I went out to check my animals for their nightly bed check at 9 and noticed my goat was very bloated... I came inside a googled her appearance... Yep, bloat. Not sure what she's gotten into. and she was fine when I checked her at 5 pm... I don't have any antitoxin on hand... I have given her a large syringe of oil and baking soda... She immediately began burping. She is moving around and doesn't seem to be in pain. I've massaged her belly... more burping and some co-grooming. I'll continue to check her though the night and have more oil/baking soda mixed up...
Is there anything else I can do for her until I can get some antitoxin in the morning?
Claudette
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You mentioned that you didn't know what "she's gotten into". I don't know if you suspect she ate poisonous plants or something like that but I had three that got into azalea and they were in horrible condition. I googled fiasco and everywhere and came up with the oil, baking soda, etc. cures they helped but they needed more. One buck was so bad he had seizures and just stood around afterwards like he had serious mental problems (even stood in the rain) so we went ahead and slaughtered him (he was meat goat- not ND). But I hit some forum or something (cannot remember where) and someone was saying that a friend had told them to administer lots of vitamin C. They used people chewables but I can't remember now how much. I went to the dollar store bought them and crushed them and mixed in the I think powerade or something and poored them from a little old soda bottle in their throats. I am certain that did them a world of good. I was sure that the littlest one would not make it but she really turned around after this. Looks better than ever now and I hope she's pregnant. The big one wasn't as sick and she is fixing to deliver. I doubt it would hurt if you gave her some. I believe I used about 4 or 5 per goat. Maybe someone else knows the specific dosage or knows rather it would help or not. I am going to see if I can find that same link. And it was suggested, that it be repeated if felt needed the next morning after I had given it that night. I did repeat it and they got even better after the second dose.
Glad to hear she's doing better.
She seems better this morning... Not completely un-bloaty... but not huge like she was last night. Her poop is normal, and she's in no pain. She picked at her hay last night... but didn't eat a whole lot. I let her out this morning and she patroled the area for fallen gum tree leaves which seem to be a favorite of hers. I don't think I will feed her very much grain if any today, just enough to get her into the stand to milk. I dosed her a couple more times with oil and baking soda, it didn't sound as though it would hurt her regardless... and I will keep a close eye on her for the next few days. Hopefully her rumen balance was just a little off and extra baking soda has done the trick.
You didn't say what antitoxin you want, but if you're thinking clostridium (enterotoxemia), it is not the same thing as bloat, although some people confuse the two. What you're describing sounds like bloat, and we're never had a case here, but you're doing everything that I've ever read about doing for bloat. Enterotoxemia makes a goat VERY sick, and she would be in a lot of pain if that were it.
If it gets really, really bad the last ditch effort would be to stab her in the rumen. You can use a low gauge (really thick) needle if you have one around, or even a kitchen knife if it becomes desperate. If green froth comes out then she won't be saveable, but if a lot of air is released then she may be okay. I've never had to do it, but I learned it from a vet and it's something that cattle people do when their animals get bloat so it's not as crazy as it sounds. There are even special puncturing instruments that can be purchased. The hole in the rumen seals itself up when you remove the tool.
Having said that, that's for an absolutely desperate situation and it doesn't sound like you're even close to there. Burping and no pain are good signs. Hopefully someone else has some more helpful, less intrusive remedies, but I thought I'd let you know what you can do if she takes a massive turn for the worse and you have no other choice.
And now I'm sending good thoughts your way that she just continues burping happily.