Pregnant doe looking poor...LOOK AT LUCY NOW :) UPDATE WITH PICS!

[EggsForIHOP]

What would you do? I have a Saanen doe that will be 2 this spring and she in the last week ahs started looking poorly and thin...I took it at first for the weight of the babies dragging down on her and gravity taking affect...I myself have never been a fan of gravity and what it does to the body...so at first I wasn't worried...but now....

She has for sure lost weight, her eyelids are pale, and she is due to kid the middle of this month. What would you do? I don't want to go thinking I have more than half a clue and worm with the wrong thing, she has always got access to loose minerals (purina goat minerals) and has had a BoSe and copper boost a few weeks back now...but still...

I have a myriad of wormers out in the barn, red cell on hand, and besides that I am out of ideas. If she wasn't preggers I wouldn't fret my little heart over this - but SO close to her due date I don't wanta go screwing things up. I FINALLY dug out the camera and it's charger just to get pics:

Laying down...eh...not so very bad....

From behind you can see her hips and a touch of her ribs (and of course her brand new just starting to form pretty little udder)

From the side I can see WAY too much of her spine and her ribs are kinda starting to get more apparent....

And this shot I took of her eyelid the best I could get...I mean, I know all of my goats are a tad different, but for Lucy, it's looking pale...

What route would ya'll be taking? If it weren't a crazy long haul to the vet I'd run a fecal in...but out here in the boonies it's a good hour plus drive everytime I leave here, and that's just one way! So, I'd like to be able to tackle this without all crazy running around (because sure enough if I do leave she would decide to kid while I was gone)

Thank you in advance for all advice given!


ETA: Please ignore the hot mess in the background, it POURED rain last night and I have spent most of my day trying to clean this giant puddle up back into a farm

 

[20kidsonhill]

I'd worm her with safegaurd for 3 days in a row, or ivermectin(1cc per 20lbs) once a week for 3 weeks. And give her red cell daily for a few days.

If she gets worse I would give her an iron shot, of pig iron. 2cc IM.

Ofcourse you could always do a fecal.

Coccidiosis isn't out of the question either. I would treat that with sulfa-dimethoxine for 5 days in a row.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Dimethox is safe for pregnant does? I ask because I have 2 doelings due their cocci prevention tomorrow anyways...so I could run Lucy a round of it the same as them easily without getting confused, etc....it's already prepped and ready for the morning (Meaning I know where it is as I loose things sometimes)

And I really would run a fecal, my vet would take a poo sample no questions asked...but honestly it's a LONG haul there and back if I can nip this at the house without the travel I would like to try...

 

[ksalvagno]

I would do Safeguard, Ivomec and DiMethox. If your Safeguard is liquid, I would dose it at lcc per 10 lbs. Do it for 3 days. Do it for 3 days again two weeks later. Do the Ivomec once every 10 days for 3 times. I would also get some red cell into her. She really is thin. You may also want to get some calf manna and add that to her feed. Maybe even some beet pulp for added fiber.

 

[cmjust0]

In my humble experience, the thinner a goat is, the paler its eyelids will be. I think it's got to do with overall hydration, because I've also seen goats go from nice fleshy pink to WHITE in a matter of hours as they dehydrated with bacterial scour. And the thinner a goat is, the quicker it is to become dehydrated..

Having said that, I think she ultimately just needs more body condition. It wouldn't hurt to deworm now as she may have some barberpoles waking up since she's getting so close to kidding, but really I'd focus more on ramping up her feed. With her condition being so low going *into* a lactation cycle...well, she's only going to get worse trying to feed babies. It's virtually impossible to fatten a doe while she's lactating, so the bigger head start you can get on it, the better.

Definitely make sure you deworm her within a day or two of kidding, and I'd probably follow that up a few weeks later with another round. Pregnancy causes barberpole worms to basically go into hibernation, so that they can spring back to life and begin infesting things just after the baby is born.. Yanno, so they can infect the babies. And also because they're F*$%(#@ EVIL.

She's a pretty girl, btw. And don't feel too bad about her looking so skinny...it happens, especially at this stage of pregnancy. Anybody with any sense at all knows you're taking care of her because she's just far too sparkly white to be anything less than spoiled rotten.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Our feed here is a mix I found another goat owner has been using and it consists of: whole oats, BOSS, beet pulp shreds, calf manna, and alfalfa pellets - I get the feeling because Lucy is "Lowman on the Totem Pole Lucy" she may have an issue GETTING TO the feed - so I will be sure to up hers a little and just start feeding her on the stand apart from the others to be sure she gets in her fair share of groceries.

She actually JUST came to be with us last month (the day after New Years) and though we wormed her post trip once with ivomec...I wonder if it wasn't my fault a little for not hitting her again with it? She's the cousin to our other Saanen and I just COULD NOT pass her up - she's such a love!

Riddle me this: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN ADD TO HER DIET AS A SUPPLEMENT TO HELP HER PUT A LITTLE WEIGHT ON? I mean, with the horses I can add a tiny bit of corn oil and they get fatter overnight...BUT with the goats I am sticking away from everything corn as much as possible...so what else is there?

Also...just a thought...could going from lovely weed filled pastures at her old house to the crummy hay we have available here be affecting things? Lord knows with this drought the hay is almost less nutritious I would bet than just eating dirt is...though thankfully things are springing up somewhat green around here...

And as for spoiled rotten...there's not one thing here that isn't spoiled just a little

 

[currycomb]

i would say not getting her fair share. maybe pen her next to the other goats,but free choice alfalfa pellets and beet pulp shreds. you could soak that and offer it that way. will take a day or two for her to learn to like it, but once she does, look out. my secret to feeding poor doing animals of all species

 

[elevan]

Riddle me this: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN ADD TO HER DIET AS A SUPPLEMENT TO HELP HER PUT A LITTLE WEIGHT ON? I mean, with the horses I can add a tiny bit of corn oil and they get fatter overnight...BUT with the goats I am sticking away from everything corn as much as possible...so what else is there?

Dyne High Calorie Liquid Dietary Supplement

http://www.jefferspet.com/dyne-high-calorie-supplement/camid/PET/cp/272/

Helps combat dehydration, improves weight gain and increases stress resistance.

http://www.jefferspet.com/images/label/272.htm

Dosage - Goat and Sheep: 1 oz. per animal three (3) times per day.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I pen a couple of my more timid does up at night separated from the others, and feed them extra then. Seems to work pretty well, that way they can still get out during the day, but get plenty of feed.

 

[Roll farms]

I would go get her some bales of really, really good alfalfa and stall her up w/ a flake 2x a day. She will need the added protein.

I also let my 'heavy producers' have corn. One doe won't let me start milking until she gets her full scoop (1.5 c) of corn in front of her. Without it she dances and wiggles.

I wouldn't go dumping a ton of it in front of a doe who's not used to it, but a handful or two when you put her in to eat alfalfa won't hurt a thing.

I'm hesitant to go trying to fatten up a preggo w/ grain alone (by that I mean feed, regardless of what kind) before kidding simply b/c I don't want to make HUGE babies that they'll have trouble getting out. So if they need extra condition before kidding, I really push the alfalfa.

The safeguard for 3 days, and red cell daily for a few days, are a great suggestion...and alfalfa pellets...but I personally would keep some alfalfa in front of her and instead of a TON of extra grain, I'd make sure her regular ration has as much bang as possible and then up the GOOD hay.

Dairy goats NEED good alfalfa to produce well, from start to finish of the pregnancy, IMHO...and trying to put condition on them at this stage will be hard....you may have to dry her off early and try to fatten her up for next year.