Abandoned Goat - Starving? Worms? Not Sure...

[BarnyardBlast]

We have raised Nigerian Dwarf goats for several years. I can identify and treat simple issues. I know our goats well enough to know if something is "off" but I'm not a goat expert. One of our neighbors moved here about two years ago and purchased goats. (We live in the country and have very few neighbors). He contacted us a few days ago and said that they had moved. They wondered if we would take their goats.

We rode over last night and ended up bringing them home with us. There is a Nubian adult female with a 6 month old (approx) male kid (intact). There is also an adult female Boer. The kid is missing half of an ear from a dog attack. (They have lost other goats to dog attacks, including one that we put down for them because they couldn't do it). It was almost dark, so we put them in an extra pen near another goat yard, fed them, and left them for the night.

This morning has been the first time I could see them in the light. They are all thin with hip bones and spine showing, but the Boer goat looks alarming. The flank is caved in to the point where the spine is the widest area. I'm going to try to upload some pics in the next post.

She is acting fine - her tail wags when she saw me and she ate an animal cookie out of my hand. She ate well, but nervously. They would all eat a bite or two, then back up, look around, before eating another bite or two (and then look around again, etc). She is moving around. I didn't notice any sign of diarrhea. Her tail wasn't wet. I looked around the yard for signs of odd bowel movements, but saw nothing (it's possible I missed it, but all the pellets in the goat yard looked normal but a bit clumpy in some). She doesn't look to be in distress.

I was worried that over-feeding would make them sick, so I gave them about twice what I give my adult Nigerians (although they would have happily ate more - they wolfed it down). I'm thinking about feeding a bit more in a couple of hours and then again tonight. I don't know what they've been fed, but I think they were forage-only goats. We looked around for food and water but didn't see either for the goats. (There is also a cow and bull, horse, and two dogs over there. I am going back over this afternoon to make sure that they have water at least. I told my husband to call the neighbor back and ask who is watching the other animals for them.) Our large animal vet is out of town this week, but I've left a message asking for a home visit next week. I want him to check for worms, usual goat testing and also to treat for worms (and preventative treatments for the goats in the yard next to them). I have worming medication here, but I'm almost afraid to treat her because she's so thin. I would love some suggestions.

 

[BarnyardBlast]

 

[babsbag]

I would say that checking for parasites is the right place to start and boy is she thin. How does her lower eye membrane look? White, light pink, bright pink? That will give you an idea if she is suffering from the most common problem...Barber Pole worms. I wouldn't worm if they are white or light pink without getting the vet to look at her. Feeding good hay is probably your best bet and go easy on the grain. Good for you to take care of them, but please keep them quarantined.

 

[Hens and Roos]

lucky for the animals to have you step in and care about them! I agree with @babsbag

 

[maritown]

Wow, poor goats! Good on you for taking them.

I agree with the above poster. You can feed grain gradually to get weight on them but goat rumens depend on hay and forage. I would get an all over vet check and a fecal done so you can treat for any parasites.

Also, you need to separate the buck. He will breed them and the last thing you want is emaciated pregnant does if he hasn't already.

 

[Latestarter]

Since you also have no idea regarding CL/CAE/Johnes, it's a really good idea to keep them quarantined away from any area that your own animals might use near term. Those folks need to be reported for just moving and leaving those animals to fend for themselves. That's a shame and a crime. Thank you for going to their rescue. I hope it doesn't bite you in the hind end for caring. Please give us an update as you can. Best of luck.

 

[BarnyardBlast]

My husband forgot to check the eyelids when he went out to feed them tonight, so I'll check in the morning. He was a bit shocked once he had a good look at her and said that he was so mad he forgot to look at her eyelids. He spends a lot of time talking to the animals and petting them - it was dark when he returned tonight.

