# Help! My goat is foaming at the mouth!!!



## Coldbrook

Could she have gotten into something she shouldn't have eaten? She has foam around her mouth and over her nose, inhibiting her breathing. She is standing there in her stall just chewing and chewing and snuffling through all this foam. What on earth is wrong and what can I do about it? I have no clue here...She's a 6-year-old Pygmy, nursing a 6-week-old kid.


----------



## happybleats

Could be frothy bloat!!! First, check to be sure she does not have something stuck in her throat!!!
per *goat-link.com*

Bloat after Pasture on Lush Grass -Frothy Bloat (Legume Bloat) Treatment:

Check Airway for any Obstructions!
Administer an anti-foaming agent (ie: Tide Laundry detergent powder (1 TSP mixed with approx 60ccs water), Therabloat (3ccs mixed with 30 cc water),DiGel (4-6 TBSP) DO NOT Tube with OIL!
Administration of the anti-foaming agent should reduce the bloat almost immediately
After the release of the gases, administer orally a probiotic to refresh rumen flora
IF and I DO say IF.. all treatment is not working and the goat is in such distress as you feel it will die shortly and there is No time to call your vet, you will need to use a trocar to release the gas. But this is a dire emergency situation ONLY (read more below)
If the bloat continues after either of these treatments CALL YOUR VET.


----------



## OutdoorDreamer

Could she have "choked" on something? This is what happens to my younger kids when they eat their grain too fast, foam coming out of their mouth and chewing to get the piece down. Did you feed pelleted grain or alfalfa pellets?


----------



## happybleats

more from Goat Link

ALWAYS
check first for any obstructions in the mouth or throat that can be causing the bloat!
Get goat on it's feet if down and start walking it around
Elevate front end of goat if laying down
Massage & Pat rumen (high on left side of goat behind last rib) to help release gas ( the same method as you would use to burp a baby)
If goat start to belch up gas, then give it a tablespoon baking soda,either dry or in a small amount of water (I find putting it in a tablespoon and adding enough water to make a paste works very well as goats are a natural for spoon feeding with the upper dental pad) (


> I add it to enough water to drench)


If the gas does NOT come up with belching while massaging the rumen administer TIDE laundry detergent (one tablespoon of Tide powder mixed with approx 60 cc of water) carefully via tubing
If all other methods are not producing a relief from the excess gas, then is the time for the decision to use the trocar


----------



## Coldbrook

I didn't find any obstructions and the first thing I did was to put about a tablespoon of baking soda in her mouth, which seems to have reduced the foaming but her breathing still seems labored and her one side is very distended. She snuck into the barn today and got into what rabbit feed the bunnies shoved out of their feeders to the floor, but that shouldn't have been enough to cause this, would it? Am going back up to the barn to try the massaging. I don't know how to entubate and am scared to try an do it wrong. I do not have any Tide detergent powder either. I feel so unprepared for this. Would giving her her CDT shot right now help at all? She's due for her yearly booster anyway.


----------



## happybleats

CD&T wont help right now...get a 1 teaspoon baking soda in enough water to drench...make sure it gets downher throat...then message her left side likeyou are kneading bred dough...bounce her belly and walk her hard...keep repeating... it take time but keep doing it until she begins to burp or toot and then do it some more..


----------



## happybleats

you will surprised what upsets the rumen...a little or alot...if you have CD Antitoxon I would give that too...sub q no less than 6-8 cc...


----------



## jddolan

Don't think cdt will help at all


----------



## happybleats

explaination on CD&T: 
CD&T is a long acting *toxoid.*.it gets into the system slow and works long...so in emergency situation it wont do much good.
CD *Antitoxin* get in the system fast and works fast but leaves fast...which is why we retreat every 6 hours or so...the soul purpose of C D Antitoxin is to prevent toxins from building in the gut while the rumen is not functioning properly


----------



## Coldbrook

OMGosh, you all thanks SO much. I think we're out of the danger zone. I got some baking soda paste in her (and started a shopping list for emergency goat supplies like Tide - who knew!) and rubbed and kneaded her sides and tummy. She's now relaxed, no longer foaming or struggling to breathe, her left side is no longer grossly distended and she's nursing her little one. I'll be keeping her inside and limiting her time on pasture. She doesn't know when (or how!) to stop eating. I am so grateful to all of you for the quick feedback and advice. I do believe you saved little Princess Pocahontas's life tonight!!!!


----------



## HoosierShadow

Hmmm... We had a doe bloat once, no foam though, but she was in distress. We drenched her with baking soda, then some vegetable oil, I think 20cc of the oil, and massaged her belly vigorously rubbing, rubbing, rubbing until she started tooting, and like a balloon deflating her belly went down, and she was normal again..went out to eat hay lol


----------



## Curious

So glad that she's doing well now. Just make sure to keep an eye on her throughout the night until she passes everything. The times I've dealt with bloat, their tummies got big again after a few hours and I had to treat again, but after a day they were fine. Just my experience with it. I'm so happy that she's okay though, they sure like to scare the life out of you!


----------



## happybleats

wow...fast work..Im so happy she i fine : ) I would keep her on grass hay the rest of the night...give a bit of probiotics to help restore flora in her gut...but sounds like she will be just fine...
I was thinking the same thing about that shopping list !!..I dont have any tide either lol..we make our own laundry soap lol..but I will buy one of those small boxes and keep in the barn : ) 
Dont forget C D antitoxin on your list..most of us have to order it..so its good to do that before you need it..it is a goat life saver ...I amnever without it


----------



## Tenacross

I think it was the rabbit food and I think the baking soda saved her.


----------



## HoosierShadow

Yep I am with Tenacross about the rabbit food. Amazing how sensitive their bellies are.

If it happens again, you can try using Vegetable oil, or whatever cooking oil you have. That with the baking soda definitely helped our doe, and she was bloated so bad. Thankfully I knew what to do and was able to act fast. She was just fine afterwards, never happened again. I think she might have gotten some moldy hay by accident.


----------



## MsScamp

HoosierShadow said:


> If it happens again, you can try using Vegetable oil, or whatever cooking oil you have.


Oil does not work with frothy bloat and, if I'm not mistaken, can actually make it worse. You have to lower the tension on the bubbles so they will break - hence the Tide.


----------

