# Nigerian dwarf goat with the "shivers"



## dhansen (Jun 21, 2010)

Ever since our goat kidded, she has acted odd.  Her baby died inside her, so I gave her a round of Bio mycin along with probios.  She has adopted the mothering responsibilities of another doe's kids, so that has helped.  She shivers, and sometimes holds her back foot off the ground.  We have had to milk her twice a day since kidding so she could be in the 4H show at the fair.  One side of her udder is super sensitive, the same side that she hold the leg up on.  No fever,  she has been wormed twice since kidding, and eats/drinks just fine.  Any ideas?


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## glenolam (Jun 21, 2010)

How long has it been since she's kidded?


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## ksalvagno (Jun 21, 2010)

I'd hit her with a shot of Banamine. Can't hurt. I don't know if this is true for goats but in alpacas, Penicillin is better for possible or actual uterine infections. Don't have a good reason for it, just works better. We use long acting penicillin for the alpacas. She doesn't sound right but I really don't know.


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## cmjust0 (Jun 21, 2010)

I'm going with *milk fever*.  Shivering and shifting weight are both pretty classic symptom of hypocalcemia, and she's recently freshened....to me, she definitely fits the profile.  

If she's not gone down yet, she might yet..  Get on top of this quickly.

I'd either hit this gal with injectable calcium gluconate SQ, CMPK gel, or some sort of calcium drench -- probaby in that order in terms of preference -- and see if she improves.

I think she will.

She probably also needs to be on alfalfa or some other type of legume hay (clover, lespedeza, etc) if she's not already, as they're generally higher in calcium..  

Ironically, having one on alfalfa or other calcium-rich legume hay for too long before she begins lactation can actually bring about hypocalcemia, as the blood calcium levels stay high on that type of hay and the goat's body can sorta 'forget' how to pull calcium from the bones on an as-needed basis..  Has to do with metabolic processes...and stuff...I dunno exactly how it all works.

I learned that the easy way from a guy who learned it the hard way and lost a bunch of does to milk fever, and verified what he told me through a couple of different really good goatkeeping books.  For those of you who feed alfalfa hay to does year around, it's something to think about and perhaps do a little homework on.


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## glenolam (Jun 21, 2010)

So is it safe to say you'd feed alfalfa or legume hay while in milk, then take off as soon as you let the doe dry up until freshening again?


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## cmjust0 (Jun 21, 2010)

Here's one thing I read that backed up the unfortunate circumstance my friend ran into..  I remember reading another passage in another book which suggested grass hay for the last several weeks of pregnancy, to ensure that the doe is able to sufficiently pull calcium from the bones when she begins lactation.



			
				Quote from the book "Goat Medicine" said:
			
		

> In dairy cattle, the avoidance during late pregnancy of feeds rich in calcium, such as alfalfa hay, has long been considered central to preventing milk fever.  More recent work in both cattle and goats suggests that cationic/anionic balance ((Na + K)/(Cl + S)) rather than the calcium concentration of the diet is most important.  Alfalfa has cation excess which is possibly associated with decreased calcium absorption from the diet prepartum.  In regions where alfalfa is plentiful or indeed the only hay readily available, the prevalence of milk fever in goats does not seem to be increased.  This may be because goats tend to come into milk production more gradually than do dairy cows.  However, it has been recommended that other mineral supplements be eliminated from the diet during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy when alfalfa hay is fed.


Like I said...a buddy of mine told me first-hand that he lost several good does to this.  He was feeding alfalfa pre-kidding, thinking all that calcium would help them make plenty of milk.  After he lost a few (and had ruled out milk fever on account of feeding alfalfa!), he consulted a vet who deemed it to be milk fever caused by feeding too much alfalfa before lactation.

Go figure.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 21, 2010)

I don't know....it doesn't really sound like milk fever to me.  Is she acting normal?  Any strange head movements or is she staring?  Does she otherwise seem coordinated?  

I'm going to disagree, CM.  I think oral calcium would be preferable in this case, sense we don't know for sure it's hypocalcemia.  It's easy to kill an animal by giving calcium too much/too fast, so I'd go the safer route and go oral in this case, especially since if it is milk fever she's not that bad off if everything is normal other than shivering or a leg twitch.  

