Down Buck

[Southern by choice]

You are clearly grieving this guy and understandably so. My bucks are my heart.
I read your last line but it needs to be said.
Every suggestion you or others have made is what is inhumane.
In .004 of a second his suffering will end. There is no more humane way than to do this.
We have had to do this to a few goats over the years, it is not easy, it is very painful for the human heart.
We like to think these other methods are better but they are not, they take far longer than people know.
Ending suffering for the animal is the priority, setting aside our feelings to do what is right and fastest for the animal cannot be selfish.
Do what is right, don't make him suffer any more.


I want you to know, I absolutely do feel the agony and the pain of what you are going through. It is because I can see how much you love him that I want to encourage you.

 

[Farmer Connie]

Did the vet do a fecal?

Not this time. At the time of her visit she was her to see a young wether who was suffering from urinary calculi. During that period, Jr Buck wasn't that bad. Is was starting to head down hill but could still walk but had rapid weight loss. A week prior he busted into the turkey pen and ate a bunch of medicated feed. The Dr. injected him with Thiamine and instructed us to dose him with our cydectin which we already had handy.

Did he have a temperature?

Not this time. She has on young does in the past that had scours but not this time with the Buck. He has had no problem urinating so calculi was ruled out.

I would be drenching him with probiotics asap.

We have been giving him Probiotic plus paste.

If he is severely anemic did the vet give iron?

No again. I do have a large bottle of Red Cell that we drench baby pigs with. I don't know the dosage for goats.

but NOT labeled for goats so you really want to consult about dosages etc.

I could have tried a 2 to 4 cc drench I suppose.

What kind of feed are you feeding? (Brand)

He is off grain completely now(VET'S ORDERS). In the days before the troubles, It was a custom blend wet stock 11% packaged for J & J Tack, a local store in our neck of the woods. THEN when Rurl King came to town we jumped on to the save a $ or 2 bandwagon and started using their brand of all stock wet 11%. Grain is always in moderation and not daily. He wasn't allowed with the nannies so it was easy to regulate his grain input volume.



R K Wet All Stock Tag off bag:

J & J Wet All Stock Bag Tag:

Photo of the Thiamine Mononitrate we have been treating him with, 100mgs daily.

Probiotic Plus Paste. 5ml every other day.

The Iron sup I am about to attempt to drench. I am thinking 5ml.

I have been drenching ammonium chloride in small amounts to counter react the calcium carbonate in the B1 tabs.

Also free will Vitamins/electrolytes

Until the last couple days, he has been eating a lot. Peanut hay and timothy.. bahia coastal. But took weak to stand.
I think all the ant bites messed him up bad. I dosed him with Banamine before this post..

 

[Southern by choice]

I know you are doing everything and have been. These are the times when you feel like you wish you could just reach through the computer and somehow magically just "be there". Sometimes it is just standing with and sharing in the burden.
I hate you are going through this with your guy.

 

[RoahT]

So sorry for you!! Losing loved animals is NOT easy.

 

[Southern by choice]

Just so you know I meant the embolism, overdose to euthanize. Those things are not good, and do cause suffering.
My heart aches for you, I have been in the same exact position as you... except it was with a buck that had a gut infection from Chaffhaye- actually 2 bucks. They are always worth fighting for. You have done so much and fought for this guy, you are a fighter and a great goat owner for doing so much and not giving up.
I'm pretty awful at words, especially with these things... my words get jumbled, and don't always come out the way I am trying to say them.
So I will have to let computer hugs try to say what I feel.

 

[Farmer Connie]

WE got almost 8 inches of rain yesterday on top of this. 17 piglets almost drown. A roof calapsed on a chicken hou se. I have been shoveling since yesterday..

I am a wreck today. Rescue the young pig litters is top on the list, and keeping red ants out of the bucks nose in between.
Yes that is a water drum in the new lake bed.
Trees are falling from soggy root systems as well. They shake the earth when they fall. Scarey stuff.

 

[TAH]

WE got almost 8 inches of rain yesterday on top of this. 17 piglets almost drown. A roof calapsed on a chicken hou se. I have been shoveling since yesterday..
View attachment 40588 View attachment 40587
I am a wreck today. Rescue the young pig litters is top on the list, and keeping red ants out of the bucks nose in between.
Yes that is a water drum in the new lake bed.
Trees are falling from soggy root systems as well. They shake the earth when they fall. Scarey stuff.

I'm so very sorry....

I can't imagine, I hope things settle down soon for you!

 

[Southern by choice]

Sometimes you just have to breathe deeply and remind yourself that this too shall pass... and keep plugging along.
That is a LOT of rain. Very scary. I'm overwhelmed just reading what you are going through.
We have never had ants before but this year we have biting ants... they aren't true fireants but what is kind of a mixture. The goats have stepped in the nests several times. To top it off we also have yellow jackets this year and they burrow and nest in the ground... step on the hole and out they come.

 

[RoahT]

Wow, that's crazy!! Be strong and keep going!
One thing I thought of for your buck is that you might feed him the following recipe:
Mix 1/2 lb of seaweed and 1 lb of molasses together and add enough hot water to blend well, kind of like a paste. Then add enough milk to make it to where he can drink it. I had a friend who had a cow down and fed her this and she was up within minutes. I had a sheep down (much sicker than the cow example) and although she could not eat or drink very well I would squirt in into her mouth and she would swallow it. Sadly, she did not make it, by the time I had identified what she needed it was to late, but it seemed to make her stronger and more comfortable while she was alive. She was groaning from discomfortbut when I fed her the mixture she would stop groaning and got so much stronger I seriously thought she was going to pull through. Even if it doesn't save your buck, it has a lot of nutrients to strengthen the animals body and make him not feel so sick.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I am so sorry you are going through this.
I know you do not like the bullet method, and I understand what a hard situation this is. Do you have anyone you can call to put him down? Any local farmers you can call?
Of course no one "likes" that job- it is terrible. But there have been times where it is best just to call someone out to determine the deed.

Please DO NOT inject an air bubble in a major artery. This is not an acceptable way of euthanasia.

As for the buck, it sounds like he has several issues going … I wish the vet would have done a fecal- so that you know what parasites you are fighting.

Red Cell is great for anemia. It has a lot of other "goodies" too.

Was the goat ever treated for acidosis? How much chicken feed did he consume?