My family and I brought home 2, 4 month old NDG doelings about a month ago. They’ve both been fine.. eating, drinking, foraging. All of a sudden I came home today and one of them is dead. I am so sad and I have absolutely no idea what went wrong. The previous owner said they wormed them a week or 2 before I got them. They don’t have CDT but I was told to wait until they got a little bigger to do that. They’ve been eating 10% all stock and free feeding hay. I do not understand what could have happened. What should I do with the other doeling? I have read goats don’t do well alone.
Lost a doeling
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misfitmorgan
Herd Master
Look for a new goat friend for her. As far the CDT goes no idea why they told you to wait to give it to them. Normally CDT is given one of two ways, either the dam is vaccinated shortly before kidding and then the kid id vaccinated when born or the kid is vaccinated when born and then again 21-28 days later. As far as I know you can give CDT at any time and any age.
The one that is still alive check her eyes to see if they are white or not, even if she was wormed that doesnt mean the once was enough. Check her back end to see if she has any feces on it, if she does treat for cocci. You also have the option of taking a fecal sample to your vet to have a fecal egg count performed which would tell you for sure what her parasite load is.
The one that is still alive check her eyes to see if they are white or not, even if she was wormed that doesnt mean the once was enough. Check her back end to see if she has any feces on it, if she does treat for cocci. You also have the option of taking a fecal sample to your vet to have a fecal egg count performed which would tell you for sure what her parasite load is.
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Okay. Thank you I will go ahead and give her the CDT and give her another dose of the wormer. As far as treating for Cocci, is Corid the best bet? And is there something I can give her as a preventative for cocci?
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- #4
There’s also not a lot of female NDG for sale near me. Do Pygmy goats pair well as companions? Or is it best to stick with one breed at a time? Sorry for all the questions! I’m super new to this.
Alaskan
Herd Master
What color are her eyes... or her gums? Is she pale?
A pygmy and a NDG are fine together, roughly the same size is good,breed doesn't really matter.
Do make sure the new one is healthy. Tested for CL, CAE, and Johnes would be great.
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I just checked her eyelids and they seem pale. We’re on our way to a livestock vet. Based on what I’ve been reading I feel pretty confident the one who passed had barber pole worms because she was eating and drinking, but almost overnight got lethargic and sad. We’ve only had these babes since July 14th and I’m super new to this so I figured she was stressed and adjusting. I can’t believe I didn’t notice how poorly she was doing.
Alaskan
Herd Master
Worms can definitely be problematic.
They don't always respond to the meds used....
At least with the kids i have raised, either they do great.... or they die. They don't give much notice.
farmerjan
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Worms can be harbored in their gut tract... then when something stresses them... like changing their address when you bought them, it can trigger the worm load to just go into overdrive.. and it can kill them quicker than you know. It is not something you did wrong... it is something you didn't know... and being new, you can only do so much. It is obvious you are trying real hard to be a good owner... don't beat yourself up over it. Things like this can happen to anyone... and can sneak up on even experienced people. Going to a livestock vet is a very good start... and shows that you are willing to take charge and figure it out.
We have cattle and sheep, but lambs can do the same thing... and die overnight....
Any other kind of goat that is somewhat similar in size will be fine. Get a female or a wethered male... If they grow up together then they ought to get along just fine...even if you got one that would grow up to full size.... if they start out near the same size, they will be buddies and size won't matter as much... "mutt and jeff" kind of thing...
We have cattle and sheep, but lambs can do the same thing... and die overnight....
Any other kind of goat that is somewhat similar in size will be fine. Get a female or a wethered male... If they grow up together then they ought to get along just fine...even if you got one that would grow up to full size.... if they start out near the same size, they will be buddies and size won't matter as much... "mutt and jeff" kind of thing...
misfitmorgan
Herd Master
Corid is not actually labeled for use with goats as it inhibits some vitamin B in goats. So unless she has obvious signs of coccidiosis such as a lot of feces caked on her back end I would just go with a medicated goat pellet to treat/prevent for now. There are several brands they sell at most any feed store, any goat feed that says medicated is for treating or preventing coccidiosis.
Hope the vet visit went well!
As far as not noticing/losing her goats have a very steep learning curve. We all lose animals and the fact is despite our best efforts sometimes it just happens. A animal can look perfectly fine or just very slightly out of sorts and be dead in 24hrs, being prey animals they hide all the symptoms they can for as long as possible. The longer you have goats the more you will learn but be prepared and aware no matter how much to do learn, no matter how good your vet or your livestock is, you are always going to have losses from a myriad of things you will kick yourself for. The more you learn the less often you will have losses though which is nice.
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- #10
Update. Vet said the doeling has several different types of worms as well as pneumonia. She’s on 2 different dewormers and an antibiotic at the moment. This is all so crazy to me considering we’ve only had them for 2 weeks. I appreciate all the advice and everyone’s kind words! Thank you ❤️
