Goats Are VERY Lethargic....One Can't Get Up.....Need Advice

[Calebs Acre]

I have had two alpine goats for almost a year and, as of tonight, I realize that the advice I got from the person who gave me the goats was NOT correct. Now, my goats are paying for it....

I have a young goat (about a year old) who is not getting up and is shaking like he is shivering. He will eat and drink if you bring him food and water, but he will not attempt to get up.

The other older goat is just lethargic and no longer wants to climb.

Both goats were just FINE on Monday, but in the extreme heat here on Tuesday (from 50s to 90s), we thought the younger goat's lethargy was due to the heat. Yesterday, I started making some phone calls and a friend told me to worm them and trim their hooves. But, tonight, he is lying down and the other goat is now showing signs of lethargy too.

No sign of bloat. No diarrhea or unusual poop. They are eating and drinking, just more slowly than usual. They are urinating.

So, has anyone run into anything like this? I cannot get a vet out tonight...we have equine vets here, but it's hard to find a vet that will do goats. We're sort of "city" here.

Any ideas would be appreciated. I don't even have a thermometer here! Guess I need to buy some first aid items! Geesh.

 

[agnes_day]

i would call around and find someone to see them, even if you have to make a long drive. the goat vet we intend on using is 40 miles away but i know if anything should happen to ours, we at least know where he is.

 

[kyliescoop]

Have either of the goats gotten ahold of or ingested anything within the past 72 hours that you did not give them?. I don't mean only obvious bad things, but things like tree bark, plants, seeds or anything similar?

 

[FlashPointFarm]

It kind of sounds like they got into something.

You may want to post on the yahoo group called HDG911, there are some very helpful people on there.

A vitamin B shot may be in order, it helps stimulate their appetite. Banamine will help them feel better too.

 

[Calebs Acre]

1. It would be VERY hard for them to have gotten into anything because they do not wander freely. They are in a large enclosed area and there are no trees and the ground is plain dirt. We checked around for anything out of the ordinary, but there did not appear to be anything.
Wouldn't that show up in appetite and poop? Plus, two days passed in between the time the first goat felt badly and the second goat.

2. IF I could find someone, I would have to drive 3-4 hours, maybe more to get off of the Island either into New Jersey, upstate NY or Connecticut to find a goat vet. I could not find anyone out East and my regular dog vet, who would be doing me a favor, told me the bill would be around $1200, plus hospitalization at $120 a night, to do the testing. I'm sorry, but that is just too much. (If you don't know Long Island, this makes no sense to you!) The only other direction I can go just gets more and more urban until you hit New York City.

I really appreciate everyone's opinions and if I lived almost anywhere else, this would be a simple case of picking up the phone and calling the vet. If this was a horse, it would be simple, too. If it was during regular hours, I probably could have find someone, too.

I'm wondering if it's their feet?

 

[kinnip]

Were it me, I'd closely monitor their water intake, food is not as important yet. Some electrolyte powder in the water may be helpful. If you were correct about your initial assumption about the heat, worming may have stressed their systems a little. The fact that they are still eating and drinking is good news! Sometimes patience is the best medicine.

 

[Calebs Acre]

Because of their behavior, I held off on worming and trimming their feet. I know that worming at the wrong time can be a bad thing, so I did not do either today.

Is it possible they were wormy and the heat set off the worms? I'm so dumb about this stuff. I am a city girl! When they're well, I'm giving them away to a GOOD home where someone knows about goats!!!

 

[helmstead]

It would be very helpful to know what you have been doing (feeding, meds, etc) up to this point.

 

[Roo]

Feed them some baking soda water.Goats have a sensitive stomach (four chambered) to much fresh green grass a change
in food or brand of food etc.can upset their stomach.

 

[Calebs Acre]

There has been no change in food and, unfortunately, they do not yet have access to grass. They came to live with me late fall and I had the vet give them fall shots, etc. Since then, they get the same quality hay I feed my horses. They have been on the same brand of pelleted goat food for months and they get a very small scoop in the AM and the PM. Same routine every day since September or October of last year.

They've been playful and happy all through the winter. They've not been given any medication, no supplements.....nothing else...just hay and feed.

They have also co-habited all winter with a large male muscovy, but even Ernie (the muscovy) flies out of their pen at feeding time so that I don't put duck feed in with the goats.

It is the weirdest thing....Thank you again everyone for your input. I am so appreciative.