Doe dropping to the ground (seizure?) when stressed.

Hi there,

First of all, thank you to Deborah and all the members here for your valuable discussions and information. This site is incredibly helpful to newbies like myself!

We have a 1.5 year old doe (unbred) who has been behaving strangely. On a couple of occasions she has dropped to her knees suddenly and buried her face in the ground. It almost looks like a mini seizure. Her legs seem to drop out from under her and she just flops down. After a few seconds she pops back up and seems to be back to normal.

Each time this has happened (twice I believe) she was being handled by our students (we have a school farm). An adult supervisor was always present, and the students weren't being overly forceful - just putting collars on the goats, moving them from one pen to another, etc. Still, it seems like this flopping might be a defensive reaction to the stress of being handled.

I should also mention that this doe is a regular stargazer, but otherwise behaves normally. Could the stargazing be connected to seizures or reactions to stress?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

I should add, if you see her act that way at another time, when you're sure there wasn't any pressure to her airway, then I would be concerned. That would sound neurological, especially with constant stargazing.

I have a "stargazer" too. Mine does this only when waiting to be milked. She runs back and forth, and when she gets to the corner of the pen she twists her head over her back, turns and repeats at the other corner. She's been doing this for three years now. I call her OCD. :) It's just her thing as far as I can tell. I've been meaning to take a video and post it, because it's funny and a good example of a time when it's "normal" (maybe not normal, but nothing to worry about).
Patty Meyer said:

Hi Joe,

Goats have incredibly sensitive airways, and some are more sensitive than others. The pressure of a collar across the airway causes the behavior you describe very easily, especially in sensitive goats. When the airway isn't being pressed against they quickly recover. That's what it sounds like to me. Happy farming/teaching/inspiring others! :)

Replies

Joe Phillips August 16, 2017 at 12:23pm

Thank you Patty and Deborah for your speedy replies. It sounds very likely to be our issue. We will be much more careful with the does when moving them on leash. Glad it's not more serious!
Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 15, 2017 at 12:20pm

Ditto on what Patty said about their sensitive airways. I've seen this plenty of times at shows when a doe decides she doesn't want to walk around the ring.
Patty Meyer August 15, 2017 at 11:07am

I should add, if you see her act that way at another time, when you're sure there wasn't any pressure to her airway, then I would be concerned. That would sound neurological, especially with constant stargazing.

I have a "stargazer" too. Mine does this only when waiting to be milked. She runs back and forth, and when she gets to the corner of the pen she twists her head over her back, turns and repeats at the other corner. She's been doing this for three years now. I call her OCD. :) It's just her thing as far as I can tell. I've been meaning to take a video and post it, because it's funny and a good example of a time when it's "normal" (maybe not normal, but nothing to worry about).
Patty Meyer said:

Hi Joe,

Goats have incredibly sensitive airways, and some are more sensitive than others. The pressure of a collar across the airway causes the behavior you describe very easily, especially in sensitive goats. When the airway isn't being pressed against they quickly recover. That's what it sounds like to me. Happy farming/teaching/inspiring others! :)
Patty Meyer August 15, 2017 at 10:59am

Hi Joe,

Goats have incredibly sensitive airways, and some are more sensitive than others. The pressure of a collar across the airway causes the behavior you describe very easily, especially in sensitive goats. When the airway isn't being pressed against they quickly recover. That's what it sounds like to me. Happy farming/teaching/inspiring others! :)

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