I spoke to one of the neighbors and they insist that the goat has "always been that way". They said that she might be a bit thinner now than when they left, but she's always been skinny. They said that she was not quite that thin before she kidded several months ago, but after kidding she always looked emaciated. I asked if they had wormed her and she said that they did worm her with the pellet feed wormer. She indicated that the goats were able to graze and eat whatever they liked. (I don't know if they ever supplemented with any type of feed and she said the goats were never sick so never needed a vet). I really didn't know what else to say, so ended the conversation. Afterwards, they drove back to their house next door and fed all of the other animals. They also stopped by here to go look at the goat and again, insisted that she has always looked that way.

I've put a freeze on moving any animals on our farm until the goat issue is resolved. I'm hoping for a call back from the vet's office tomorrow to let me know when he can come out. There are two goats in the pen next to them and I'm going to leave them there for now. I plan to have the vet treat them along with the new goats. (I also want to document the goat's condition...). They aren't sharing any yards but they share a fence line. Since they've probably been exposed, I'd rather not move them and contaminate another area.

I've been reading and have seen posts by others that some goats become very skinny after kidding - but am I wrong in thinking that this is a bit extreme?

I plan to separate the boy out soon. He hasn't shown interest in the ladies, yet, but I know he will soon. He's sweet but a little scared. He is the only kid that survived several dog attacks in the past and half of one of his ears is missing. Once the vet clears him, he'll move into a different area.

Today, we fed them every few hours a small amount of feed/grain. They've had a small field to themselves and we put hay and alfalfa in their shelter. I'm scared about doing too much, too fast. They all seem happy and excited to see us and they are wolfing down their feed. I'm still so furious I can't think straight. I'll feel better once a vet arrives and gives me a treatment plan. I plan to go to Tractor Supply tomorrow. Anything in particular I could purchase to help, gently, put weight on her? We give our goats regular feed, sweet feed, and BOSS. They usually get hay unless they're kids or milking - then they get alfalfa. I've never had a goat look like this, ever. I'm not sure if there's anything else we can give her to help her out.

 

[Southern by choice]

Kidding can cause stress and parasitic bloom, some goats can crash after kidding as well and become taxed by nursing their kid/s.
Yes, she needs weight BUT the coat is very shiny and that is a good sign.

Deworming after fecal and continued deworming to break the cycle is important.
I would take it easy on too much rich stuff at once or you can cause more issues.
A good grass hay with some alfalfa mixed in or as a little each day is far better than throwing straight alfalfa to her.
Grain slowly. Looks like your plan from what I read.

After you check the eye membranes, if the goat is anemic I would give red cell (its for horses) this will provide all nutrients the goat needs.
Talk with your vet of course first but it is gentle and contains all the goat needs- slowly allowing her body to adjust.
Probiotics would be great!
CD & T vaccine is a good idea too.

Yes she is skinny but that coat is shiny, the eyes are not dull ... this could be from kidding. Maybe she was on the thin side prior to and this tipped over the edge a bit.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I would take it slow and wait for the vet to check things out. Ya certainly don't want to create yourself more problems by overfeeding in a short period of time. If you have trees on your property....sweetgum, live oak, privet, or honeysuckle....ya can cut some branches or limbs and put it in the pen with them for quality browse. I would stick with hay and browse for the time being. If she appears in good spirits and is moving normally, I'd wait on anything else til ya know what ya may be dealing with. It is certain that she isn't going to gain weight overnite and too much grain too quickly will certainly do more harm than good. Your concern is obvious and justified, but patience is called for here. There isn't any worm or parasite medication that works on every kind, so until ya know what it is you are targeting....giving medication may not affect the parasites she may have. As long as they are eating hay, grass, or browse they'll be okay til the vet can check them. They will be delighted for your attention....cause it sure is obvious they weren't getting much til ya got to them.

 

[babsbag]

Calf manna is really good for helping with condition but I would give 1/2 of the suggested amount that is on the bag. Also make sure that they have a goat mineral, that was probably lacking too.