Moldy Hay

[Kare]

Another learning opportunity?

I have been keeping a super close eye on my herd, spending hours out there to observe who is chewing cud, to give supplements, etc.  Tonite I went out right after they were fed (not by me) and noticed that there was moldy hay in the feeder.  I could smell it and see it.  I immediately threw it over the fence, but I don't know how many goats ate it or how much.  Only one goat was there at the time.  We feed in four different places.  I also don't know if the other feeders had any moldy hay because by the time I inspected them, the hay that was left was fine.

So...  I gave the goats I suspected might have eaten some, activated charcoal in water and then also gave them some probios.  It has been an hour and no symptoms.  How long does it take for symptoms to show up? 

I have been waking up at 4 or 5am every morning and either checking on the goats or doing research.  That seems to be when my brain starts thinking about things, so if I need to check on them every few hours, I will do that.  What do you think?

My goats normally eat every last bit of hay.  No wasting at all.  The last two days I have been giving them free choice and still they eat all of it, so I don't know if they would pick around moldy hay or not.

 

[Paula Kirk]

I lost a little doe to Listeriosis last week. Can't quite figure out how she got it but will be checking hay very closely! It was a terrible way for her to die. She was always my little firecracker and within 5 days was staggering around, head pulled to side, tongue hanging out, unable to eat, drink or swallow. Spent $400 on different drugs, but nothing helped.

[Marin Waddell]

It was back on May 12 that I posted about it. The goats were fine. I just read my Goat Management book to find out what might happen (found out the same thing as you, polio & listeriosis) and then watched for symptoms. I figure that although illness could happen, it's not likely to happen. They've had musty hay a few times over the past couple of years. My husband generally gives them their hay but I try to keep a closer eye on it now because it's just not something he picks up on. We get our hay from neighbours in exchange for them putting cattle on our land and most of what they give us is good.

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

Marin, how long ago was this?

Marin Waddell said:

I fed my goats some severely mouldy grain (how I missed it I don't know), 2 cups each during morning milking, only one of them turned it down. I was lucky and none of them had any problems, no diarrhea even. They've had musty hay a few times (my husband has a poor sense of smell) without any consequences. Hopefully your girls will be fine.

[Kare]

It has been 10 days and so far, so good. 

I have learned a LOT about moldy hay, which can cause either Listeria or Polio.  Depending on which one, it can take anywhere from a few hours to 21 days to show up. 

The combined symptoms to look for are stargazing, excitability, circling, paralysis in the face, diarrhea, abortion, staggering, blindness, muscle tremors, depression, loss of appetite, fever, head pulled to flank with rigid neck, slack jaw and drooling.

They recommend treating for both diseases if you see any symptoms. 

So, the treatment would be

• Thiamine (for the rumen): 4.5cc (IM) per 100 pounds, ever 6 hours for 24 hours
• Dexamethazone (to reduce brain swelling):  preferably by IV, 5-6cc per 100 pounds and decreasing by 1 cc each day
• Procain (a type of Penicillin to kill the Listeria): in very large doses of 40,000 IU per 2.2# of weight or 300,000 every 6 hours given SQ over the ribs, every 6 hours and for 24 hours after the last symptom
• Tetraclycline - 11.5 mg/pound for 3 days given orally, dont know why this is recommended
• CD antitoxin - I'm not sure about this one.  I think because the symptoms can be the same for overeating disease too

So, I hope to have these on hand in case I see any symptoms in the next 11 days.

PLEASE double check EVERYTHING I have written here with your vet, in case I misunderstood something or wrote it down wrong. 
If anyone sees an error or something that needs clarification, please correct me!

[Kare]

Marin, how long ago was this?

Marin Waddell said:

I fed my goats some severely mouldy grain (how I missed it I don't know), 2 cups each during morning milking, only one of them turned it down. I was lucky and none of them had any problems, no diarrhea even. They've had musty hay a few times (my husband has a poor sense of smell) without any consequences. Hopefully your girls will be fine.

[Kare]

It has now been 4 hours and no signs so far.  I found a medication they recommend that you can get only from a vet.  It's an antibiotic of some sort.  If I see symptoms I will give B complex, then more charcoal and then call the vet.  I only have abou 4cc of B complex, so hopefully I won't need it.  It is backordered everywhere I checked.  So is Thiamine.

[Marin Waddell]

I fed my goats some severely mouldy grain (how I missed it I don't know), 2 cups each during morning milking, only one of them turned it down. I was lucky and none of them had any problems, no diarrhea even. They've had musty hay a few times (my husband has a poor sense of smell) without any consequences. Hopefully your girls will be fine.

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

I only know one person who had goats get sick from hay, and I think it happened within a few hours -- like she mentioned it on Facebook in the afternoon, and she had given the goats that hay in the morning. Sadly, the first sign she had was that one of them was dead. Luckily, she had just opened the hay and put it in a pen with only three goats. I think the other two pulled through. She got some kind of medication from the vet for the other two, which did get quite sick. Sorry I don't remember more details.