Hi Group,
I've been lurking for a while but this is my first post. Post will be long but I'll try to supply as much info as I can below.
We purchased 4 dwarf nigerian goats just over 90 days ago. All males, all debudded. I was raised on a farm many years ago but had never raised goats prior to this. I think /thought we bought them from a reputable breeder - the goats are all he does, and he was a goat show judge for many years. However, looking back, I'm a little upset with the information he provided. One of my first questions was, "What do I need to be aware of, look for as far as health, and what, if any medications do I need to keep on hand?" His answer was, "They are pretty care free and know what to eat and what not to eat and how to take care of themselves. If they get diarrhea, give them scour medication." I asked about vaccinations. He said, " I used to vaccinate but don't any more and haven't had any issues". We bottle fed the goats until they were just over 8 weeks. They had already started browsing well before being fully weaned.
We are located in North Georgia, north east of Atlanta. We have a fenced in area of about a half acre just for the goats. Most of that is wooded ( edge of the woods) with several types of briars (seems to be a favorite), muscadine wines, poplar, oak, pine, dogwood, poison ivy and other woodland plants of the area - lots of undergrowth. Some grass - centipede and fescue. A lot of browsing. A natural spring runs through the area and a very small pond are accessible by the goats. Lots of green growth around the pond edges. The goats have a covered and enclosed area off the ground to get out of the weather, stay dry and sleep.
One of the goats had been "puny" the entire time and seemed to be slower and less active than the rest. It loved to be petted and came up to us every time we went out but was noticeably separate from the others most of the time. It ate less than the others but always ate. We'd only had them a couple of weeks when one day the runt started acting like a "zombie" - very slow, very quiet, with a blank stare. No diarrhea. I started calling vets but it was a Sunday and none were immediately available. Was down and dead within hours. Was on it's side - crying out and kicking some before dying. Just because of what we'd observed, and not knowing any better, we assumed something had been wrong with it all along and that it was an anomaly.
Out of the blue, couple of weeks later, our most active, best eater (they were still being bottle fed but had started nibbling/browsing), suddenly looked the same. Also a Sunday, no vet available. Again, down and dead within a couple of hours with the same circumstances. Had been playing, vocalizing, and eating fine just a few hours earlier. Called the breeder. He said he had no idea and had never seen anything like it.
Hit the Internet and found you guys along with several other sites. Based on what I read I started making some changes. Based on what we observed, I "think" the first 2 died of enterotoxemia. Please correct if you see something different. Got the CDT vaccine and immunized the remaining 2. Got the C&D antitoxin to keep on hand. Started putting probiotics and and a round of corid in their milk. Also got goat minerals and have had a small amount freely available to them ever since. We'd also started, before the 2nd one died, giving a small amount of goat feed in addition to their milk, and later, their browsing. Have given very little feed to this point however and relied mainly on their browsing.
A short time later, I saw what I thought was a scratch on of the goats eyes. The next day, it was almost completely white. Hit the Internet, determined pink eye, treated with Liquimycen injections and a pink eye gel. Looked horrible for a few days and I was convinced it woudl be blind in the eye if not lose it. Fully recovered a little over a week later. Yeah! First health success.
Its been over a month since then - no issues. Goats eating well, pooping well, playing well, dozing/sleeping well. Vocalizing well.
Yesterday, one of the goats (Max) had a slight amount of diarrhea and "crust" around one of it's eyes. He was eating fine/ acting fine. Did not have any scour medication on-hand but did give a shot of Liquimycen. Went to tractor supply this morning for scour medication. Got home, no diarrhea, eyes were clean and clear, and the goat was eating/acting well. I didn't give any other meds. Had a short, but heavy rain come through this afternoon. My daughter went out to the goats afterwards and called to me that Max was on his side and couldn't get up. I immediately got the CD antitoxin and gave an SQ injection. I followed in a different location with another Liqumycen injection. Sat with him for a while and while he did not seem to get any better, he also did not seem to get any worse. His eyes were following us and he would bleat at us and the other goat and nibble, but not eat, if something was offered. We found the others before they were on thier sides and they were gone within an hour or so and pretty much unresponsive after we foudn them. Had some hope that Max may pull through. Came back in and hit the Internet. Read that it was recommended to treat with the antitoxin every 2 hours or so. My daughter had just came in and said Max was still alive. We went out for another injection but he was no longer breathing and we couldn't find/see a pulse anywhere.
The biggest thing we've not done, that I have seen mentioned here, is worm the goats. With other animals, I've seen signs of worms, then wormed them with no other issues. Have not seen any signs of worms in the goat's poop - not sure if it's as obvious with them - and have not treated. Breeder says that he doesn't treat and has large herds. I am guessing this has been a mistake for us.
My wife said maybe we're not meant to have goats. We've really enjoyed them and think we've learned a lot so far but have much more to learn. Outside of the sudden deaths (yes, thats a big deal) the goats have seemed very happy and healthy. Would love to continue to keep them but definitely don't want to if our batting average with them doesn't improve. What are we doing wrong and/or what should we be doing differently?
Thanks for your thoughts.
