Livinwright Farm
Goat Fancier
Cali, my hen or the OP's animal?Emmetts Dairy said:
Doe went off feed and milk production down by 1/3....possible UTI?
- Thread starter BlackSheepOrganics
- Start date
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- #132
BlackSheepOrganics
Ridin' The Range
Well, we lost her despite the oxygen and an IV drip. She went downhill FAST when she went. Our poor vet is not used to dealing with these things much less with a goat. We did a necropsy afterwards to see what we could learn.
Lesson learned: If you have a slight hint of green to the goat's milk and you do not have a case of mastitis on your hands, the gall bladder is most likely rupturing.
She had a VERY enlarged gall bladder (supposed to be about the size of a half dollar but was the size of a small dinner plate) that had begun to leak. On the gall bladder she had a growth that was blocking the opening of the small intestines and was also pressing on the esophogus.
We looked the lungs over to see what damage was done by the calcium drench. It was bad. I'll never give that stuff again without tubing it and will always flush behind it with water to make sure it doesn't burn anything. She would have died of the lungs most likely had she not had the gall bladder issue.
It started off with milk fever and we got that under control but the gall bladder was working against us at the same time.
We did run blood samples to make sure there was no toxicity from things I had been giving her. We were good there but her potassium level was very low despite the CMPK. They felt that was connected to the gall bladder issue.
I'll miss her but she taught us a TON both living and in death. I hope it can help yall too somehow.
Thank you everyone for all the help, suggestions and support. You have my genuine gratitude.
Edited to correct mistakes made due to lack of sleep and to add, "(supposed to be about the size of a half dollar but was the size of a small dinner plate)"
Lesson learned: If you have a slight hint of green to the goat's milk and you do not have a case of mastitis on your hands, the gall bladder is most likely rupturing.
She had a VERY enlarged gall bladder (supposed to be about the size of a half dollar but was the size of a small dinner plate) that had begun to leak. On the gall bladder she had a growth that was blocking the opening of the small intestines and was also pressing on the esophogus.
We looked the lungs over to see what damage was done by the calcium drench. It was bad. I'll never give that stuff again without tubing it and will always flush behind it with water to make sure it doesn't burn anything. She would have died of the lungs most likely had she not had the gall bladder issue.
It started off with milk fever and we got that under control but the gall bladder was working against us at the same time.
We did run blood samples to make sure there was no toxicity from things I had been giving her. We were good there but her potassium level was very low despite the CMPK. They felt that was connected to the gall bladder issue.
I'll miss her but she taught us a TON both living and in death. I hope it can help yall too somehow.
Thank you everyone for all the help, suggestions and support. You have my genuine gratitude.
Edited to correct mistakes made due to lack of sleep and to add, "(supposed to be about the size of a half dollar but was the size of a small dinner plate)"
Our7Wonders
Overrun with beasties
I am so sorry for you loss. You did an amazing job trying to save her. Gall bladder - I don't think anyone would have caught it. I'm glad you were able to get some answers - that doesn't necessarily lessen the pain but the cloud of doubt can be awful.
Hugs to you and your family.
Hugs to you and your family.
Roll farms
Spot Master
I'm so sorry you lost her.
Livinwright Farm
Goat Fancier
Ohhh.... I am SO sorry for your loss!!!! 
Emmetts Dairy
Loving the herd life
OH NOOOOO....Im really sorry you lost her 
Valuable information. I know how hard it was on you...but thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I cant tell you how sorry I am for you guys!! You gave her a hell of a shot though!!! You tried everything in your power!
Valuable information. I know how hard it was on you...but thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I cant tell you how sorry I am for you guys!! You gave her a hell of a shot though!!! You tried everything in your power!
Nope, no way anyone would ever have guessed that -- but we may in the future, thanks to her sacrifice. I know that's frigidly cold comfort, but I know I always feel a teeny better after losing a goat if I can say to someone down the road...."I've seen this before!"Our7Wonders said:
Just...wow...her gallbladder, of all things.
To reiterate what others have said, you really did an amazing job with her. So sorry she didn't pull through.
mossyStone
Overrun with beasties
Heartbreaking. i am so sorry......
SDGsoap&dairy
Loving the herd life
I'm sorry you lost her, but you should take comfort in knowing you went above and beyond and the information you gathered (albeit a tough lesson) is useful to us all. Again, so sorry.
- Thread starter
- #140
BlackSheepOrganics
Ridin' The Range
Thanks everyone.
I hate how things ended and I miss her, but she really did help us learn a few things.
In the end, I can deal with things like this much better if I can get answers to why, how, what, etc. and figure out if there is a way to prevent it from happening again or deal with it better next time.
I hate how things ended and I miss her, but she really did help us learn a few things.
In the end, I can deal with things like this much better if I can get answers to why, how, what, etc. and figure out if there is a way to prevent it from happening again or deal with it better next time.
