mysterious deaths with neurological symptoms

[mama24]

This isn't exactly happening to me, but since we traded babies for a month, it does affect me. I traded goat kids with a friend to wean them when they were old enough. They suddenly started going downhill, one died, and I brought them all home. The other three have died since then--within 2 weeks, one at a time. But it's not just my kids, they were just the first. Since then, she has lost three more goat kids, a cat, and almost 2 whole litters of rabbit kits. Wth is going on? It's not even the same water b/c some of them are watered from a rain barrel and the rest from the well. They are all fine, then start losing weight, then weakness, convulsions, torticollis, then death, sometimes with foaming at the mouth. I have a goat kid in the freezer I'm going to take to the state lab once I have a day I can spend driving there and back. But wondering if anyone has any ideas or has heard of anything like this before. Poor girl, is her first year with animals and they keep dropping like flies. It's only my second year with my farm, so I'm no help.

 

[DonnaBelle]

Coccidia? It can affect all the species, you know.

Has she had a necropsy done on any of the dead animals?

I would sure want a professional opinion about what happened.

DonnaBelle

 

[Southern by choice]

They are all fine, then start losing weight, then weakness, convulsions, torticollis, then death, sometimes with foaming at the mouth.

Rabies would be my guess.

I say this based on the symptoms, time elapsed, and multiple species. You are also in the same state as I am... not sure what county you are in but the Piedmont region is heavy with rabies.

Foaming mouth is not seen in all rabies cases but is an end stage final symptom.

The other thing to look at would be toxoplasmosis. Carried by cats and affects warm-blooded mammals. Same symptoms. However I do not know if it affects all the species you've mentioned.

I think you are doing the right thing by going to the lab. You may even want to "sacrifice" an animal for the best diagnostic results.

So sorry you are going through this. Please keep us posted.

We keep watch on the different prions through this website- they do the most recent first... there are an amazing amount of rabies incidence in NC

http://naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com/category/prion-disease/

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

How quickly are they going down hill? What is the time frame from initial symptoms to death?


Foaming at mouth is a symptom with rabies but it also comes with seizures.


Friend had 2 goats die and one get incredibly sick with similar symptoms about 2 years ago. 4 in the same pen. 1 absolutely fine, 1 almost dead, 2 dead. All with in 3 days.

Bodies were necropsied and tested for rabies and everything else. Inconclusive except for high copper. Suspect a plant toxicity or bacterial agent.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

How quickly are they going down hill? What is the time frame from initial symptoms to death?


Foaming at mouth is a symptom with rabies but it also comes with seizures.


Friend had 2 goats die and one get incredibly sick with similar symptoms about 2 years ago. 4 in the same pen. 1 absolutely fine, 1 almost dead, 2 dead. All with in 3 days.

Bodies were necropsied and tested for rabies and everything else. Inconclusive except for high copper. Suspect a plant toxicity or bacterial agent.

To the OP, when you say convulsions, would you say they are seizures? I hope you get your answers from the lab and that it isn't rabies but it could be. I am wondering what the transmitter would be since it is affecting kids, baby buns, and cats. Have all of the animals been young?

 

[20kidsonhill]

how old were the rabbits?

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Also, how quickly did it transfer between animals. Rabies can go as fast as a few days but it is usually closer to weeks/months for symptom onset.

I just am not feeling rabies. I could be wrong but I'm thinking seizures caused the foaming.

 

[Southern by choice]

I am waiting too....

The weirdest part is the rabbits.

 

[bcnewe2]

Never have I seen something go through so many carried species. Such a hard thing to have to watch and not be able to help.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Another friend experienced similar between pigs to goats. We scraped her barn, limed the floors and bleached every single surface and so far nothing has happened since then.