# WHAT TO DO IF A GOAT IS CHOKING



## gcarmack2001 (Mar 5, 2018)

I don't know about you guys, but we have some goats that have a tendency to choke on their grain. They start hacking and coughing up pellets, grain, saliva, etc. It's definitely a pretty nasty experience. They've always managed to make it through alright after I massage their throats and calm them down. I've also put large rocks/hay/other objects in their feeder to slow them down.
We currently have two Nubian doelings that were born in January. They have been introduced to grain and have been tasting it and learning that it's good to eat. Oatmeal (the older one) has been known to fight her mother for it at the feeder, while her younger half-sister (Speckles) isn't as willing to fight her mother for it. Speckles will eat it out of my hand/cup but won't fight her mom for it. Anyway, tonight was the first night we were going to leave the dams out in the field and bring the kids up to the barn to eat grain and learn that it's ok to be separated from their mothers--up until now they had never left their dams' sides except to get disbudded. Speckles, especially, is very attached to her mother.
I put some grain in the feeder, which Oatmeal and Speckles started nibbling at, and left to bring up a couple of more kids and their dam. I was walking by their pen (Speckles was screaming her head off, which wasn't surprising) and noticed Oatmeal had her front legs up on the cement block in their pen. I almost didn't go in there (I figured she was just standing there nibbling at something) but something inside of me told me there was something wrong, so I did.
Oatmeal had foamy saliva covering her mouth, and she was obviously in pain. I immediately thought she had ingested something toxic, but the foam's coloring was white (like milk) and she was having no neurological symptoms. I've never dealt with a choking goat before, so the first thing I did was pick up her back legs (keeping her front legs on the ground), fixed it to where her mouth/nose was pointing straight down, and started patting/pounding on her ribs. She coughed and more foam came out of her mouth and nose. I could hear her it gurgling in her throat. I did this repeatedly and nothing was helping. I told my brother to get the baby aspirator out of the house, and a few minutes later I was sucking foam out of her nose and mouth. I purposely sucked it from her nose multiple times, as she flung her head and sneezed/coughed whenever I did that. I massaged her throat and continued with the aspirator and rib pounding until she didn't gurgle anymore. (Speckles, in the meantime, has run through the open gate and is down at the pasture again, screaming with her mother through the fence.)
We went ahead and brought Oatmeal and Speckles' dams up to help console them through this traumatic time (well, it was mostly to help Oatmeal, but Speckles acted like she was going to die without her mother so we brought her up.) Oatmeal has since then nursed and is currently dozing with her mother on the baby monitor.
I went and looked up methods to help a choking goat after that experience. I found one method (that I hope I never have to use) but was wanting to hear other people's opinions. It was a very traumatic experience that I want to be prepared for if it ever happens again.


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## Latestarter (Mar 6, 2018)

Greetings and welcome to BYH! So glad you joined us. Sorry you're episode with a choking goat brought you here. I'm glad you solved the issue. I'm real new at goats but have never seen anything like you described. Please consider taking a minute to visit the new member's thread and introduce yourself so folks can welcome you properly. https://www.backyardherds.com/forums/new-member-introductions.17/ 

There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

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