# Goat pregnancy and toxic plants



## abraeri (Jan 10, 2020)

I've been looking in a lot of places but can't find the effects of toxic plants on a pregnant goat. 

Our goats were confirmed pregnant at around 50 days after breeding using BioPRYNN. How far along would the pregnancy have to be in order for there to be a visible sign of abortion/miscarriage? 

Yesterday our goat escaped and managed to eat some azalea. Even after eating it they were eating grass and hay and we gave them each *at least* one tablespoon of activated charcoal, along with some strong tea. 

They never showed any symptoms of poisoning and were chewing cud happily. 

Today they got out again which I admit was my fault for not securing them into a smaller fenced area. Again they were fine, eating grass and hay, and got a bunch of activated charcoal disguised as banana peels. No symptoms of poisoning, chewing cud happily. 

Considering they never displayed symptoms of poisoning (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.), what are the chances that the poison has affected their unborn children?


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 10, 2020)

I would say watch them, as you are doing.  Take a temp.  If there is no discharge..then I would doubt a miscarriage...you could  always recheck..I did an at home pTest..very cheap..$5 a pice. $5 shipping..  it reconfirmed my Pygmy..she tested negative the first time, but it was too soon, and I knew she was pregnant.  I looked it up..it says plenty of water..no grain..watch for vomiting.  It can terrible tummy pains..but it doesn’t sound like your girls have that.  It says you can redoes the charcoal after 2 hours if needed...it doesn’t say it will hurt the kids.  It does recommend pulling out the bushes.  Hopefully this helps?  I think you’re doing a great job!!


----------



## abraeri (Jan 10, 2020)

When is the danger of re absorption past? I'm worried they could show no signs of terminating the pregnancy


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 10, 2020)

It just said that they would vomit if if they are having toxic amounts in their system.  I think if the pregnancy ends you will know it..it says that there may be a bit of blood on the hocks or tail..and the fetus is reabsorbed.  This is before 3 months.  If you are this worried maybe you should call a vet?  My vet doesn’t mind phone calls...are they vomiting..or still acting normal?


----------



## abraeri (Jan 10, 2020)

One (not pregnant) started slinging cud and now is sort of standing in a corner. One pregnant one also sounds like she is in some discomfort.I'm surprised it took this long for symptoms to show?


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 10, 2020)

Yeah, I would’ve thought it’d be sooner...I would give the charcoal again..it cant hurt...and lots of water..hay..no grain...


----------



## abraeri (Jan 10, 2020)

Yup but I'm too scared to drench... 

Vet said basically the only thing to do at this point is give pain medication but that the risk to the pregnancy is minimal. She had a pretty optimistic outlook (said that while of course there is a possibility of death, it's rare in here experience) but I still can't stop worrying about the pregnancy; especially since I saw some kind of mucus discharge afterwards

The things we do for these dim bulbs...


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 11, 2020)

abraeri said:


> Yup but I'm too scared to drench...
> 
> Vet said basically the only thing to do at this point is give pain medication but that the risk to the pregnancy is minimal. She had a pretty optimistic outlook (said that while of course there is a possibility of death, it's rare in here experience) but I still can't stop worrying about the pregnancy; especially since I saw some kind of mucus discharge afterwards
> 
> The things we do for these dim bulbs...


Oh you’re not kidding about that!!  I’ve been obsessed ‘this whole kidding season!!  My hubby can’t take it anymore, so I had to dial it down this week after being pretty stupid Sunday night.  If you’re that worried, I’d order the PTest and test the urine..it’s cheap and easy..then you'll know if they are pregnant and can put your mind at ease.  I’m glad you called the vet and she helped..glad she’s going to help the little goaties belly’s too!!


----------



## Baymule (Jan 11, 2020)

I am very careful with toxic plants. I go down the list of toxic plants before I plant anything. If you don't want to pull them up, then maybe beef up your fence/gate. Sometimes animals will eat toxic plants in small amounts for the trace minerals and vitamins or to worm themselves. Or sometimes because they do these things just to worry us to death. I hope they are ok.


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 11, 2020)

abraeri said:


> Yup but I'm too scared to drench...
> 
> Vet said basically the only thing to do at this point is give pain medication but that the risk to the pregnancy is minimal. She had a pretty optimistic outlook (said that while of course there is a possibility of death, it's rare in here experience) but I still can't stop worrying about the pregnancy; especially since I saw some kind of mucus discharge afterwards
> 
> The things we do for these dim bulbs...


How are the goats today?  Still have tummy aches?  Are they eating?


