Calling all goat experts - help needed with sick baby goat.

[ruth]

Rocky, a Nigerian Dwarf was born last Saturday. At first he seemed fine, I was there, he nursed his mama, everything looked okay. The next day he had the normal yellow baby goat poop. However, the next day (second day) it looked exactly like bright white Elmers glue - same color and consistency. The next day (third day) it looked like Elmers school paste - still white but thicker and drier looking with hunks in it. When I smeared it out I could see tinges of blood and tissue. By the fourth day he has stopped pooping totally. He still nursed, in fact was nursing almost non-stop but by the fourth day it was apparent he was weak. He would walk up to the mother, nudge her but then just stand there. He also began standing, not walking at all, with his butt on his haunches, hunched down. For the next few days - no poop - got weaker - stopped nursing all together so I started bottle feeding him. Still no poop. Online research and talking to vets and other breeders hasn't yielded much help. I did give him Sulmet just in case but it's doubtful he got something at one day old that would have affected him that badly that fast.

Fast forward the full week - born Saturday - till the following Saturday - 7 days. By then still no poop so I bought suppositories and enemas and started using them. I didn't take pictures of the first things that started coming out of him but here's some pictures of some of the last. The first ones were more red with blood vessels.

I'm hoping someone might have some ideas.

After he passed these last two "blobs" he started downing bottles like they were going out of style and within hours was literally jumping for joy. He jumped and ran all over the house. I had to go out of town for the weekend and through Monday for a funeral and left him in my husband's care with strict instructions to continue feeding him every hour or so. Well, he didn't feed him at all. Said he was nursing so he didn't see a need. Of course by Tuesday morning when I got home and checked on him he wasn't pooping again and was very, very weak so I've brought him back in the house and our GSD, Rex is helping care for him.

After another enema he's pooping again but this is what it looks like now:

I've spoken with the head vet at LSU med school and have sent them pictures. They had not heard of anything like I was describing but said they would look at the pictures and see what they could find out.

Meanwhile, Rex loves his baby goat and won't leave his side. He even lets him try and nurse. He bathes him and licks his butt and cleans up his droppings and pee (which by the way, he pees a river so he's not dehydrated).

Rex is such a great dog.

Any help or ideas anyone can give would be much appreciated. Our local vet doesn't "do" goats and LSU has already said it would probably involve a fortune in tests and even surgical means to find out what is going on and why and they probably wouldn't know until he died and they did an autopsy. Of course, I'm trying everything to save our little Rocky.

I named him Rocky because he's off to a Rocky Start down a Rocky Road but he's a fighter like Rocky Balboa and God willing, someday he'll be big and strong.

 

[classicsredone]

That is strange...I haven't seen anything like it. It looks like an intestinal issue, though. Is that mucous surrounding the fecal matter?

 

[ruth]

Quote:
It did seem to be mucous or something just as slimy. In the one picture you can see what the inside of the thing looked like once I tore it open. Kind of looks like cat food and even hair.

Someone suggested maybe an undeveloped fetus which I guess wouldn't be too crazy.

 

[schellie69]

I don't know but I am hoping that he get better

I was wondering can goats pass worms or something like that to their babies it has been so long since I have had goats I can't remember but I do know that we did bottle feed some of the babies. Good luck and praying rocky makes it. Great pictures of the goat and the dog got love dogs.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I PM'd you, but I would post this on backyardherds.com

 

[Yay Chicks!]

First, I apologize for responding and NOT being a goat person. However, I would have also guessed that the first pictures look like intestinal tissue. But again, that's only a wild guess.
What I can say though is that the way your dog is caring for the the little guy is too sweet.
I hope you get some helpful answers.

 

[tigtoy]

strange never seen a goat drinking a dogs milk. but cute lol

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Rex is a HE so there's no milk - but don't tell that to Rocky - he thinks Rex is his surrogate mom.

 

[classicsredone]

Quote:
That dog is a boy, right?

While it looks like intestinal irritation of some sort, it could be an absorbed twin. I never saw anything like it when I had goats. You might try emailing UC Davis. They have a great vet program and may be able to help.

 

[GallusGal]

Seems like some kind of malabsorption issue. The photos of those poops look VERY similar to (a severe case of) steatorrhea observed in humans with malabsorption: light color, greasy stools along with a greasy, oily discharge. The very pale stool is often associated with liver disorders as a causative agent of the malabsorption. I would ask your vet to check liver enzymes if possible. I unfortunately know nothing about the treatment of this in goats, but if you're not already doing enzymes and probiotics, definitely do them as they surely can't hurt if this is the cause.