8 wk old having regurgitation issues again...suggestions needed pg 2!!

[glenolam]

Would a mild case of bloat end that quickly and easily? What could have caused the bloat? She's still mostly on milk, but picks at the hay and grain. During they day she's out with everyone picking in their wooded pen which doesn't have much grass.

 

[glenolam]

I got home from work today and the same doeling is covered in green slimy pukey stuff (which is now all over me too!). She's crying a lot and seems to be trying to regurgitate. She shakes her head back and forth, coughs and pukes a little bit.

I doused her with a baking soda drench again and hit her with B complex.

What else should I do? Her throat's not blocked, so no choking, no fever.

She was fine yesterday and this morning.

 

[cmjust0]

Do they have access to rhododendrons, by any chance? Anything available that you know of that might be on a poisonous plant list?

My understanding is that the most common cause of vomiting in goats is plant poisoning, so if she's truly vomiting...that's where I'd start.

If she were here, I might even be inclined to just assume that's what's going on and give activated charcoal..

 

[glenolam]

I do have two small rhododendrons, but they are in a place where they cannot get to as they are locked in their pen all day (and one of them is thankfully dying anyway). I have yet to see them escape (but, of course, that's not to say that the kids sneak out then sneak back in). Their fence is electrofied, so if they wanted to get out it'd better be for a good reason!

I've looked around their yard and can't see anything that sticks out. She's the only one who is getting sick....my other three goats that I've had for over a year never had anything like this.

Soon after I drenched her with baking soda and gave her the B complex shot I let them all out to eat the grass and forage in our yard. I wanted to see how she would do and she lightly played with her sister and got better as time went on. I haven't seen her throw up again - she squatted to pee and poop, but I was distracted and didn't see if anything came out.

Her eyes and face looked tired, but have since perked up, too.

I gave them all probios and refilled their baking soda.

I'm at a loss!

 

[cmjust0]

Check that rhododendron...are their goatie tracks around it or anything like that? Notice any broken branches?

The fact that she's exhibiting signs of rhododendron poisoning and that there are rhododendrons on the property is enough to make me suspicious.

 

[mully]

Milk weed will do the same thing ...check for that on the fence line.

 

[glenolam]

Well, I'm willing to bet milkweed is the culprit.

There aren't any tracks near the rhododendrums and the kids would have to walk a bit in order to get to them anyway.

But I have this same plant growing all around their yard. It's not in their yard, but if she were to poke her head through the fence far enough I'm sure she'd get to it.

ETA: Come to think of it, she's the one I sometimes see sticking her head under the fence line where ever she can until she gets shocked. She's just like her older brother - grass is always greener on the other side.

It's wild along the wood line and I always left it because, well, I didn't know what it was and it was very pretty! But definitly not pretty enough to make me want to deal with goat slime.

Guess I'll be digging up some plants tomorrow!

Assuming that's the case, would I keep treating with baking soda drench or add in the activated charcoal? Should I give her anything else?

 

[freemotion]

I am practically in CT and we have lots of wild mountain laurel and that is just as bad as rhododendron.

Look near the ground...there is a plant that I have yet to identify that creeps into my pasture near the woods and I have to rip it out several times a year. It sends runners. It has leaves that slightly resemble the laurel but is very low growing and I've never seen a flower on it. An older friend calls it "sheepkill" but it doesn't match anything I've seen under that name online....but I tend to trust the wisdom of certain experienced ones!

I have a wild shrub in my woods called honeysuckle azaelia, I think, that I fenced out and have to watch for. I also have a neighbor's yew that wants to spread into my pasture and have to watch that corner with eagle eyes, too.

Just some ideas for you to look out for. I patrol my pasture regularly....the problem areas are all around the edges, so it doesn't take very long once you know what to look for. With goats, fence patrol is a must anyways....

 

[glenolam]

Thanks for those suggestions.

I do patrol their fence, but since no one else ever got sick I didn't pay much attention to what was growing around the edges. I also never cut back the growth because, IMO, it helped me see where the faults were and if anyone was getting in/out.

Free - have any of your animals gotten plant poisoning? I'm still curios as to what else I should do if/when anyone gets sick again or what I can add to their diet to help (besides digging up all the plants).

 

[glenolam]

Look near the ground...there is a plant that I have yet to identify that creeps into my pasture near the woods and I have to rip it out several times a year. It sends runners. It has leaves that slightly resemble the laurel but is very low growing and I've never seen a flower on it. An older friend calls it "sheepkill" but it doesn't match anything I've seen under that name online....but I tend to trust the wisdom of certain experienced ones!

I found this website when I googled sheepkill. It just says it's the common name for Mountain Laurel.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/sheepkill.html