Help - My husband fed the goats yesterday morning and yesterday evening mentioned that my 8mo buckling "looked a little off colour" I arrived home at about 10.30pm to find him barely standing and fitting every few minuted - god it scared the hell out of me I thought he was gone already. I called the vet straight away he came and administered a broad spectrum anibiotic and some buscapan via vein. But he has not stoped all night its 3.50am here and the vet doesn't know whats wrong he is soo week and tired. He has started to breathe rapidly so much so I can here his heart pounding just standing beside him he has no dihoriha (sp?) he looks as if he is trying to throw up sometimes and is very disorientated - the vet said the antibiotic had an anti spasming agent in it but he is still spasming he just topples over his eyes roll into the back of his head and in a few seconds he is strugling get to his feet again - please anyone do you know what could have caused this???

-- Jen Butler (heavenleigh2938@hotmail.com), September 04, 2001

Answers

What has he been eating, how much did he eat, and does your husband's routine differ from yours at all? Is there any way he could have eaten something poisonous? Did he eat more than usual? Is there any possibilty that the grain or hay was moldy? If he dies, you might want to have a post mortem done right away, in case it's something that the other goats could come down with. I am so sorry, this sounds horrible and like it would be very hard to deal with.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), September 04, 2001.

On saturday - Now weds here I gave him 2.5mls of Bomatak wormer the other girls got it also and they were alowed to graze further down the paddock - I am not sure if there is anythign poisonus down there but am going to scour the paddock at first light its 5am here now and still dark. He is really tired but too scared to sleep I made a cold tea and electrolite solution but he seems too weak to drink he is baying a lot and this is his first time away from the other goats should I give him some company???

-- Jen Butler (heavenleigh2938@hotmail.com), September 04, 2001.

go to goat world .com , they have an emergency site to get help right away.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), September 04, 2001.

Either email folks privately with emergencies like this or go to the goatworld.com 911 site. First I haven't a clue what kind of wormer you gave, or drug your vet gave IV. If you perhaps are not in the US this is when the 911 site is even more important, I know my friends in Canada not only call drugs by different names but even spelling them pheonetically I wouldn't be able to figure them out.

Oddly enough their are lots of things that cause neurological problems with goats. A high fever and the symptoms you described is just about classic for Listerosis, moldy grain and hay will cause this, the temp would be down by now. Thiamin defficency (poliomyilities encephilitis) which is a depleation of B vitamins in the system more than likely caused by an overeating of grain, also has neurological problems without the temp, and is quickly fixed with big dosages of B1, every 6 hours. A good knock in the head by an older animal, poisonous plants, and a severely high temp could cause the fits. I would visit the saanendoah.com site, read up on B1 in the serious goat section and also the med section, administer it, and also read the goatworld.com site on listerosis. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), September 04, 2001.

Sorry Vicki I didn't know about the 911 site untill mentioned here I have called the only person in NZ but they are not home. Ive never had an experience like this and panicked when my vet couldn't tell me what was wrong - un until now our vet has been a book of knowledge so it came as a shock he didn't know its 7.40am and he is still here but getting weaker and still having fits. I have put the girls in the next pen as he has never been seperated from them before. I'll keep trying the person listed in 911 and go looking around the paddock incase I can see something he has eaten

-- Jen Butler (heavenleigh2938@hotmail.com), September 04, 2001.