# Lost Two Goats In a Month



## Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers (Feb 17, 2017)

The only thing I asked for this Christmas was a goat.

I already had two Alpines does that I loved, but I've always been fond of those big floppy ears on a Nubian. After months of researching, I finally found what seemed like the perfect girl. She was gorgeous, the right price, registered, and best of all-- pregnant! We brought her home two days before Christmas. Sissy was happy, and for the most part, settling in fairly well. Because she had a very different diet than I fed my girls (a different grain and a more alfalfa-based hay than I feed) I was slowly weaning her off what she was used to and introducing mine.  Thursday evening, she was acting like her usual affectionate self. Friday before noon, she was dead.  

When we came outside to do our morning chores, she was on the barn floor. She didn't rise to greet me, which was odd-- she always ran up to the gate to say good morning. Then I noticed that she was drooling/foaming uncontrollably around her mouth. There was evidence of scours around the barn, but I couldn't really tell which goat it was coming from. I am fairly inexperienced and so my immediate reaction was to bring her some water (which she wanted nothing to do with) to keep her hydrated while I attempted to contact a veterinarian.  Being the day before New Year's Eve, no one was in office, and those who were refused to come out to see her. It took about two hours before I finally was able to schedule and appointment. By the time we were ready to load her in the back of my car, she had devolved so far that she could not roll over from her side and was nearly screaming in pain as we attempted to carry her on a makeshift stretcher to the car. She lasted about five minutes down the road.  She was at our house exactly one week between the day we brought her home and the day she died. 

No one was able to give me any real answers as to what could have gone wrong with Sissy.  After losing her, I became pretty paranoid that whatever took her was contagious. I watched my two Alpines, Rosie and Harper, extremely closely for a couple weeks. I also was scared that something could have been wrong with the grain I had been feeding, so I immediately took them off it.  Things seemed to be going okay. They were both acting normally. 

 However, I started noticing after a little while that Harper (who was incredibly tiny for her breed, I'd guess only around 45 lbs to start with) seemed to be losing some weight.  She normally had a healthy bulge to her belly, so I grew a little concerned.  The only thing I could think that I was doing differently than before was the cold-turkey way I took them off the grain.  So, I made the decision to s l o w l y reintroduce the grain. (And I mean slowly, like three handfuls of grain in a bucket that I made them share, every other day.) The next day, scours appeared in the barn again, and it was pretty clear that it was coming from Harper.  I gave her electrolytes, chalked it up to her having a sensitive tummy, gave her a day off the grain and tried again the next day.  I believe I only gave it to them twice before I noticed a pretty significant change in Harper's demeanor. She spent the whole day under the milking stand we have in the barn and didn't really respond when I tried to pet her or tempt her out. When I returned later that evening, she acted even more lethargic, to the point where she hardly wanted to lift her head.  I decided that if she was still not acting right in the morning, that I would see if any vets had weekend hours.  I never got the chance.  In the morning, she showed very similar symptoms that Sissy did, and was gone within 45 minutes after she was discovered.  And it was only a little over a month after I lost Sissy.

I called a veterinarian to come out and give my remaining goat a thorough examination as soon as possible. He was positive that he would find her overrun with parasites, but couldn't find any evidence of them whatsoever. Her eyelids are the right color. Her stool is solid and pelleted as it should be. Her temperature is right on point. He gave her a clean bill of health, and couldn't understand what could have happened to Sissy and Harper.  

The loss of my two girls is so painful. My goats are more than livestock to me, and I can't imagine going through all this again with Rosie.  Does anyone have any ideas what could have possibly gone wrong and how to prevent it in the future?


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## NH homesteader (Feb 17, 2017)

Hi and welcome. I'm so sorry about your goats. I am not all that experienced myself so I'll tag some people that are.

@Goat Whisperer
@Southern by choice
@babsbag
@frustratedearthmother


There are plenty more experienced goat people on here but those are a few. I hope you cam find answers and keep your other goat healthy!

Did the vet actually run a fecal sample or go by eyelids only?


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 17, 2017)

I'm so sorry about your goats 

Sounds to me something is wrong with the grain. How long have you been feeding it? 
It may have gotten contaminated. 
How are you storing your feed? Can mice or rats get to it? 

I'd get the tag off the bag and let whoever you purchased it from know. I'd report it to the manufacturer too, so they will at least know. 

Years ago, a big name feed had an accident- a coccidia med had somehow gotten into the horse feed- this med was toxic to horses and many animals were lost. 

Did any of these goats spike a fever? 
Were they UTD on the CDT vaccines? 

You need to have the fecal checked on your remaining goat, one shouldn't just go by the FAMACHA score.