And there are definitely differing opinions on the alfalfa during gestation.  I'm with the none preparturition crowd.  The does can start mobilizing their own calcium better if there's no extra calcium in their diet.   Others swear they have problems if they don't feed calcium rich diets.  *Most* dairy (cattle) people do not feed high calcium diets prior to freshening.  If you have a properly balanced diet pre-freshening, milk fever shouldn't be an issue unless it's a very high producing animal.  

Back to the OP, how was the dead kid removed?  Did someone have to fish it out?  Almost sounds like trauma to me, perhaps slight nerve damage?


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## cmjust0 (Jun 21, 2010)

Well, I guess it makes sense that I'd be less hesitant to use SQ calcium gluconate because if I had a newly-freshened goat without a fever who presented with shivering -- not to mention toe-touching or holding up one leg, which sounds like shifting weight or being 'wobbly' to me..  Indeed, milk fever is the very first thing I'd suspect, I probably wouldn't even think twice before treating for it.

The term "milk fever" has been around since at least the 1700s -- when physicians thought it was the result of milk not being expelled from the breasts on account of some type of obstruction, collecting instead in the blood, bowels, and uterus :/ -- and that the "curdling" of milk in the blood caused a woman to go into a "cold shiver."  I've actually read theories from the 1750s which kinda tie a woman's unusually large breast expansion to "milk fever," but instead of postulating that it might be due to the body's inability to keep up with demand for milk production...they errantly assume the milk's already made yet can't be released.

It's funny, until you realize women died of this condition.  

What they didn't realize, of course, is that those women were just...ahem...heavy milkers, and the reason they weren't producing much milk was on account of hypocalcemia..

But one of the things about milk fever is that it will actually cause the body temperature to DROP if it gets bad enough...and the animal (human, goat, cow -- any mammal) will develop that tell-tale "cold shiver" of milk fever.

Now, note the OP describing a shiver without a fever, and in a very recently-freshened doe..  

I *really* think it's low-grade hypocalcemia.  I mean, it's not as if it's at all uncommon for heavy-producing doe to shiver a little bit after being milked if they're slightly hypocalcemic.

If administering calcium is worrisom to the OP, then probably the best advice here would be to get a vet out for a 2nd opinion.  I feel confident that the vet would immediately mainline calcium and that the doe would stop shivering within an hour, but.....well, that's just me speculating.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 22, 2010)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> Well, I guess it makes sense that I'd be less hesitant to use SQ calcium gluconate because if I had a newly-freshened goat without a fever who presented with shivering -- not to mention toe-touching or holding up one leg, which sounds like shifting weight or being 'wobbly' to me..  Indeed, milk fever is the very first thing I'd suspect, I probably wouldn't even think twice before treating for it.
> 
> The term "milk fever" has been around since at least the 1700s -- when physicians thought it was the result of milk not being expelled from the breasts on account of some type of obstruction, collecting instead in the blood, bowels, and uterus :/ -- and that the "curdling" of milk in the blood caused a woman to go into a "cold shiver."  I've actually read theories from the 1750s which kinda tie a woman's unusually large breast expansion to "milk fever," but instead of postulating that it might be due to the body's inability to keep up with demand for milk production...they errantly assume the milk's already made yet can't be released.
> 
> ...


It's one thing to feel confident treating with calcium if you're experienced in doing it.  It's a whole other thing if you've never done it, never seen the rate at which it needs to be administered, etc.  I've treated dairy cows with milk fever many times, and I'm comfortable doing it, BUT, we're talkign about a newbie that has a goat that may or may not have milk fever.  It is very easy to overdose calcium which will kill a goat (or cow) quickly...I've seen it happen.  

I'm usually not quick to tell people "you can't do that" when it comes to treating animals, because there are SO MANY things we can do ourselves to save money instead of calling a vet out, but in this case I'd recommend he get a vet out.  Sending a goat into cardiac arrest isn't fun.  :/

And we don't even know yet how recently she kidded.


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## cmjust0 (Jun 22, 2010)

Ok, well...  :/

SO...how's the goat doing today?


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## dhansen (Jul 1, 2010)

Well, she is no longer shivering.  She has been letting another doe's kids nurse from her.  I have not seen her holding her leg up anymore and is not shivering.  She never did have a fever, at least the times I checked.  So, I guess it all fixed itself.  Thanks for the advise


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## glenolam (Jul 1, 2010)

I'm glad she's doing better!


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