I've been lurking for a while but this is my first post. Post will be long but I'll try to supply as much info as I can below.
We purchased 4 dwarf nigerian goats just over 90 days ago. All males, all debudded. I was raised on a farm many years ago but had never raised goats prior to this. I think /thought we bought them from a reputable breeder - the goats are all he does, and he was a goat show judge for many years. However, looking back, I'm a little upset with the information he provided. One of my first questions was, "What do I need to be aware of, look for as far as health, and what, if any medications do I need to keep on hand?" His answer was, "They are pretty care free and know what to eat and what not to eat and how to take care of themselves. If they get diarrhea, give them scour medication." I asked about vaccinations. He said, " I used to vaccinate but don't any more and haven't had any issues". We bottle fed the goats until they were just over 8 weeks. They had already started browsing well before being fully weaned.
We are located in North Georgia, north east of Atlanta. We have a fenced in area of about a half acre just for the goats. Most of that is wooded ( edge of the woods) with several types of briars (seems to be a favorite), muscadine wines, poplar, oak, pine, dogwood, poison ivy and other woodland plants of the area - lots of undergrowth. Some grass - centipede and fescue. A lot of browsing. A natural spring runs through the area and a very small pond are accessible by the goats. Lots of green growth around the pond edges. The goats have a covered and enclosed area off the ground to get out of the weather, stay dry and sleep.
One of the goats had been "puny" the entire time and seemed to be slower and less active than the rest. It loved to be petted and came up to us every time we went out but was noticeably separate from the others most of the time. It ate less than the others but always ate. We'd only had them a couple of weeks when one day the runt started acting like a "zombie" - very slow, very quiet, with a blank stare. No diarrhea. I started calling vets but it was a Sunday and none were immediately available. Was down and dead within hours. Was on it's side - crying out and kicking some before dying. Just because of what we'd observed, and not knowing any better, we assumed something had been wrong with it all along and that it was an anomaly.
Out of the blue, couple of weeks later, our most active, best eater (they were still being bottle fed but had started nibbling/browsing), suddenly looked the same. Also a Sunday, no vet available. Again, down and dead within a couple of hours with the same circumstances. Had been playing, vocalizing, and eating fine just a few hours earlier. Called the breeder. He said he had no idea and had never seen anything like it.
Hit the Internet and found you guys along with several other sites. Based on what I read I started making some changes. Based on what we observed, I "think" the first 2 died of enterotoxemia. Please correct if you see something different. Got the CDT vaccine and immunized the remaining 2. Got the C&D antitoxin to keep on hand. Started putting probiotics and and a round of corid in their milk. Also got goat minerals and have had a small amount freely available to them ever since. We'd also started, before the 2nd one died, giving a small amount of goat feed in addition to their milk, and later, their browsing. Have given very little feed to this point however and relied mainly on their browsing.
A short time later, I saw what I thought was a scratch on of the goats eyes. The next day, it was almost completely white. Hit the Internet, determined pink eye, treated with Liquimycen injections and a pink eye gel. Looked horrible for a few days and I was convinced it woudl be blind in the eye if not lose it. Fully recovered a little over a week later. Yeah! First health success.
Its been over a month since then - no issues. Goats eating well, pooping well, playing well, dozing/sleeping well. Vocalizing well.
Yesterday, one of the goats (Max) had a slight amount of diarrhea and "crust" around one of it's eyes. He was eating fine/ acting fine. Did not have any scour medication on-hand but did give a shot of Liquimycen. Went to tractor supply this morning for scour medication. Got home, no diarrhea, eyes were clean and clear, and the goat was eating/acting well. I didn't give any other meds. Had a short, but heavy rain come through this afternoon. My daughter went out to the goats afterwards and called to me that Max was on his side and couldn't get up. I immediately got the CD antitoxin and gave an SQ injection. I followed in a different location with another Liqumycen injection. Sat with him for a while and while he did not seem to get any better, he also did not seem to get any worse. His eyes were following us and he would bleat at us and the other goat and nibble, but not eat, if something was offered. We found the others before they were on thier sides and they were gone within an hour or so and pretty much unresponsive after we foudn them. Had some hope that Max may pull through. Came back in and hit the Internet. Read that it was recommended to treat with the antitoxin every 2 hours or so. My daughter had just came in and said Max was still alive. We went out for another injection but he was no longer breathing and we couldn't find/see a pulse anywhere.
The biggest thing we've not done, that I have seen mentioned here, is worm the goats. With other animals, I've seen signs of worms, then wormed them with no other issues. Have not seen any signs of worms in the goat's poop - not sure if it's as obvious with them - and have not treated. Breeder says that he doesn't treat and has large herds. I am guessing this has been a mistake for us.
My wife said maybe we're not meant to have goats. We've really enjoyed them and think we've learned a lot so far but have much more to learn. Outside of the sudden deaths (yes, thats a big deal) the goats have seemed very happy and healthy. Would love to continue to keep them but definitely don't want to if our batting average with them doesn't improve. What are we doing wrong and/or what should we be doing differently?
Thanks for your thoughts.