# Blood Loss - Young Kid



## sweetmusic (Sep 15, 2009)

I've just picked up some new kids and have a problem. All was fine for the 6:00AM bottle, but around 9:00 I went out to say hello and found a five day old kid bleeding profusely from a disbudding burn. It wasn't arterial spurting but not far from it. His face was covered, steady running streams causing him to snort blood in his mouth and both nostrils, splashes all over the pen, a mess. He may have been butting heads with another boy who has suspicious splash marks on his face.

I applied direct pressure, picked him up and ran for the first aid kit. Blood stop powder and pressure eventually got the bleeding stopped, and I cleaned his nostrils and mouth so he could breath freely. I was concerned about shock so I tucked him inside my jacket. When he perked up a bit I offered him a very warm bottle. He drank that, and has peed and pooped, which I thought were good signs. He is now wearing a sweater, tucked in a crate over a warming pad, here in the house. He's a little subdued but not really out of it and not dehydrated when I pinch a skin fold. I'll certainly keep him away from his rowdy compatriots for a couple of days while the burns heal.

What should I do next? We've had goats for several years but this is a first. I'm concerned that he may have aspirated some blood, and he certainly lost quite a good bit. Oral electrolytes by bottle or tube if necessary? Anything to ward off possible inhalation pneumonia or just watchful waiting? Extra nutrition to help restore what he lost?

Thanks for your help,
Elizabeth


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Well lets not assume the worst just yet. Treat for blood loss by adding some electrolytes to the milk and make sure it gets numerous small feeding per day to help in replenishing the lost fluids. From your description it sounds like all the bleeding was from the outside of the horn and not from the sinus cavity. That is good. You did the right thing in getting the blood stopped and treating for shock. I wouldn't worry about pneumonia or anything unless I heard raspy breathing or saw some other symptom that would indicate a problem. Now you just need to make sure it gets plenty of fluids and time to heal.


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## sweetmusic (Sep 15, 2009)

Thanks for the reply - he originally had enough blood in his mouth and nose that he was bubbling when he tried to breath. Once the bleeding was stopped I cleaned with a damp cloth until he was able to breath freely. 

Now five hours later he's had a couple more small warm drinks and seems to like being a house and lap goat. The area between the burn and his eye was quite swollen so I gave him a tiny dab of banamine paste. It doesn't look like there's a hematoma under the skin, just generalized swelling. 

He has dozed much of the day, but that seems normal with very young kids. His breathing isn't really rattling or wheezing, but is a little rapid. He does keep sneezing and shaking his head. If I were looking at his eyelids for Famancha I'd say he needed to be wormed - definitely much paler than the other kids but still pink, not white.

We'll keep providing TLC and give him time to recover.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Sounds like you have a good handle on everything, maybe even some medical training as well?

A cold compress might help with the swelling. Sounds like he lost a lot of blood if his eyelids and gums are light pink. If you gently push on them I would suspect a delayed capillary refill. I'm guessing thats probably the reason for his rapid breathing as well, as his system tries to get oxygen to everything with less blood volume to do it with. He should regenerate the lost blood cells pretty rapidly. 

Goats are reported to be able to store extra water in the blood stream to use later allowing them to go days without drinking, so any fluids you can get into him will probably make a noticeable difference.


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## sweetmusic (Sep 15, 2009)

A long, long, long time ago I helped pay for school working for a vet taking care of dogs and cats, then used to spend my days with lab rats, later in hazmat remediation and had to qualify as an EMT. Becoming a mom actually did more for practical medical training than everything else combined.

NONE of that was with bleeding baby goats - and our goats have already taught me how much I don't know about goats. I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge in this group!


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