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## babsbag (Feb 18, 2017)

I am so sorry about your goats, I know how hard this has to be. I agree with @Goat Whisperer that it sounds like it might indeed be the grain. I certainly wouldn't be feeding anymore of it.  It doesn't really sound like the kind of symptoms one would normally see with worms. But it is interesting that it happened to one goat at a time and not to all of them at once. But it really does sound to me like it is feed related. Foaming at the mouth sounds like bloat or poisoning. 

I don't think that it is contagious, at least to me it doesn't seem to fit any of the contagious goat diseases that I am familiar with. 

There is no other feed they can get in to is there? Chicken feed perhaps? What kind of grain are you feeding them?


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## soarwitheagles (Feb 19, 2017)

So very sorry babs to hear about the loss of your two goats.  I hope you can quickly discover the root cause and make the necessary adjustments!

Good luck!!!


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 19, 2017)

soarwitheagles said:


> So very sorry babs to hear about the loss of your two goats.  I hope you can quickly discover the root cause and make the necessary adjustments!
> 
> Good luck!!!


It was @Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers that lost the goats, not @babsbag


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## soarwitheagles (Feb 19, 2017)

Goat Whisperer said:


> It was @Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers that lost the goats, not @babsbag



Whoops!  I apologize.  I misread the original post.  So sorry Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers for your loss of two goats.

And babs, I hope you do not lose any goats!

Hope this helps.


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## BlessedWithGoats (Feb 19, 2017)

I am so sorry for the loss of two of your precious goats. :'( I know that feeling all too well, and the pain of not knowing why they died. I was able to have necropsies done on some of the ones I lost, and get some answers, but it's still painful.  So sorry friend.


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## lcertuche (Feb 20, 2017)

So sorry.


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## Latestarter (Feb 20, 2017)

Greetings and welcome to BYH. So sorry that the loss of 2 of your goats brought you to us. It's always terribly painful to lose an animal, but more so when we don't know the reason for the loss. I hope that you'll recover and not lose your interest and desire to continue with them. They are hardy animals and yet can go down hill so fast... Best wishes for the health of your remaining goat and I hope you'll stay with us and join our community. Please browse around and make yourself at home.


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## Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers (Feb 20, 2017)

Thank you, everyone for the ideas and support. Further investigation revealed that the grain was in fact moldy. It was a very fine white mold that couldn't be seen unless you really inspected it closely. While I'm glad to know now what was wrong and that it can be prevented in the future with more careful storage practices, I sure wish I could have discovered it all sooner.


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 20, 2017)

I'm so sorry you ended up finding out in the manner you did 

Very hard to loose goats- I'm sorry you went through that


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## babsbag (Feb 20, 2017)

Even the painful answers can be better than none.   Hoping that you can get a new friend for your goat and that you share pictures 
with us.  We like pictures.


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## BlessedWithGoats (Feb 20, 2017)




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## norseofcourse (Feb 21, 2017)

I am so sorry you lost your goats     At least you were able to find the cause, instead of always wondering why...


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## samssimonsays (Feb 21, 2017)

I'm so sorry for this discovery but knowing the answer gives peace of mind for your other girl. Big hugs.


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## luvmypets (Feb 21, 2017)

Im so sorry  

We use a small metal trashcan to store our grain, keeps it dry and the animals can't get into it.


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## Pastor Dave (Feb 21, 2017)

@Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers,
So often I see folks join up when they have problems, issues, and stress with their animals. They see caring and knowledgeable ppl on here that give them good answers and solutions, and they stick around when things clear up and get better to enjoy the interaction with the community. I pray you will be at that stage soon. Best wishes in your endeavors and welcome to BYH from the Hoosier state!


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## Thatdaywewokeupasfarmers (Mar 15, 2017)

Update on Rosie: Ohio has been predictably unpredictable lately. After enjoying 70+ degree weather for half the "winter" we are now experiencing winter with a vengeance a week before spring. Joy. Anyway, every time there is a cold snap, Rosie spends a lot of time in the barn. I'm not sure what she's doing in there, but it seems like every time she is cooped up in there she gets scours. It's just like for an hour and then she's back to passing normal stools. Could eating too much straw mess her up like that? (The hay is right there-- hanging in a bag just for her-- yet she chooses to eat the straw that is supposed be her bedding! Weirdo.) Is it something I should watch closely? Maybe I'm just paranoid because of what happened to Sissy and Harper, but I worry. I'm a goat mom, it's my job to worry, right?


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## Latestarter (Mar 15, 2017)

Maybe you can remove and replace all the bedding in the stall/barn area she's in to "freshen" it? As long as she recovers from it quickly,  and is in good health/spirits, is there really an issue?


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