# Sick goats:(



## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

On Sunday my brother had given my goats and pigs some expired bread. He checked it for mold and told me if felt and looked fine. Yesterday all except for one of my goats were very sick. The one that isn't sick barely ate any of the bread. I only had 5 goats. One died last night. One is doing much better this mornin. The other that are sick look very sick! 
What do I do?


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Activated charcoal or milk of magnesia, plus CD antitoxin.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Where do you get CD antitoxin at? And how much milk of magnesia?


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

3.5 cc per 20 lbs MOM. I'm not sure about CD antitoxin. So sorry for your loss


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

See if you can get C & D antitoxin from the store. Follow directions on bottle.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Thank yall I've been tryin to help them as much as I know how. I even called the vet but she never called back please keep my goats in your prayers


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All good advice.

I am sorry for the loss and definitely sending prayers for the others.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Do I need to repeat any of these medications?


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Are you seeing improvements?


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Wuz is eating now. Daisy is actually walking around and starting to eat. Gertrude still looks pretty rough. This morning she actually was standing up and walkin around a bit. She was breathin hard and some liquid that looked like water was dripping from her mouth


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Give Gertrude another round of meds.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Make sure it actually was the bread and not something else in their enclosure. I've given bread to my goats for many years and I've never heard of one being poisoned by it (not that it's impossible I'm sure), but you don't want to miss some other possible culprit. I'm sorry for your loss and I hope your other goats recover quickly.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with the others.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Well the bread was very well past expired the only goat that didn't eat the bread was the only one that didn't get sick.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

They were all healthy until the day after they ate the bread.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

That's very odd. The only kind of bread I feed my goats is the kind that is too far gone for human consumption (stale, moldy, etc.). But I suppose any unusual thing in the diet has the potential to trigger a bad reaction. I only mentioned it because I've sometimes seen people blame one thing for sickness, only to find out later (after the goats got sick again) that it was something else. But it does sound like it was the bread in this case. How much did they eat and what kind was it? I'm curious.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

^^Wow, you give your goats moldy bread? :-o


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> ^^Wow, you give your goats moldy bread? :-o


Yes, that. I don't feed anything moldy to my goats. That is surprising to me.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

As far as I know, bread mold is basically penicillin and not toxic. It's just gross (to humans anyway--my goats don't seem to care). All molds are not created equal (take cheese mold as an example--humans eat that all the time without harm, and some types are considered a delicacy). Mold spores in hay are entirely different and some types can make goats very sick. But as far as I know bread mold is fine. At least, it's never harmed my crew. 

Now, consuming anything in vast quantities can be harmful. My old pack wether loves fruitcake, but one year he nabbed a whole 5# cake that was supposed to be distributed to five goats over several days. He devoured the whole thing before I could take it away and he was very, very ill the next day. He still loves fruitcake, but I have been careful since then to feed it in small chunks over the fence so he can't snatch the entire thing and run off with it.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

I am not sure what brand the bread was cause my brother gave them the bread. We burned the bags later:/ it was white bread though. None of it looked moldy, but it was in the basement for several weeks..


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Here's an update... so Daisy is eatin and actin normal. She still has some scours, but not as often. Wuz is back to his full normal self. Gertrude is still lookin rough.. so she is still walkin around.. she has been doin that all day. That water stuff is still drippin from her mouth, and she is still breathin heavy. She poop is startin to look normal. I have her fresh hay, grain, and water before I left her for the night. She actually seemed interested in the grain and hay. But then she never ate any. She is not chewin her cud:/ so far, she is still hangin in there. Keep prayin pleaaassseee!


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

If goats have any scours they shouldn't be fed any grain, only hay & forage. Too much grain will cause scours & bread is grain. How many loaves did your brother give them?

Some nice leafy tree branches or blackberry vines might perk up your goat's appetite & help her rumen.

Are the goats getting electrolytes?

I hope she recovers soon!


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

Gertrude died this mornin


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

catharina said:


> If goats have any scours they shouldn't be fed any grain, only hay & forage. Too much grain will cause scours & bread is grain. How many loaves did your brother give them?
> 
> Some nice leafy tree branches or blackberry vines might perk up your goat's appetite & help her rumen.
> 
> ...


He gave them a few loaves. That's was between 5 goats and two pigs. She wouldn't eat anythin. I did give her some Gatorade and I gave her some subQ fluids to keep her hydrated.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

I've fed my goats bread before and it never hurt their stomachs. This bread ,however, was several weeks older than the other bread I had given to them in previous times.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I'm so sorry Gertrude didn't make it. I would suspect quantity more than anything. Often one or two goats will eat the majority of what is intended for the whole group. That's what happened when my old fella got ahold of the fruitcake. Their bodies probably reacted the same as if they'd raided the grain bin. After our fruitcake incident I've been a lot more careful to portion out goodies so that no one gets more than their share. When I feed bread, my goats only get 2-3 slices each in one sitting. 

I'm sorry this happened. When my boy went down after the fruitcake his temperature dropped below normal (a sure sign of rumen trouble). I brought him in the house and had him lay down by the wood stove wrapped in blankets during the ordeal. I gave him probiotics but I didn't have anything else I could do for him. He pulled through, but it was a good week before his appetite was back to normal. I hope your other goats are recovering ok.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree.


I am so very sorry.


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## MedsHomestead (Jun 16, 2014)

See processed foods such as bread don't really mold because of the preservatives in it but if it smells sour, like it was fermenting (much more common in processed bread) could have thrown their rumen off - I would give activated charcoal, honey and baking soda in water - blend it so the charcoal is finer and drench them I would try to get 8 ozs in each that is sick. I give old bread to my chickens, but other than ginger snaps I don't feed my goats people food.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Store bought bread does mold. But when it is on the edge of turning moldy, can easily be missed if you don't smell it first.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

So sorry for your losses.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sorry you lost her. I hope the others make it.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I'm so sorry


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

So sorry for your losses...


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