# Kid passed away



## rtdoyer (May 6, 2010)

Saturday morning we went out to feed and all 5 Alpine babies (16 days old) were fine. At noon we went out to feed and Buck (one of the boys) ate about 1/2 his bottle and then didn't want anymore. We went back out an hour or so later and he wasn't feeling good - wasn't laying down or anything, but wasn't wagging his tail and wasn't really interested in anything (no bloat or flimsy limbs either). I soon discovered I had the wrong kind of thermometer so I couldn't take his temperature. 

About one hour later he was on his side struggling to breath and completely floppy (no muscle control at all). I called a friend (30 year dairy goat raiser so I trust her knowledge) and she suggested floppy kid and that I do pepto. Gave Pepto and within 30 minutes the goat passed away.

What would I do different next time? The whole process of not feeling good to passing was maybe 5-6 hours. If I had given pepto at the noon bottle, would it have made a difference? I had penicillin, would a small injection have made a difference? If I had a thermometer and he had a fever, what would I have done?

I've read up on Floppy Kid Syndrome and this doesn't seem like that - there was no period of wobbly or anything.

Although Buck was only 16 days old, it was our first baby to pass and I would like to be better if this should happen again. It was very tramautic, especially for my 8 year old daughter, especially not being able to explain why.

Thanks for the tips!
Tonia


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

That sounds like Pneumonia. it hits young goats really hard and kills fast. the next time you find a kid only eating 1/2 a bottle give him a shot of antibiotic right away. as you have seen if you wait he will die. remember to carry through with a full antibiotic treatment once you start.


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

It could also be untreated cocci. At that age it's a little early but it can hit them hard like that. The temp would have told you which way to look further. But these little guy s go fast. Probably not floppy as it hits between 3 and 10 days.


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## rtdoyer (May 6, 2010)

Is there a general antibiotic treatment rule of thumb? "___ cc's per pound twice a day for x number of days?". What would be the antibiotic of choice?

Also - does the coccidosis always have diarrhea? He didn't have any?

Tonia


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Good question
read the label. every antibiotic is different.
the normal douse is 1cc for kids under a month old. 3 to 5cc to adults.
when buying penicillin i like the three day between shots and two shots max.
there are several different companies producing this type of penicillin.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

it is my understanding that coccidosis always has diarrhea.
there is another potability was the mouth of the kid very wet? 
if so it could have been water mouth or E. Coli. this disease is incurable. 
prevention is to make sure that the kid has ample colostrum milk.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

I know this is a bit late, but wanted to weight in. Sounds like floppy. It can hit a kid as early as 12 hours or as late as a month. Mainly depends on the kids ability to handle the clostridial type AE bacteria that is in all dirt. When it comes to floppy kid there is no set symptom path other then they quickly die. Pepto is often suggested but I caution using it in a kid that is on the down hill side of floppy. At the point their stomachs have shut down, things like pepto will not work. The quickest way to kill a kid with floppy is to force it to ingest. A high mixture of baking soda and water in a syringe is what we almost solely use. BUT we have learned the absolute second a kid shows even the littlest sign of not being 100% (ears are a great indicator, so is a kids stance) we give them 3 to 6 syringes full of the baking soda and water. If a new born kid comes out and seems a little slow or less active, we will start giving a few syringes to it with in the first few hours of life and or pull them and their dam to our stalls IN the inner barn. Concrete floors, heated/cooled and insulated.

When in the critical stage, heavy breathing, flat out, crying, about the only hope you can do is to drain their stomach with a feeding tube. Insert it, and hang the kid upside down to drain. Then put some baking soda and water back in the tube. At this stage the milk in their belly is quickly rotting.


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## rtdoyer (May 6, 2010)

Appreciate the late reply, 

Do goats often make noises for certain ailments? You mentioned noise and crying, this goat was completely quiet, he just laid there and even on the downhill slide - he was never making noises of distress.

Tonia


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

The reason the Pepito didnt work was it was to late. I know its hard to catch it right as it starts but now that you know what to look for you can next time. What we do when we first see signs a kid may be starting even the slightest bit down is to give it a mix of baking soda and warm water. You want to re frame from putting anything else into the kids stomach because by this time the stomach has already started to shut down and the rumin isnt working so it cant digest anything. The baking soda is a rumin buffer and will help kick start it back working. The milk it drank was the catalyst. With the rumin not working it would of soured and started to become toxic. By the time a kid is down, we have found that adding anything to the stomach usually kills them within minutes. The only thing you can do at this point to drain the stomach with a tube and once emtpy, put a little bit of water and baking soda back in.


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