Ariel301
Loving the herd life
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- Jan 1, 2010
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It is quite possible. That or toxemia can take a doe down fast. We have the same problem, even the livestock vet in town won't see goats, just doesn't think they are worth the time, since the average cost of a goat here is $25 and the cost of a vet bill is $$$...when I took in an absolutely wonderful doe that was badly bloated, the vet sent her home to die, told me she didn't know what to do about it and it would realistically probably be cheaper to buy a bullet and a new goat. I was told the same by several vets when our favorite doeling got tetanus a few months ago, that they wouldn't advise wasting the money to try treatmentrebelINny said:I wonder if that isn't what I lost a four year old doe from recently. She was three weeks from kidding and just crashed. Vet said I should put her down. I wish I hadn't listened and knew about CMPK and tried that first. I don't think the vet was really wanting to help as it was a small animal vet.
I agree that at 5 she should not be arthritic unless she suffered a bad injury in the past (causing the injured joint to be stiff) or she's CAE positive. I'd definitely think about getting a CAE test, especially if you're planning on letting her nurse her own kids, as she can pass it on to them.


She was in hard labor for WAY too long. She never went off feed. She even nibbled on hay between contractions with the first kid. They were stong contractions, but to start out 2 were trying to come out at once I think. There was what looked like 2 bags coming out. The second one was mispositioned. His head and one leg were back. As soon as the first came out on it's own part of the second's leg came out behind it. I wondered if everything was okay when she quit making progress, but I was hesitating to get involved and possibly hurt her unnecessarily. She pushed hard several times over I don't know how long a period and finally gave up. I realized with panic then that something was seriously wrong. DS who is 10 was with me and we called the vet who guided me through pushing it back, repositioning it and helping to deliver it. While I was in there I found the 3rd baby. The last two were of course dead by now, but they were quite literally the most beautiful spotted babies I had ever seen. They would have been show stoppers if they had lived. I guess between whatever was already wrong and the long labor and stress it was too much for her. I guess if I EVER decide to do this ever again, then I have learned a hard lesson, but gained some knowledge like when NOT to wait. The whole thing seemed to only have lasted a short time, but when I finally got back inside with the new doeling, I had been out with her for nearly 7 1/2 hours. The new doeling however is doing great, but she just can't decide which of us is her momma. She is in the living room sound asleep right now.