I need some info about miscarriages!
Does anyone know of any reason that multiple does would be bleeding besides a miscarriage...
any reasons for multiple does to miscarry besides copper deficiencies...
do I need to do anything... antibiotic shots or anything like that?
Most of my does are doing this and I cannot begin to express how this makes me feel, but although I feel awful about it my primary concern is that they girls be ok...
These particular girls have not been out browsing, so they could not have eaten any strange weeds etc.
I can't remember exactly when I coppered them (about 3 months ago give or take) but I did just do it again yesterday.
Could my hay only diet be the problem... I mean most of you don't feed grain til late in pregnancy right?
They should only have been about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 months pregnant. They have also been staying with their bucks... is that dangerous now or do I have to separate them to prevent them getting bred again. I was leaving them together in case they had not gotten pregnant yet. If I need to separate them now how long do I have to wait to put them back together? I am so stumped I just don't know what to do... I want to do what is best for them but also need to get kids! I am really confused!
Replies
Would a frost change some of the plants and make them toxic? Even a light frost? So sorry Margaret.
I'm so sorry to hear what you and your girls are going through! Sending hugs your way.
Well, that does make me feel better. And I hope that when you say re bred right away that means that it is ok just to leave them with the bucks for now, cause it sure has been working out better and made them all happy etc. to be split up in little families instead of by sex!
It totally depends on what is causing it. Goats have a higher tolerance for toxic plants than most animals, so they will probably be fine, even if they ate something that caused a miscarriage. The woman who lost a whole kidding season to toxoplasmosis said that all of her goats were fine and were re-bred right away and kidded normally. Hope this turns out well for you!
Thanks so much Deborah, I really appreciate your quick response. That sounds real scary though, especially since I do have cats, although I don't recall that I ever see them in the goats pens! Everyone seems to be ok. eating etc. So far I have only seen blood except on one doe who had a stringy discharge that looked like what they have when labor starts. But that was a couple of days ago. I would love to know the cause to help prevent it again. But my main concern is... will they be alright?
I'm so sorry to hear this, Margaret! There are so many reasons a doe could miscarry. A variety of diseases will cause miscarriage. If it is happening to several of them simultaneously, it would probably be either because of a disease or they ate something poison/toxic. One thing that always pops into my head because I know someone who had all 15 of her does abort is toxoplasmosis, which is a disease they can get from cats. You may remember they always tell pregnant women not to change the cat's litter box because of that. If any of them pass a fetus, you should sent it/them and a placenta if there is one, to a lab for analysis. Basically send everything that the doe passes to a lab. That's the only way you'll know for sure. And be sure to wear rubber gloves because some diseases that cause miscarriages in does can cause illness in humans -- like toxoplasmosis.
Once it starts, you can't stop it. And sadly, you wouldn't really want to because it means something has gone terribly wrong. Once they're bleeding, the fetuses have stopped developing and the body is trying to clean itself out. You might want to check for temperatures to see if any of them have a fever. And think real hard about whether or not they've eaten anything new lately or gotten into a new area of pasture.
Keep us updated! Hugs!