# Goat acting very sick, legs not working right



## s.z.ichigo (Dec 11, 2013)

I don't know if this is a true emergency. I have no idea what is going on here.
When my daughter came out to feed the goats earlier our most energetic feisty doe would not come out of the shed to eat. Normally she is jumping in the food bucket while you're carrying it. She wouldn't drink either.
She has kind of a brown crusty wetness around her nose and mouth. Not bloody or anything. Looks a bit like dark cream of wheat.
She is also standing funny. Both her back feet are kind of curled so she's walking on her knuckles. I got her to lay on her side, but she kept kind of whimpering. She's now laying down more upright and seems more comfortable, but is still looking quite ill.
She is also pretty large so I think she might be expecting. Normally she is a trim little thing. She kidded last spring and we didnt even know she had one in there. We sold some boys that we think might have been sexually mature before we got them out of here. We put our buck in with the girls about a month ago. Daughter says she had a mucusy thing hanging out of her genitals earlier. I didn't see it. Her rear end looks normal to me, but the vulva is moist and red looking.
She is about a year and a half old. Thanks for any advice!
EDIT: It may be nothing but there was a plastic bedding bag in their pen this morning and the other does were playing with it so maybe she injested some plastic? Wouldnt explain the legs though. Also another does had the same brown stuff all over her back, so maybe she threw up on her. I'm going to move her into the barn where it's a little warmer. She is shivering and their shed is not really ou of the wind 100%.


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## elevan (Dec 11, 2013)

Here's some info about kidding, maybe it will help you figure out if she's about to kid:  
http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=586-goats-kidding


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## s.z.ichigo (Dec 11, 2013)

I got her up to the barn with some fresh bedding. She didn't want to walk so I had to carry her (she's a ND). I heard a kind of sloshy liquid sound in her belly. Her left side was closest to my ear. Going to look up bloat. Brought her daughter up here for company since she's the only one she doesn't butt routinely.
Also she just threw up a little Very small amount.
She's standing now. Just really still. Not on her knuckles anymore though.
Thanks again.

EDIT: I don't think it's bloat. Her sides are symmetrical and neither side feels squishy. Right now she's just kind of staring blankly at the wall. No signs of labor either. Im pretty perplexed.


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## SillyChicken (Dec 11, 2013)

wish I knew how to help.. I can't see how it would hurt to give her some baking soda anyway.   What about poisons?   Has anything changed in her diet?

Have you felt her side to get an idea of the activity level of her rumin?   It should be moving, squishing things around every few seconds..


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## s.z.ichigo (Dec 11, 2013)

I sat up there with her for a couple of hours. Had to come in to warm up. She doesn't seem to be changing at all. Brought her up some warm water and she wasn't interested. I didn't feel her belly for digestion stuff, but she did seem to have a normal amount of goat burps and stuff. 
The only thing abnormal with their diet is that I fed them corn instead of their normal feed the other day when we ran out of goat food. But they've had corn in the past with no issues, and all the other goats ate the same and are fine. Going to provide minerals and baking soda when I go back out there.


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## elevan (Dec 11, 2013)

Any moldy hay?  Poisonous plants?

It could be possible that she ingested some plastic and is trying to vomit it up.  The act of vomiting can cause weakness which may explain the weird stance (standing on the knuckles), but then again I'm shooting at the wind here.  This is a strange set of symptoms.

Make sure she has plenty of fresh water and only hay to eat for a few days.  Do you have a good rapport with your vet where you could call in the morning and discuss symptoms on the phone and see what they have to say?


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## SheepGirl (Dec 11, 2013)

What is her temperature?


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 11, 2013)

She's walking on her knuckles (pasterns)?  That's an indication of foundering although it is usually in the front feet, at least that's what I thought.
Would love to see a picture of that.
Any way, if an animal bears its weight on it's pasterns, it would usually indicate it is uncomfortable to bear weight on their hooves.  Check her hooves, are they warm?

You said she is pretty large, but you think she is expecting.  What does her udder look like? Has it bloomed over the last several days?
I ask this because if she is not expecting, but overweight would also be an indication of possible foundering.

In the short term, I would agree with elevan and only give hay for now.


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## s.z.ichigo (Dec 11, 2013)

We actually don't feed hay, only pellets. I will see if I can locate some hay.
She is no longer standing funny. When she was I felt her legs and they felt very stiff. Nothing warm or swollen that I could tell.
Maybe she is miscarrying? Her udder is not developing, though she has always had a very small udder. She kidded for the first time this spring and barely ever showed an udder at any time. She seemed the same when we last checked her as it was getting dark. The two of them had hunkered down in the fresh bedding. I will update in the morning. Thanks


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 11, 2013)

s.z.ichigo said:


> We actually don't feed hay, only pellets. I will see if I can locate some hay.
> She is no longer standing funny. When she was I felt her legs and they felt very stiff. Nothing warm or swollen that I could tell.
> Maybe she is miscarrying? Her udder is not developing, though she has always had a very small udder. She kidded for the first time this spring and barely ever showed an udder at any time. She seemed the same when we last checked her as it was getting dark. The two of them had hunkered down in the fresh bedding. I will update in the morning. Thanks


 
Your goats need hay.  Pellets are not a replacement for hay, but rather a supplement to hay.  Goats need long stemmed fiber to be healthy. You definitely need hay.  She may very well be foundered.


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## elevan (Dec 11, 2013)

OneFineAcre said:


> Your goats need hay.  Pellets are not a replacement for hay, but rather a supplement to hay.  Goats need long stemmed fiber to be healthy. You definitely need hay.  She may very well be foundered.


x2


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## Southern by choice (Dec 11, 2013)

OneFineAcre said:


> Your goats need hay.  Pellets are not a replacement for hay, but rather a supplement to hay.  Goats need long stemmed fiber to be healthy. You definitely need hay.  She may very well be foundered.


*X 2*


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## alsea1 (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm wondering if without hay if there is something amiss in the rumen. Thus causing a thiamine problem.


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## jodief100 (Dec 12, 2013)

How long have you had your goats?  How long since they have had anything long and steamy to eat?  If all they have had is pellets for a few weeks, her rumen may be shutting down and causing sepsis.  You need to get the rumen restarted, give her probiotics and/or some plain yogurt. What is even better is to steal a cud from another goat and give that to her.  I know it sounds gross but this could save her life.  I am concerned it may not work if none of your goats have had any fibrous material lately.  They all need hay and soon or you may have the same problem with all of them.  Goats need long steamed fiber for the rumen to function properly.  Pellets do not need as much digesting so they do not activate the rumen.


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