----------



## abraeri (Jan 11, 2020)

So they ate hay, we drenched them with ginger and a bunch of other stuff water and also got some probiotics into one. They don't look like they are quite well yet, but definitely pulling through! Will keep you guys updated! Especially around 3 months later when they are due!


----------



## abraeri (Jan 11, 2020)

Baymule said:


> I am very careful with toxic plants. I go down the list of toxic plants before I plant anything. If you don't want to pull them up, then maybe beef up your fence/gate. Sometimes animals will eat toxic plants in small amounts for the trace minerals and vitamins or to worm themselves. Or sometimes because they do these things just to worry us to death. I hope they are ok.



I will have to see about getting rid of any azalea on the property which as far as I know is the only toxic plant we have. Hopefully they won't be wanting to get into it again though - we had another one eat two leaves last year and have a little bit of discomfort - this time I don't think she even tried it! She is perfectly fine and wondering why her two sisters seem to be so off!


----------



## abraeri (Jan 11, 2020)

So their temperatures are a little low considering it's pretty warm here. One is at 101.6 and the other is 101.8. Our healthy goat is at 102.3. The young one is still bringing up a sort of liquidy cud; wants to eat but seems like she can't. The other one had a few banana peels and I can tell her stomach is still upset. Listening to her rumen I am not hearing the loud gurgling I can usually hear. We're going to get some human b-complex and crush it up to give to them.


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 11, 2020)

abraeri said:


> So their temperatures are a little low considering it's pretty warm here. One is at 101.6 and the other is 101.8. Our healthy goat is at 102.3. The young one is still bringing up a sort of liquidy cud; wants to eat but seems like she can't. The other one had a few banana peels and I can tell her stomach is still upset. Listening to her rumen I am not hearing the loud gurgling I can usually hear. We're going to get some human b-complex and crush it up to give to them.


What about some electrolytes?  In my kidding lit it lists them,but if you don’t have the ones from TS you can just use pedialyte..so I grabbed a bottle of that for my bag...maybe you could try that..maybe freeze some..then se if they might want to chew them?  Of simply put it in a syringe and be done with it...easier way.


----------



## abraeri (Jan 11, 2020)

We made our own electrolyte water to drench them... They are cycling between feeling good them feeling bad

The young one again is acting lethargic


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jan 12, 2020)

Oh nooo. I’m sooo sorry you’re going through this.  I would definitely be dig up that bush or cutting it to the base with my chainsaw....


----------



## B&B Happy goats (Jan 12, 2020)

Goats metabolize  things pretty quickly, I would suggest  to just give them some probiotics in their water and only feed them hay until you see them acting normal .....if they had consumed a toxic amount I don't  think they would be still around, get their gut corrected  and hope the kids were not affected..
Hoping you have a happy outcome with them


----------



## abraeri (Jan 14, 2020)

Everybody is doing perfectly fine by yesterday; been loading up on the hay, especially since it's been raining for the past three days about. We'll have to see how this affects their pregnancy if at all.


----------



## Ridgetop (Jan 17, 2020)

I doubt it will affect them at all.  Goats are browsers.  They eat a bite here and a bite there, usually not enough to kill them.  Unless they ate an entire yard full of azalea plants they probably did not get enough to harm them.  If you decide to give vitamin B complex, it would be better to give it as an injection.  Vitamin B can be hard on the stomach.  In fact, since you are giving them charcoal and banana peels, their stomachs may have been off due to the charcoal.  If they were going to react to any poisoning, they would have died by now.  They are not likely to lose pregnancies, especially at this point,

I would give some paste probiotics.  You can use the stuff they sell for horses and adjust the dose for the weight of your goats.  It looks like you have Nubians.  If they are full size adult Nubians, use the dose for about 125 lbs.  The probiotics will help calm their stomachs.  You can also use Pepto Bismol to settle their stomachs.  Pedialyte is for dehydration, not to soothe stomachs.  If they are not drinking, pedialyte solution is ok, but the probiotics are better.  The probiotic paste is also salty so it will encourage them to drink water on their own.  If the temperatures are cold where you are, you can offer warm water instead of cold, and add a little corn syrup to make it more palatable to get them to drink it.  You can also give raw yogurt if you can't get the probiotic.  However you will have to drench them with that as well.  I like the convenience of he over counter probiotic paste since it is easy to dose, keeps in the refrigerator, and doesn't need a drench gun.  

By the way, you can also buy the charcoal in a tube paste form too.


----------



## abraeri (Feb 1, 2021)

I'm going through and updating old posts of mine... these girls ended up fine, one of them had a bit of a difficult kidding but I don't think it was related to this at all.


----------

