unexpected loss

[blueberrygirl]

After 2 days of just acting "off" (more friendly than normal & not as eager to move) we found one of our does lethargic & eyes rolling back. We brought her to the house & gave her a shot of penicillin & got her to slurp some water from our hands. When she started making noise & holding her head up more (& her eyes looked better) we thought she was improving. But within an hour she passed....

I feel so horrible. My kids said she wasn't acting right but couldn't really pinpoint what was off. It happened so fast once she was down. She had been eating & everything else seemed normal so I just thought it was a belly ache. We are still new to goats & don't really know anyone in goats so I only know what I can find on the Internet. We have no clue what took her down & the rest of the herd (12 total) seem completely fine. She was a boer yearling & she kidded in may. Her twins are fine. I definitely do not want this to happen again... so any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

We did change feed from store bought bagged type to feed mill ground with added Minerals about 10-14 days ago - but the rest of the herd is normal.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Sorry to hear this

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Again, I'm sorry you lost your doe. I'm just trying to come up with some ideas that may help you in the future.

When she kidded in May did you de-worm her? Stress from kidding opens a doe up to a parasite bloom. We always try to worm a doe on the day she kids.

Did you make the feed change gradually? Sometimes it can be that just one goat reacts negatively to a change even though the rest of the herd seems to accept the change.

I do know how horrible it is to lose a goat. Even more so when you think it's because of something you did or did not do. All experiences are learning experiences - even the bad ones. I've been doing this a long time and I can tell you - sometimes goats just die. Seems that some of 'em are born just looking for an exit.... Sigh... I think we all kill a few on our way to becoming good stewards of our herds.

I wish you well in the future and this forum is a great place to ask questions or just share experiences.

 

[alsea1]

Take heart. This sort of thing happens.
Main thing is make sure you've covered your bases via preventative care such as providing minerals, vaccinations and a good worming program. Its worth the money to do fecal exams. Saves you tons of money to worm for the right worm with the right stuff.
Sometimes no matter what you lose one.

 

[MsDeb]

No answers. We're still learning (and learned the hard way too.) No matter how many times you hear that it happens and it happens fast and sometimes there is nothing you can do, it still hurts. I'm so sorry!

 

[Harbisgirl]

I"m so sorry I had a buckling die on me for no reason this year, and it was just after he had a thorough checkup with the vet too. I suspect pneumonia. What has the weather been like? Big swings in temp can bring on pneumonia. I know that silent pneumonia has been a real problem in our area - we just had temps swing from 108 on Friday, down into the 50s on Sunday evening. If you see another one acting 'off' then take their temp and if it is outside the normal range - high or low - then call a vet asap

 

[blueberrygirl]

No we didn't change the feed gradually. We had been using scratch grains & the new stuff isn't much different except for the added salt & minerals. No we did not deworm when she kidded & it was an extremely wet spring here, but their eyes all looked good & I believe my husband wormed them all in march when we got new goats. Honestly tho I'm not entirely sure about that. She looked great last week but when we got to her Sunday she was extremely thin.... so maybe we missed the signs for worming? She also had absolutely no milk Sunday (again, last week she was fine). We didn't milk her but she was still somewhat nursing her twins. I think she was head honcho of the herd so I'm sure she was getting food & I doubt one week would've starved her that much. Could there be too much salt or mineral in the feed???

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Alsea is right that it is worth the money to have a fecal run....or you can learn to do them yourself. My vet nly charges $15, but I have over 30 goats so I have recently gotten all the equipment and have started learning to do it myself. I intend to have vet back up the first couple times as a learning tool and simply for confirmation that I'm doing it right.