New Goat Owner just lost a young doe - question

[Jea]

The thought of rabies is terrifying. Did the seller give you any indication of what was wrong with her previously? The fact that your vet did the thiamine injections is a good sign...he seems to know goats and that is always helpful. Goats can just go downhill so fast sometimes no matter what we try it doesn't work. Hope the rest of your little herd stays healthy.

The previous owner said she experienced something similar at 2 months. Sudden high fever and spacey behavior. They said a vet gave her anti-biotics and she recovered. The 2 nubian wethers have had 1 round of Cd&T and the previous owner said we need to get them a second round . The guernsey does are fully vaccinated.

I appreciate the advice on doing fecals. We hadn't thought of that. We will do that. The vet is coming to our farm for a check of all of the goats on the 11th. Should we be asking for blood tests from them to test for any issues?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Are those the gurnsey's in your avatar?

Would love to see an updated picture.

 

[Southern by choice]

Fecals are the most important factor in any herd management.
They are critical when bringing in (transport) any goat, young or old.
Never accept "they don't look wormy" as an answer from a vet.
This will save you time, money, and heartache!
Coccidiosis is a kid killer but depending on weather conditions etc adult goats can sometimes also get coccidiosis the disease.
Cocci and Worm parasites are two different things and use different products to treat.
If kids have cocci - products like Di-methox or baycox are best. Many cattle vets or vets not all to familiar with goats give Corid. That is the worst product to give for goats.

As far as testing.
At a minimum all goats should be tested for CAE and Johnes. CL is advisable. BUT the goats must be 6 months or older. Preferably 8 months.
Johnes serum test is really only good at 18 months, however we run all our test at the same time regardless.

 

[Hens and Roos]

sorry for you loss

 

[Jea]

Are those the gurnsey's in your avatar?

Would love to see an updated picture.

Here are the 5 goats from last week (bebe is the one that is gone.)

 

[Jea]

Fecals are the most important factor in any herd management.
They are critical when bringing in (transport) any goat, young or old.
Never accept "they don't look wormy" as an answer from a vet.
This will save you time, money, and heartache!
Coccidiosis is a kid killer but depending on weather conditions etc adult goats can sometimes also get coccidiosis the disease.
Cocci and Worm parasites are two different things and use different products to treat.
If kids have cocci - products like Di-methox or baycox are best. Many cattle vets or vets not all to familiar with goats give Corid. That is the worst product to give for goats.

As far as testing.
At a minimum all goats should be tested for CAE and Johnes. CL is advisable. BUT the goats must be 6 months or older. Preferably 8 months.
Johnes serum test is really only good at 18 months, however we run all our test at the same time regardless.

We did have cocci with the first two goats a week after we brought them home, which was a real learning experience for us (a fecal by the vet confirmed it) and he had us use the Corid. We are now using Corid as preventative. Is that a good idea? The vet recommended a 21 day cycle of watered down corid, but we're trying to be cautious here and I'm sure we could see a different vet and maybe get a different opinion.

btw, we took temps today (middle of day and it's hot) one doe was 102.1, one doe was 103.1 and the two nubian wethers were 103.6 and 103.7.

I will get them tested for CAE, Johnes and CL at 6-8 months range. thanks

 

[OneFineAcre]

Here are the 5 goats from last week (bebe is the one that is gone.)

Bebe was a pretty girl. Very sorry you lost her.
We've been breeding goats for 7 years and have been through what you are going through now.
It will never get easy.

I love those Gurnsey's.
How did you come about getting them?
You don't see a lot of people with them.

 

[Jea]

The gurnsey's are so dog-like to me. I love the nubians but so far they've shown us more that they are screaming, eating machines. I still give them the same amount of love and care for them, but they are all about food. The gurnsey personality is really different.

We buy raw honey from a beekeeper up the street. She also makes goat cheese and told us about her friend nearby that breeds gurnsey goats. This past spring, we mentioned that we were building a goat house and would soon look to brings goats into our lives as pets. She said occasionally her breeder friend has a goat that cannot be registered and she would let us know if that happens. In May it happened twice. We got a call that she had two goats (one was polled but had sort of a skin tag on her teat - we call her hildy and another one that I'm not sure why she couldn't register. She raises all her gurnseys as bottle babies.) She wanted to place them as pets-only since she couldn't register them and we were lucky enough to be chosen to take them. We've had them since July 3 and we adore them. We lost a dog late last year and the darker gurnsey reminds us so much of her sweet personality (far more than our new naughty puppy-in-training does (shown.)) She greets us with a head cocked to the side and presses it against your leg when you're near.

 

[Southern by choice]

@OneFineAcre said it best... it will never get easy.

Made me happy and sad seeing the video. It is just a horrible feeling to lose a goat. Beautiful! All of them!

I would ask your vet about some other options. Corid can cause thiamine deficiency.

Many goat breeders use Di-Methox or Toltrazuril (Baycox) as preventative. Some use medicated feed for young goats up to 6 months.

It is great you said the temp and it was taken in the heat of the day!
Best to take temp early morning or evening when you aren't battling heat and hot sun!
Keep an eye on Nubian wethers, take temp when they are in a cooler place. It could be like you said the time of day... but if not then that is fever range especially on young kids.

 

[TAH]

They are super cute