lethargic buckling after separation from twin

[Ferguson K]

Hi all! New to the forum, not new to animals. However I have a buckling that has me concerned. Friday he was peppy and fine. Playful and bouncy like a typical Nigerian. Saturday his twin and mother were sold. Sunday we moved him into a pen with another healthy buckling. He's been lethargic, has solid ( dog style ) poops, peeing very little. Eats and drinks okay. Possibly starting to get worse.

Has anyone ever had a depressed goat? Is this even possible? He's been wormed and put on electrolytes. Getting him to drink them is pricing problemental. Any ideas? I'm out of drench, husband is bringing some home tonight. What am I missing?

No bad feed. No access to poisonous plants. No ticks. Has his CDT.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Take his temp. If he has a above average temp don't give him drench or molasses, if he has a low temp give the drench/molasses. I would give him a does of goat probiotics too.

You say you wormed him, have you ever treated him for Coccidia or have a fecal run on him?

With the sudden stress of his herdmates leaving I would be concerned about Cocci or some other parasite bloom. Try to have a fecal run on him ASAP. Cocci doesn't always cause scours, you can have a healthy looking kid die the next day with no symptoms.

Goats can get depressed, but they would tend to be more frantic trying to find their herd mates. I would be concerned that an underlying issue is starting to take hold because of the stress.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Welcome , sorry to hear that your buckling isn't doing so well. It could very well be that he is missing his twin.

@OneFineAcre @Southern by choice @Goat Whisperer and others might be able to give you some ideas.

 

[Ferguson K]

I have corrid on hand that I use on my birds. Never used it on a goat. Coccidio was my next guess. Lots of stressful things on a little body. The other buckling seems fine, but, I'd be willing to treat them both. Vet is out of office until Wednesday and next closest vet would be a very stressful ride on a sick kid.

They are on non medicated feeds. Cane from a non medicated breeder.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Take his temp. If he has a above average temp don't give him drench or molasses, if he has a low temp give the drench/molasses. I would give him a does of goat probiotics too.

You say you wormed him, have you ever treated him for Coccidia or have a fecal run on him?

With the sudden stress of his herdmates leaving I would be concerned about Cocci or some other parasite bloom. Try to have a fecal run on him ASAP. Cocci doesn't always cause scours, you can have a healthy looking kid die the next day with no symptoms.

Goats can get depressed, but they would tend to be more frantic trying to find their herd mates. I would be concerned that an underlying issue is starting to take hold because of the stress.

x2

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Corrid isn't the best choice for Cocci in kids but may work. Can you get Di-methox?

How far is the other vet? You might want to take a fecal to the other vet so you can see if it is a parasite issues.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

This is for the Di-methox.

I asked BYH member @Pearce Pastures what she does about Cocci, this is what she told me and it worked as a preventive for my goat kids and took care of the bloom that the new goats in quarantine had.

Yeah, Corid is no good and I am sticking to that. It is a thiamine antagonist---looks like thiamine so much so that the body thinks it is thiamine too and stops making its own. The cocci ingest the fake thiamine and starve to death. But the goat can have serious issues if they don't produce enough real thiamine (polioencephelitis).

Di-Methox 40% is what we use. You can get it in liquid form from Jeffers or what I do is order the 12.5% powder and mix it to a much stronger concentration so that the goats do get 40% out of it.

Here is what I give to people buying goats from us...feel free to pass it along or use it however you like.
----------------------
Coccidiosis , a very common problem in young kids, are a parasitic protozoa that while normally present in small numbers in goats, can overrun and kill a kid whose immune system is just building. Some of the many medications available are used for prevention, some for use when there is an issue, and some for both. We use Di-Methox 40% because it is an effective and safe preventative and treatment and we strongly recommend having it on hand even before bringing your goats home. It can be ordered in liquid or powdered from online supply stores such as Jeffers.com and may be available from your local farm store (TSC does not carry this but do carry some treatments that we have not found to be very effective in prevention and they cannot treat coccidiosis once it has developed so we have stuck with what we know works). We use the powdered version because it is cheaper and can be stored dry until needed).

If you chose to do as we do, this is how we mix, store, and use it:

The directions on the label are for making a liquid that is 12.5% Di-Methox.
For the 40% strength that we want, we do as follows:
Prepare the mixture and begin preventative treatment when the goat is 21 days old (this is the prime age for issues with coccidia). Your goats will probably gag and act like you are trying to kill them because this medicine is bitter-in the long run though, a few minutes of bad taste will be better than the horrible illness or death that can result from coccidiosis.


• Get a clean, glass jar that has a screw on lid.
• In the jar, mix the packet with 1.5 cups water.
• Weigh your animal as accurately as you can.
• Using a plastic syringe, administer 1.6cc per 5 pounds of your animals weight on day one of the five day treatment.
• Then for the next 5 days, administer 1.6cc per 10 pounds.

Store the jar in the refrigerator. The solution will likely separate and should be warmed to room temperature and stirred for it to dissolve again prior to use.

 

[Ferguson K]

In the last 30 minutes the kid had become non responsive. His heart rate and temperature are so low when I pulled him from the kennel I thought he was dead. My digital thermometer doesn't read his temp. It just beeps "low". Great.

I just forced some water down him. He didn't swallow. I think he's too far. I'll begin treating the other buckling as soon as that

 

[Ferguson K]

Comes in. Just ordered some. Feed store only has corrid. Pulled the half dead kid inside and put him in a dog kennel earlier. He's simply given up.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Put the kid in a plastic bag with his head outside of it and try putting him in some warm water to get his temperature up

I will be back