AboutGoatlady Expertise Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats.
(! During times of severe weather in the Midwest, I may experience a delay in internet service due to the interference of the satellite reception - but will answer your questions as soon as service is restored. !)
Note: Keep in mind, the goat expert is volunteering her time to help other goat owners, she also runs her farm with her own herd of 100 goats and may not be at her computer at all hours. Questions are answered as soon as she can possibly read and answer them, usually within 24 hours.
Experience 18 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction. The information I have to offer is not only from personal experience and years of research updated often as new information is made available to me, but supported by many Veterinary Research colleges and all medications and information I have to offer on how the medications work and what dosages "I" use, is information I have acquired by discussing directly with the company's veterinarians and staff research experts.
Organizations 5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service
Publications United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™
Education/Credentials Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Question QUESTION: i have 2 pygmies, they both have acted great or what i call normal. i have only had them for about 2 mon. i have them in my barn right at the time and i let them out twice a day to eat grass or to get exercise and to play. as of this morning they were acting fine, i fed and watered them, grain and hay, and everything was normal. very active. this evening i go to feed and let out and i noticed that my wither (abt. 1 yr. old) was just not acting up to par. he didnt seem real interested in his grain or even to acknowledge that i was even there. just not as usual. i had to force him outside which generally he will knock us down to get out. after about two tries of getting out to stay out for a while, he was eating some grass, but was still not active. i put them in the barn and did notice that he was just standing still but was nibbling on his food by the time i left. did not take temp. i have wormed them using worm pellets ans since then have noticed that they look 100 % better than when i got them. any ideas?
ANSWER: *HI Julie,
Have you changed the feed at all? New hay? New bag of grain? How much grain doe she get? Wethers need very little grain as too much predisposes them to urinary calculi but this sounds more like he ate too much of something or possibly something was moldy (all hay and grain needs to be 100% mold free) -
The other thing coming to mind is possible pneumonia- this is the perfect time of year hot days and if the evenings are damp or cooler, (I have a case of it now, as we just got out of a heat wave and now evenings are cooler) so this very well may be what is wrong- If he were mine I would start treating for pneumonia (not all pneumonia has a fever) - sometimes the only early symptoms is lack of appetite.
Most Common Clinical Signs of Pneumonia:
(Can be a combination of one or some of these symptoms)
1. Weight loss
2. Cough
3. Nasal Discharge
4. Fever present sometimes not always
5. Raspy breathing
6. Difficult breathing
7. Anorexia
8. Scours
Also I would change my deworming program from the pellets - I think it will help you in the long run:
Here is my article on deworming: http://goat-link.com/content/view/58/46/
goatlady
Goat-Link.com
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QUESTION: hi and thanks for responding so soon. i havent changed anything about his diet but i did switch his feeder 2 days ago and he would not touch the grain that was in it at all that same day that i changed it, so i put in his old one. could there have been something in that feeder? it had some old hay laying in it, but i dumped it out when i decided to give it a try. as far as the pellets, i have been feeding both goats about 1 cup 2 x daily. from what i am reading that is way too much for a wither. i have not noticed what i would consider a cough or any of the signs of pnemonia but occasionally i have noticed that he does what i call a sneeze, i dont think i would refer to it as a cough. i will take your advise but if you have any more suggestions, pls. let me know
Answer *HI Julie,
There could have been something in the feeder but if this were mold related you would be seeing more symptoms by now, drunken behavior, head tilt and or drooling from one side of the mouth, inability to stand steady - just for future knowledge- never force (insist on ) a goat to eat something if you think it is ok; they may detect something wrong with it and may be doing you a favor by not eating it- some people say if they get hungry enough they'll eat it - actually - no they wont. Goats will sneeze or snort for a variety of reasons- a cough sounds like a cough. Not all pneumonia has a cough involved. If he is still not interested in his food I would start him on Tylan200 for possible pneumonia, - the first sign of a goat standing off by itself and not interested in food, I think pneumonia and start treatment before it gets worse. Tylan200 works quick and I will warn you the injections Do sting like a bugger- so expect him to shake his leg and holler (some do and some never act like they even got a shot) but for those who do react they can act like you cut off their leg sometimes, and if you are not ready for it - it can be scary.
Also take his temp, rectally like you would for a child, using a regular digital thermometer- normal is 101.5 to 103.5- on a hot day even 104 could be normal. If there are any other symptoms, let me know.
