# Doe is off her feed and stretching



## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

So this afternoon Miss Violet (4 yr old saanen doe in milk) was fine, within a couple of hours, she doesnt want to eat her dinner, and she is stretching alot - like when you guys 'stack' your goats for show, how they straighten their back out. 

What's going on and what should I do?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would give her some baking soda. Maybe even some mineral oil.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Glad to hear someone is thinking along the same lines. I was thinking abdominal discomfort from the stretching. 

I have given her:

3 cc Vitamin C 
3 cc B complex
A big handful of Eno - which is a human powder for stomach upset, its bi carb and citric acid - couldnt find my bi carb (of course!) and asked the neighbour what she had since its 10pm here
15cc vege oil (dont have mineral oil)

She has done three big poos which were normal looking (goat berries but clumped together). 

She shook for 5 minutes after I gave her the injections, scared the living daylights out of me.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like she had a pretty good stomach ache going on. Maybe repeat the Eno and veg oil later on if she isn't looking totally better. At least she poo'd for you.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

lots and lots of poo. belly is nowhere near as big as it was, its all sunken in now. 

she is still not her normal self, still a bit of stretching, and she's staring off into space a bit. normally she would talk back to me when I call out her name, she's not doing that tonight. 

I need to go to bed for a few hours, will check her at 2.30am and if still having problems, give another dose of Eno and oil.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Is she prego? If she is due that stretching is positioning kids.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

if she looks like she's still in pain -- I would treat for that and I would give another does of VitB along with tummy meds.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Don't forget probios to bring back the good bacteria the oil drowned. They will help her stomachs recover faster.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with what was said.

Another thing to check for, are her eye's jumping around, and off balanced to one side at all, do you think it is Polio or listeria?


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Im calling the vet as soon as they open this morning. Im worried about rumen blockage. This is too similar to maddie who i lost from baling twine in her gut.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Well, I sure hope it isn't that!


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Well good news and bad news. 

Good news is, I just got home from work and went to call the vet and she is looking a bit better, talking to me a bit, more interested in things, and CHEWING HER CUD! Yaaay. Not completely normal but much better. She's nibbling on some oaten hay. 

Bad news is, I guess my answer is that it was bloat. Just looked over in the other stable and my nubian boy is standing in the corner BADLY bloated. Just gave him 60cc oil and will give some bicarb soda in half hour if no improvement. 

Question - can they bloat from good quality oaten hay? the only difference in their diet is that I managed to get some decent quality hay, last year's hay season was shocking and most of the hay was weather damaged, I've been trying hard to get decent hay that doesnt have mould through it, but its not sweet smelling and green like hay should be. Until yesterday, when I managed to find some really good sweet green bales, and I gave them some yesterday morning. Could the change in hay bring on bloat? I guess I always think of hay as a 'safe' food and grain as 'dangerous'


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Did you slowly introduce it? If you just put it out for them to fully enjoy, they probably bloated because they weren't used to it.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Nope didnt slowly introduce it, didnt think I needed to since its just hay, and to be honest didnt think there was THAT much difference between what they were getting and what I now have. Ran out of one bale, fed them the next one. Just surprised it could happen with cereal hay.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I had found I had to introduce hay slowly with alpacas so I just continued that pratice with the goats.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Interesting! Lesson learned, I'll make sure in the future I overlap my hay a bit so I can gradually switch over if there's a change in quality


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Thank goodness it was something you could easily take care of and not a blockage.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

HUGE relief! Fingers crossed thats all it was, I guess it seems likely now I have the little boy down with it as well


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

New hay also needs to cure. You want it to be 6 weeks from the field to be sure the acid content has stabilized.
I'm really glad it wasn't a string. That one just sucks. (sorry)


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Oh it wasnt new season hay - but just much better quality than what I have been able to get lately. 

I'm really glad too - I was beside myself worrying about losing another one to a string blockage. DOnt know how I would have lived with myself if it had been that. Tell the truth I was already wondering how to convince hubby to let me get a couple thousand out of the house deposit savings account to pay for surgery to clear a blockage lol. If it had come to that, I would have done it for this particular doe, she is special. 

Amazing how quickly the oil worked for the little buckling - 60ml and half an hour later stomach is normal size and he is out of the stable, bright eyed and chewing cud. 

They all must have had a little upset, going by their grain pans. My grain mix is lucerne, oaten and wheaten chaff, whole barley, whole lupins, wheat bran, beet pulp flakes (dry), sunflower seeds, chia seeds and I put a scoop of goat sweet feed in as well just as a tempter. I notice they have eaten all the chaff and bran out of it and left the grains and beet pulp. They know whats good for them. I made them a very bland mix tonight with just the chaff, bran and a small amount of the sweet feed plus a tiny amount of chia seeds. 

Didnt manage to get probiotics today but will tomorrow and dose them all up. I gave them all some Anitol - the australian equivalent to nutridrench.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds good. Glad everything worked out.

They do say to let hay cure for 6 weeks but I have been in a position where I couldn't wait that long and had to start feeding it. I slowly introduced it and they did fine on it. But that should be watched as well.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad she is a bit better. Hopefully she will continue to be OK.


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