Posted by Amy Bell on April 25, 2011 at 7:38pm in Health
So my family and I went on vacation several weeks ago and my mom, who lives on a ranch several hours away, watched them for me. We have done this before and the goats graze happily on pasture that is much better than mine. Several days before I came to pick them up one took ill and they brought her to the vet. It died several hours later of what they thought was bloat. The next day they lost several others very quickly. When I got there the does that had kidded where fine but the pregnant ones had all died. I figured it might be over eating disease and talked to the vet about it. He thought I could be right. Unfortunately I never vaccinated (we have never had goats die of this before) but a few calves over the years have. So the problem... One of the mature goats was ill the day I arrived and I treated her appropriatly for 3 days. She made it, that was over a week ago,but she goes back and forth on her feed. One minute she looks real good and then later she doesnt look right. Its like she's anorexic or something. I started giving her some of my probiotics yesterday but I am wondering if there is something else I could do. The only time she seems interested in eating is when I turn them out to graze. So whats a good post enterotoxemia regime? She may be about 2 months pregnant but I'm not sure about that. And yes-I'm vaccinating now, seems like their having alot of trouble up there this spring in that area. Thanks!
Views: 80
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
The first goat that died did have an autopsy. The intestional tract looked good but the vet said he saw hemorrhage along the rib cage. I guess he didnt look any further because at that time he didnt know what he was looking for. The vet also said that if she had alot of toxicity she would have died so quickly that there wouldnt be any intestinal damage yet. I believe what happened was that the goats got on a field of sprouting wheat that was wet from the rain. I also called a long time neighbor and she said that she has always had trouble with enterotoxemia with her sheep and goats. Kind of funny that we never had any goats die of that when I was growing up there. I hate to vaccinate but I dont want to chance that again! Thanks for the tip I will have to try that out.
I've never had a goat with enterotoxemia, and the only cases I've heard about were in kids that were given free-choice grain or adults that were recently vaccinated. In "Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals,"Paul Dettloff DVM suggests 150 cc of aloe vera juice (to help soothe the intestinal tract) for calves with enterotoxemia, as well as the antitoxin. I wouldn't give her any grain because it's hard to digest (and a two-month pregnant doe doesn't need it unless she's still in milk from her last freshening), so I'd be content if she only ate grass or grass hay. The only goats that get grain here are those under six months and those in milk or in the last week or two of pregnancy. If you don't offer free choice baking soda, that should be added to the diet of any goat that is eating grain.
Unless you had a necropsy done, it's tough to conclude what caused the deaths. It could have also been something poisonous in the pasture. Or did someone misunderstand the feeding directions and give too much grain? That's happened here before, but the worst thing that happened was that my poor does had to push out some really huge baby goats, including a couple that were 5+ pounds.
Replies
Deborah,
The first goat that died did have an autopsy. The intestional tract looked good but the vet said he saw hemorrhage along the rib cage. I guess he didnt look any further because at that time he didnt know what he was looking for. The vet also said that if she had alot of toxicity she would have died so quickly that there wouldnt be any intestinal damage yet. I believe what happened was that the goats got on a field of sprouting wheat that was wet from the rain. I also called a long time neighbor and she said that she has always had trouble with enterotoxemia with her sheep and goats. Kind of funny that we never had any goats die of that when I was growing up there. I hate to vaccinate but I dont want to chance that again! Thanks for the tip I will have to try that out.
I've never had a goat with enterotoxemia, and the only cases I've heard about were in kids that were given free-choice grain or adults that were recently vaccinated. In "Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals,"Paul Dettloff DVM suggests 150 cc of aloe vera juice (to help soothe the intestinal tract) for calves with enterotoxemia, as well as the antitoxin. I wouldn't give her any grain because it's hard to digest (and a two-month pregnant doe doesn't need it unless she's still in milk from her last freshening), so I'd be content if she only ate grass or grass hay. The only goats that get grain here are those under six months and those in milk or in the last week or two of pregnancy. If you don't offer free choice baking soda, that should be added to the diet of any goat that is eating grain.
Unless you had a necropsy done, it's tough to conclude what caused the deaths. It could have also been something poisonous in the pasture. Or did someone misunderstand the feeding directions and give too much grain? That's happened here before, but the worst thing that happened was that my poor does had to push out some really huge baby goats, including a couple that were 5+ pounds.