Goat issue

[picklestheduck]

Hey yall I know there’s a backyard herds website but I’m trying to hurry and don’t have it on my phone. A bit of background info on her, she’s two years old, she’s a toggenburg and she is pregnant and due in March. Basically she is quivering and she’s kinda standing hunched and she pawed a bit and keeps coming to stand next to me. She seems itchy and will rub against things and wants to be scratched. She will go eat with her sister for a minute but will come right back to stand next to me or stand on the blocks in her pen. I’m new to goats and pretty worried about her. Also her hair is standing up a bit too. Should I take her temperature? I’ve never taken a goats temp but I’ve done horses, is it roughly the same? I’ve got this thermometer. What should I do.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Is she thin? Can you feel her spine and ribs easily?

Shivering and hunched can be because they are cold, or it could be a sign of pain.

Goats have delicate digestive systems, especially when fed grains. Grains should be fed sparingly, and starters and increased slowly. Goats do best on browse and hay. I always keep free choice baking soda because it can help them keep their stomachs from getting too acidic.

So it depends on the goat whether she is cold or having problems.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

She may be wormy, our goats sometimes act like this when they get worms. Pull her eye lids down, if they are white she needs to be dewormed, if they’re pink she good. You can use ivermectin to deworm her.

 

[picklestheduck]

Is she thin? Can you feel her spine and ribs easily?

Shivering and hunched can be because they are cold, or it could be a sign of pain.

Goats have delicate digestive systems, especially when fed grains. Grains should be fed sparingly, and starters and increased slowly. Goats do best on browse and hay. I always keep free choice baking soda because it can help them keep their stomachs from getting too acidic.

So it depends on the goat whether she is cold or having problems.

As this is my first time with goats I’m unsure how to know what proper weight is. I have thought her hip bones were sticking up a bit. Her spine is sort of easy to feel. I’ll feel her again when I get home. They have about two flakes of first cutting hay and one alfalfa in the morning and the same amount overnight. They get a cup of grain morning and night with goat minerals sprinkled over the top. Their outdoor pen is small since it’s temporary, so they don’t really have grass, but there is a willow tree in there. Their pen is directly next to my flock. They come into their stall in the barn overnight though.

 

[picklestheduck]

She may be wormy, our goats sometimes act like this when they get worms. Pull her eye lids down, if they are white she needs to be dewormed, if they’re pink she good. You can use ivermectin to deworm her.

I’ll check her eyelids when I get home.

 

[picklestheduck]

She was tossing her head so we struggled

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Sorry, I didn’t make my self clearer. Her bottom eye lid, sorry.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks like a good pink color to me. I've seen stark white in those with a heavy parasite load. Dairy goats will have less fat so their spine and hips should be easy to feel, but not extremely prominent. It should feel like there's some fat between their bones and your hands.

Diet sounds okay. Loose mineral should be offered free choice as well as baking soda. You could always have your vet run a fecal.

 

[picklestheduck]

Oh also I meant to say with the help of two others I took her temp yesterday and it seemed maybe a bit low? It was 100.4° the first time and the second it was 100.3°

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh also I meant to say with the help of two others I took her temp yesterday and it seemed maybe a bit low? It was 100.4° the first time and the second it was 100.3°

Did your weather turn cooler? Does she have a place to get out of the wind and off the ground?