contains all the goat needs- slowly allowing her body to adjust.
Probiotics would be great!
CD & T vaccine is a good idea too.

Yes she is skinny but that coat is shiny, the eyes are not dull ... this could be from kidding. Maybe she was on the thin side prior to and this tipped over the edge a bit.


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## CntryBoy777 (Sep 29, 2017)

I would take it slow and wait for the vet to check things out. Ya certainly don't want to create yourself more problems by overfeeding in a short period of time. If you have trees on your property....sweetgum, live oak, privet, or honeysuckle....ya can cut some branches or limbs and put it in the pen with them for quality browse. I would stick with hay and browse for the time being. If she appears in good spirits and is moving normally, I'd wait on anything else til ya know what ya may be dealing with. It is certain that she isn't going to gain weight overnite and too much grain too quickly will certainly do more harm than good. Your concern is obvious and justified, but patience is called for here. There isn't any worm or parasite medication that works on every kind, so until ya know what it is you are targeting....giving medication may not affect the parasites she may have. As long as they are eating hay, grass, or browse they'll be okay til the vet can check them. They will be delighted for your attention....cause it sure is obvious they weren't getting much til ya got to them.


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## babsbag (Sep 29, 2017)

Calf manna is really good for helping with condition but I would give 1/2 of the suggested amount that is on the bag. Also make sure that they have a goat mineral, that was probably lacking too.


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## BarnyardBlast (Sep 30, 2017)

A quick update - I'm very pleased with how well the goats are doing. I'm beginning to believe that dehydration might have played a part in their appearance. They are still thin and the one above in particular - but there is a noticeable difference. My daughter helps with the evening chores and she commented to me that the goats were pushing each other trying to drink as much water as possible when she fills it back up. (They always have access to water, but seem to become thirsty all over again when we're filling it. I try not to pour it over their heads, but when it happens, they don't even pause drinking). I had noticed the same eagerness to drink. 

I stopped by the vet's office on Friday. I showed the pictures to the receptionist who called one of the techs to look at them. The vet was out of town doing something with 200 head of cattle and wasn't expected back until next week, but they offered to text the pictures to him. About five minutes after I left the office, they called and told me that he had called them back and ordered some medicine for the goat. He said that he could come out next week, but until then, to give her an antibiotic and a wormer. I picked those up and gave them to her Friday. 

I cut back on the feed just slightly and gave extra hay (and mixed in a bit of alfalfa and timothy grass). I've been using the probios supplement and various minerals (the goat minerals bag that TS sells). They also get an animal cookie every morning and night. They seem very happy to see us.  They are still skittish while eating and startle easily. 

I haven't been able to go back next door because of the bull at the gate. (I can't remember if I mentioned it, but the cow is inside of the gate and the bull on the outside of the gate. We had to stop, less than 10 feet from the bull, open the gate, drive in, close the gate and continue on. He doesn't seem all that excited about letting us get back in and I'm not ready to challenge him.) Although there are very few neighbors (due to the acreage sizes), they are becoming unhappy about an animal that size that is free to wander onto anyone's property even though he hasn't done so yet. I'm going to try again tomorrow (my husband has friends coming over who offered to go with us) but I'm worried about getting trapped between some of the larger animals in their urgency to see if we have food. They don't look aggressive, but they are hungry and rushing us to see if we have food.


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## Hens and Roos (Sep 30, 2017)

Glad to hear that they are doing better!  Hopefully you are safely able to see about the other animals.


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## CntryBoy777 (Sep 30, 2017)

Hopefully things will continue to improve....


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## babsbag (Sep 30, 2017)

I don't understand people that can walk off and leave animals to get food "now and then"; that's just wrong. I am glad that the ones in your care are looking better...maybe it is time to contact animal control about the others.


