HELP....Hypothermia

[Harrison farm]

Came home last night and my two month old goat was laying on the ground lifeless. I don't know how long he had been there but it is only 1degrees outside. We brought him in and got his body temp back to normal but now he goes between cycles of shaking his head, tensing and trying to stand but he has no strength. I have no access to a vet. Can anyone help with this? I don't want to loose him.

 

[Harrison farm]

I forgot to mention he acts like he's going to vomit but just drools and foams at the mouth for a few minutes then calms down again

 

[farmchick897]

He is peeing and pooping? Diarrhea? Did you take his temp and it's back to normal?

 

[Harrison farm]

He stopped peeing and pooping about three hours ago. No diarrhea. Temp is normal. He tries to stand but is too tired. He gets a violent shake then starts chewing like he's chewing his cud but just drools. He almost acts like he's recovering from a stroke

 

[cassie]

I'm not sure, but it sounds like he may have polio. If so, he needs thiamine, one of the B vitamins. You have to get thiamine from the vet but in a pinch you can administer large doses of B Complex. Polio is a thiamine deficiency and it can be brought on by stress. It causes some truly bizarre symptoms in ruminants.

 

[Harrison farm]

We're going to try and find a vet that does goats over the weekend. He is doing better but still not out of the woods. He is standing and now on his own and tries to walk but falls down after a few steps

 

[cassie]

If and when you find a vet ask him/her about polio. That is something sometimes even vets sometimes forget about. The treatment for it, thiamine, is cheap and the response is very rapid. If it turns out polio isn't the problem, thiamine can't hurt. The fact that he keeps falling down really sounds like polio though. Treatment needs to be started sooner rather than later. Good luck!!

 

[Harrison farm]

I was just researching that today and I found a couple of goat vets in our area but they are all closed until tomorrow. I hope he makes it until then. It is all in God's hands now

 

[cassie]

Something else to consider is white muscle which is a selenium deficiency. It is very common in many parts of the country. A shot of BeSe will take care of that. We used to routinely give BoSe to our baby kids. I had forgotten about that. White muscle can cause weakness and falling down like you describe. It can also cause heart failure.

 

[Harrison farm]

We lost our little Isaac through the night. He put up a good fight. He's the cream colored one in the middle.