So last week I had issues with my Tally girl and scours. I got that cleared up for now but I went out to the barn to let everyone out and heard her let out a distressed kind of moan. When I got to her she was on her left side, head extended up, all four legs straight and stiff. She had green froth around her lips. I lifted her head, palpated her belly, and the only thing I could think was that she had been choking. I rubbed her throat and she tried to cough and chew so I did it again and she coughed and started to chew. I tried standing her up and she was shaky but started shaking her head and chewing and coughing some more. Then she walked outside and started eating grass and peed. I brought her warm water and she drank for a bit. I felt her all over and everything feels normal. She seems shaky but fine so I came in the house and called the vet and I am waiting for a return call after talking to her assistant.
This brings me to my next question, what do we need to do differently for our older girls? Tally is going to be ten in January.
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Vet thinks she either had a brain tumor or had a stroke some time ago and that triggered the seizures. She couldn't stand the last 18 hours. It was rough. We made the right decision. We did everything we knew to do for her, that's something we are trying to teach our children too and they see everything that goes on and we let them decide how involved they want to be.
This is the hardest part of have animals. We love them so much and when they have to leave us it tears our heart apart. My heart goes out to you... I just started me journey with goats but they are ingrained in my heart already.
Chad, my husband, dug her grave and I had wrapped her up in a blanket in the bathroom. When I can in I found him brushing her and trimming her hooves. Broke my heart...he loved her just as much as I did.
Tally started seizing, took her to the vet Saturday and there's nothing we can do. Took her home, brought her in the house last night cause we just couldn't get her warm and we didn't want to leave her. Just called the local vet and she is going to be here in about an hour to put her down. :(
Interesting advice from the vet. If her teeth ar so bad that she cannot eat pelleted feed unless it has been soaked, then she would not be able to eat grass and hay. Typically the first sign of dental problems in older goats is weight loss. I had a doe that was losing weight at around age 11 or 12, and I just fed her senior equine feed (about a cup a day) until she started gaining weight again. Senior equine feed is so soft that you can crumble it between your fingers and is made for horses with few teeth -- at least that was what the university vet professor told me. The thing about old goats and dental problems is that there isn't much that you can do with them because goats have a bad reputation when it comes to anesthesia. Supposedly a fair number of them don't wake up, and that problem gets worse with age.
If the goat had bloat, she would be dead already. It is a very serious thing that needs immediate action.
My guess is that another goat knocked her off her feet. If a goat winds up on their back and can't get upright, they can die. My original goat mentor lost one of her favorite goats like that, and it was one of the reasons that she finally stopped raising goats after 26 years. Maybe she was in the midst of bringing up cud when another goat hit her?
Ultimately one of the things I learned with goats 7-8 years ago is that I don't ask questions when I'm not willing to pay for dealing with the answer. Learned that after paying a lot of money only to get verification that yup the goat is paralyzed, we don't know why, and there isn't anything we could do about it anyway, but if you want to spend $1000, we might be able to tell you exactly why she is paralyzed. Ultimately it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. As I just learned -- or relearned -- from my $2000 vet bill, is that vets are willing to do everything medically possible as long as you are willing to pay for it.
Talked to the vet, she wants me to keep monitoring her through the weekend and she wants to come out at the first part of next week to check her teeth and pull a blood sample. She seems to think that she could have choked or may have some gas bloat but she thinks she is probably having some issues associated with age. She said no pelleted feed unless soaked in water to prevent choking. I have been giving her lots of warm water and she seems okay for now.
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This is the hardest part of have animals. We love them so much and when they have to leave us it tears our heart apart. My heart goes out to you... I just started me journey with goats but they are ingrained in my heart already.
So, so sorry! Any idea what was causing the seizures.
Hugs!
So sorry! {Hugs to you.} I'm glad you were able to bring her inside and make her as comfortable as possible.
If the goat had bloat, she would be dead already. It is a very serious thing that needs immediate action.
My guess is that another goat knocked her off her feet. If a goat winds up on their back and can't get upright, they can die. My original goat mentor lost one of her favorite goats like that, and it was one of the reasons that she finally stopped raising goats after 26 years. Maybe she was in the midst of bringing up cud when another goat hit her?
Ultimately one of the things I learned with goats 7-8 years ago is that I don't ask questions when I'm not willing to pay for dealing with the answer. Learned that after paying a lot of money only to get verification that yup the goat is paralyzed, we don't know why, and there isn't anything we could do about it anyway, but if you want to spend $1000, we might be able to tell you exactly why she is paralyzed. Ultimately it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. As I just learned -- or relearned -- from my $2000 vet bill, is that vets are willing to do everything medically possible as long as you are willing to pay for it.
Oh, Lori! I'm so sorry!! I am not experienced in this area, so I don't have advice for you, but I'm following this conversation to learn more.