Goat appears to be sick/weak

[kiskateara]

To sum this up, quickly: She was a bit lethargic, but improved today and has moved around more- never far into the pasture though. She may or may not have vomited, but I strongly believe she didn't since the only evidence I had was a wet/dirty jaw and mouth. She wasn't very vocal, but also improved today. She is grinding her teeth(?), and has refused to eat. According to my dad, she has drank lots of water.

A lot of people I've told seem to think it has something to do with the heat, but my other goat has been doing just fine, and I don't see why the heat would affect her appetite.

I'm really worried about her, and although I've urged my dad to call/take her to the vet, he claimed there weren't any vets nearby that took goats- which, I don't know why he can't just call and ask about a few things to the far vets that do, but fine. I decided to take matters into my own hands by asking here.

Detailed description:

Bunny, my 1-2 year old goat, has been acting weird for the past 2 days. Yesterday morning, she wouldn't leave her pen with my other goat, and just stood there. I knew something was wrong pretty much then and there, since I had poured their food outside and she'd seen- but hadn't run out to get it. And Bunny really loves food.

I went up to her, and noticed the area around her mouth was wet/dirty. I have no idea if she had been drinking before, and her mouth and still dripping from the water, or if she had vomited. I looked around and couldn't find any proof she'd actually vomited, so, I assumed she had just been drinking water. Still, she was acting weird. I left and came back later, and she'd left her pen- but was now just laying down beside a tree. She wasn't vocal, and she didn't get up to walk over to me right away until I called her. I tried giving her hay, and she refused it. She was grinding her teeth as well (I believe? She was doing something weird with her jaw and it made a noise) and I know that's a sign she could be in pain.

I looked it up- the main things I saw were either 1) She'd eaten something bad/poisonous (if she had thrown up) or 2) She had bloat

We don't have anything poisonous to goats anywhere near their pen or pasture (besides maybe very few bracken plants) and our neighbors don't either.
I felt her stomach as well, and she wasn't bloated. I was really worried about this, because I read that it could kill her very, VERY quickly- which I have no idea if that's true.

Then today happened. I walked outside, and she was very vocal when she saw/heard me. She was way more active too- not as much as my other goat, but more than she had been before. My dad bought electrolytes, and we gave her that, but I have no idea if they even did anything. She also apparently drank lots of water.

But, she hasn't eaten or shown interest in eating at all. This happened yesterday, and today. I really love Bunny, and, I don't want her to die. I was hoping someone here might be able to help me figure out what is wrong with her, and how to help her.

 

[MGG]

@cassie @chickens really ? Can you help poor Bunny?

 

[chickens really]

Get her eating baking soda on pellets/regular feed or mix it in water and syringe it to her. Use a tablespoon of baking soda. Start providing that on feed everyday or every couple of days. Heat can cause dehydration if enough water isn't consumed. Bloat or constipation can happen quickly. Stop all consumption other than the regular diet for a few days.

 

[kiskateara]

Get her eating baking soda on pellets/regular feed or mix it in water and syringe it to her. Use a tablespoon of baking soda. Start providing that on feed everyday or every couple of days. Heat can cause dehydration if enough water isn't consumed. Bloat or constipation can happen quickly. Stop all consumption other than the regular diet for a few days.

Thank you for all the helpful tips! However, I don't think just putting baking soda on her feed will do her much good, since she has zero interest in eating anything- although she did thankfully eat a small handful of hay this morning. I'll see to getting an actually good goat syringe (the only one we have came with something in it) to syringe it to her though, and I'll put some out for my other goat. She was also drinking plenty of water, so I'm not too concerned about her being dehydrated.

However on another thread I looked at, it mentioned checking their lower eyelid- which I did, and Bunny's is kinda pale, so should I worry about her having worms? She's showing most of the signs of having them, and the pellet dewormer my dad got very recently she won't eat because she's simply not interested in eating anything besides the small amount of hay from this morning.

 

[chickens really]

You need a stool sample checked for worms. Then an oral dewormer that you put in her mouth to swallow. Use the syringe but wash it out first and mix the baking soda in water first in a bowl. Doesn't matter how you get it in her.

 

[cassie]

I don't know. It is hard to make a guess without seeing the goat, but if she were mine I would treat her for both pneumonia and enterotoxemia. The symptoms you mention could be either one. Has she been vaccinated with CD/T? That grinding of the teeth means she is in pain. If she presses her head against the wall and/or acts like she is blind, that means a thiamine deficiency. You might try pressing your ear against her belly and see if you can hear any gurgling. Treatment for entero is a dose of clostridium perfingens antitoxin. You ought to be able to find it at the feed store. Penicillin is good for both pneumonia and entero.

 

[cassie]

Thank you for all the helpful tips! However, I don't think just putting baking soda on her feed will do her much good, since she has zero interest in eating anything- although she did thankfully eat a small handful of hay this morning. I'll see to getting an actually good goat syringe (the only one we have came with something in it) to syringe it to her though, and I'll put some out for my other goat. She was also drinking plenty of water, so I'm not too concerned about her being dehydrated.

However on another thread I looked at, it mentioned checking their lower eyelid- which I did, and Bunny's is kinda pale, so should I worry about her having worms? She's showing most of the signs of having them, and the pellet dewormer my dad got very recently she won't eat because she's simply not interested in eating anything besides the small amount of hay from this morning.

Pale inner eyelids means anemia and the most common cause of anemia is worms. I never had much luck with the wormers you put in the feed. The goats didn't like it and they refused to eat the feed it was put in. I used either injectable or oral. That said, I don't think worms are the cause of your goat's present woes. It is possible they may be a contributing factor but they aren't the cause.

 

[LooneyTickAcres]

Too many possibilities to give an online diagnosis as has been mentioned. Do you have any pics?

At minimum, I would administer Banimine for pain and give fortified B complex. ( banamine is prescription and b complex can be found at most feed stores) Personally, I would find a vet to take her to or come out so you know exactly what you’re dealing with. Goats can be very stoic...they typically don’t show weakness or illness until it’s already fairly progressive.

I agree that worms might be part of the problem, but not the entire problem. Pelleted dewormers for goats are pretty much useless these days. Using Ivermectin or Cydectin pour on (for cattle) as an oral dewormer is much more effective.... have a fecal done to see what parasites are there and how many there are.