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## Latestarter (Oct 1, 2017)

What Babs said... sounds to me like this is a much bigger situation than you as a single family might want to tackle... Animal control (or much as I hate to suggest it; ASPCA) should probably be called to intervene. They have the resources and equipment to handle the bull, as well as any other animals that have been left behind. They'll ensure they are collected and cared for properly and if charges need to be pressed against the owners who deserted these animals, they will have the evidence required to make it stick. They might not if you are in there improving the situation before they get involved. 

Glad the goats you rescued are improving. Hope it continues.


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## BarnyardBlast (Oct 1, 2017)

Thanks for the replies - I have another question. I'm trying to look inside the eyelid for color. I've tried a few times and it's been a bit of a struggle. (They are mostly okay with touch, but pushing/pulling meets with resistance). I finally was able to look at them and the inside looks mostly white (for all three goats, but the one we're discussing is the worst). I think there was a light pink line, but very thin. I'm looking at the Famacha chart and it doesn't look at all like the normal eye, but wasn't quite as bad as the worst ones. 

My question is that the 'corner' of the eye is showing? I've googled and I think it's the third eyelid. Also, it has black spots? This doesn't appear to be trash in the eye. This is on both eyes. I'm attaching a picture. I wasn't pulling down on the eyelid, the white part is showing. (None of the other goats have this). Any suggestions? I'm taking a quick nap and then going to Tractor Supply. The vet is coming out this week, but if this is something significant, I can text his office the picture to speed things up.


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## babsbag (Oct 1, 2017)

I really have no idea on the eyelid. I know in a cat it usually means that they are sick but I have seen some really sick goats and no third eyelid. I don't think I would be too worried about that right now. 

Can you take a fecal sample to the vet before they come out? That way he can administer the proper meds while he is there. Sounds like they' need wormed.


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## BarnyardBlast (Oct 1, 2017)

Yes, and that's a great idea. I can get that done tomorrow. She has already been given both a wormer and antibiotic (she's also getting probios). I was trying to figure out if there was anything to help her if she's anemic. I feel so bad for her.


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## babsbag (Oct 1, 2017)

Red Cell. It is for horses. I have not used it but @Southern by choice has and was impressed with its effectiveness.


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## BarnyardBlast (Oct 4, 2017)

Good Morning! Someone from the sheriff's dept and a rescue organization came out yesterday. They had heard that I had taken in the goats from next door. 

They said that they had stopped by the neighbor's house and the horse had been moved elsewhere. The only animals left are the cattle (which had acres of land to graze and plenty of water) and two dogs in a yard (also with plenty of food and water). They said that they planned to contact the neighbors to see if they needed any help to re-home the two dogs but otherwise, things were fine next door. They said the goat yard (next door) was in pitiful shape. There was little for them to eat (hay/forage) and their bedding was slimy and soiled. They asked to look at the goats and agreed that they were probably carrying a heavy parasite load. (The rescue worker noticed the Red Cell I had just purchased and agreed that it would be great for them). They wanted to know if I planned on keeping them and I said that they would be staying here. 

They stayed for about an hour, talking. (Admittedly, we went off track a bit talking about animals and 4H and kids of the human variety. And, they wanted to look at the animals and I'm proud of our little farm). They requested that I contact them if I noticed anything unusual. We are trying to figure out if anyone is actually living there. (It's almost too confusing to explain the property situation behind us).

I also heard from the vet. He said that he would come out next week (approximately fourteen days from when I first wormed them and gave them antibiotics) and see how they looked. He's going to re-worm and draw blood (or whatever he needs) for testing. I've always kept a closed herd of registered Nigerian Dwarf goats purchased from only one farm (who also tests yearly) and I also test yearly. My fingers are crossed that nothing overly nasty has been brought in. I'm worming all of the goats and paying close attention to the two in that share a fence line with my new ones.


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## babsbag (Oct 4, 2017)

Sounds like you are the perfect goat owner; good for you for taking care of them. I wouldn't be too concerned about the fence line unless they start coughing or have nasty noses, the "big 3" diseases require more contact than a nose touch. Hopefully it will all have a good ending.


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