Can goats shiver?

[nmred]

The weather here has just been awful! First, we had a two day snow storm that dumped about 14 inches of snow. Then, after it cleared up, the temperature plummeted. It was -18 last night (we've never seen it that low in the 10 years we've lived here, and old timers say it has only gotten that cold once or twice in their lifetimes!).

This morning when I went out to milk (a "balmy" -6 by then) the goats all seemed fine, except our second doe was trembling when I put her up on the stand. Her whole back end was shaking! When I finished milking I just stood and hugged her and it seemed to slow way down and almost stop. Nothing else seemed wrong/different. She ate all her grain with the usual gusto and gave the normal amount of milk. She seemed to have her usual energy and was moving about just like usual. Her eyes were bright. Could she just have been shivering because she was cold, or could this be a symptom of something else? The other three goats weren't shaking at all. When I went down, all 4 were out enjoying the sunshine and seemed happy to be able to finally get out of the goat house.

Any suggestions?

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

Goats definitely do shiver when cold, although IMHO it's not bad unless it's something ongoing, meaning the goat isn't developing a thick layer of cashmere to keep her warm, which warrants looking into parasites such as lice and mites, or mineral needs.

I know many people would recommend you put on a jacket or something, but I personally recommend just making sure she has access to warm (almost hot to the touch) water and a slightly warmer area to get out of any wind etc. I wouldn't cover her, or move her to a warm area unless she is showing other signs of being in "distress" such as snotty nose etc. I am of the opinion that she needs the opportunity to build up the cashmere layer to keep her warm.

My goats can handle -46 below and colder with no problems so long as they have a wind proof shelter where they can snuggle together and they have built up a nice cashmere layer.

 

[nmred]

Her coat is already very thick. I use Molly's Herbal Wormer every week so I don't think it is that. She also gets minerals regularly. I put about 1 tbsp. on her grain every second or third day as they don't seem to eat it at all if I just leave it out for them. Maybe that's not enough? They do have the goat house and a little shed to go into to get out of the weather and they were all dry this morning. I think she was just cold, but am going to keep a close eye on her and the others.

-46 I will never complain about -18 again! Well, yes, I probably will but will try to remember you and count my blessings.

BTW, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

 

[jodief100]

Ensure they have free access to hay. Digesting long, stemmy fibrous food will generate heat in their rumen. She needs draft fee shelter in close quarters with the other goats. Make sure they have plenty of bedding on the floor to keep them off the cold ground. I suggest piling more bedding on top of what is already down there and just keep adding all winter. The decaying litter below will generate heat.

Make sure the other goats are not pushing her out. Sometimes the goat on the bottom of the herd order will get shoved out of the shelter.

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

You can easily check her cashmere layer by pulling apart a section of fur and inspecting the cashmere in several locations. If you see lot dandruff there might be a mite/lice problem.

-46 below is pretty cold, I'm just thankful it's for the most part a dry cold. It's pretty miserable when the humidity is high.

 

[nmred]

Thanks, all, for your advice. Jodief, they do have access to free choice hay and we also use the deep litter method. Right now we are just spreading the waste hay out and letting it get deeper and deeper. It must be about 8-10 inches deep already. I noticed, though, that some of it was wet from the snow and frozen solid this morning. As soon as it thaws, we're going to fork out the wet stuff and add more dry. It will have to wait, however, until it thaws enough for us to do that!

The goat house is draft free (well, as much as it can be with the front door open for them to go in and out! but the opening is on the leeward side). During the last few days they have hardly even come outside, poor things. It was kind of funny to see one of them poke their heads out, see it still snowing, and bounce back in. Then a few minutes later, another would do it, just like they didn't believe the first one that it was still snowing.This morning the sun was shining brightly and they seemed to be enjoying it. It did actually feel warmer with the sun on you and no wind.

I think she was just cold. I checked on her about an hour after first posting and she wasn't shaking/shivering anymore. I had taken down more hot water to rewarm their drinking water, and she came up and was guzzling it down even as I poured it in, so I think she really liked it and that it helped. That was great advice, Crownofthorns. We have been taking down warm water since it cooled off this winter, but I never thought of actually using HOT. They really did seem to like it. We'll continue doing that until it warms up again.

It is only supposed to be -12 tonight, so we'll see how she is tomorrow morning.

Thanks, again, everyone.