Is it normal to lose several goat babies in one year?

[MGFIllinois]

I may have made a big mistake but would love some advice from someone with Nigerian Dwarf Experience. We just put a deposit down on two baby goats a few weeks ago. At that time, the owner of the small herd (about 25) mentioned that it had been her worst year ever and she had lost several babies. I had my concerns, but also had my kids with me who had fallen in love with the babies. So we reserved two doelings. I got a text today letting me know that one of the chosen babies died last night of sudden onset pneumonia. Is this normal or should we look for a healthier heard? We are new to goats and wanting them mostly for pets and 4-H projects. We are used to pretty healthy animals of other kinds so my kids take death hard as it's rare and usually expected when it does happen due to old age or accident. Are goats super fragile and something we just stay away from all together? So appreciate any help that you can give.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Do you know if she had a necropsy done on the ones who died to see what caused the sudden onset pneumonia? Personally I would think about looking else where given that she has lost several.

@Goat Whisperer @OneFineAcre @SouthernbyChoice @babsbag might be able to give you more insight- we are fairly new to goats ourselves.

Welcome and good luck!

 

[Latestarter]

IMHO I wouldn't say that it's "normal" to lose kids. And despite doing our best by our animals, sometimes things just happen... For more details, @SkyWarrior lost (I believe) 5 of her 7 kids this year for completely unknown reasons... Even the necropsies showed no definitive reason for the deaths. Just playing devil's advocate here... On the other hand, it is ALWAYS a good idea to promote due diligence and try to dig a little deeper to find out if there's more to the story... For being such sturdy animals, goats can die very quickly from the darndest circumstances... and it's more the case with young kids.

and wishing you the best with your goats

 

[OneFineAcre]

I'd look elsewhere
With that said people can have a bad year I just wouldn't want an animal from them while they are having it
I know a husband and wife that are vets who told us they had years they lost almost all their kids
Goats by nature are not fragile but parasites like coccidia can kill
Young animals can get pneumonia particularly in the heat

 

[SkyWarrior]

IMHO I wouldn't say that it's "normal" to lose kids. And despite doing our best by our animals, sometimes things just happen... For more details, @SkyWarrior lost (I believe) 5 of her 7 kids this year for completely unknown reasons... Even the necropsies showed no definitive reason for the deaths. Just playing devil's advocate here... On the other hand, it is ALWAYS a good idea to promote due diligence and try to dig a little deeper to find out if there's more to the story... For being such sturdy animals, goats can die very quickly from the darndest circumstances... and it's more the case with young kids.

and wishing you the best with your goats

I heard my name taken in vain.

Seriously, there can be some pretty bad years, IMO. Last year, I would've said "no way would I buy from a herd that lost that many kids." Now, having experienced bizarre weirdness in my own herd, I have to at least ask "what did each one die of?" That seems to be the million dollar question. In many cases, you'd be able to point to something that seemed to suggest a common cause. My own experience with kid deaths was there was no common cause. I just had a really bad run of bad luck that I think was probably due to late kidding combined with awful temperatures. Each of the kids I had die died from something totally unrelated to the other. The vet even said, "I think you just had bad luck." So, I'm a case where that can happen.

Pneumonia can be bacterial related, and from doing some research on that for an article, there are vaccinations for it. That being said, I've always heard CD&T and maybe CL. If I had issues with pneumonia, I'd consider that vaccine.

My own experience and the experience I've heard from a rancher is that while goats are exceedingly tough, when they go downhill, they seem to drop like flies. Any little thing you want to be on top of quick. Digestive ailments can hit fast and kill. Even then, when I was on top of the problems, I still got bit.

No, I don't want to scare you. Chances are your kids will be fine. Just find out what happened and make up your mind if it's something that can bite you.

Oh, and