Any Veterinary docs here.

[wcd]

Were looking to find out what may have happened to one of our furry friends, 18 month old goat. She developed scours and passed away in less than 48 hours. We are pretty torn up about it and we are trying to find out what went wrong?

We worm on schedule, rotate pastures, food and water dishes are cleaned twice a day, and primary diet is brush supplemented with hay.

None of the rest of the herd is showing any abnormal behavior.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Auto correct is not your friend

 

[Dead Duck]

Has she been traveling lately, like say......Afghanistan?

 

[mom45]

Was this goat vaccinated? Had she been off of her feed at all prior to this? I know you say just brush/hay but was she eating/drinking and acting normally? Was there an off color to her fecal matter or blood in it? Abnormally foul smell?

I see your location is Tennessee. Are your pastures greening up now as in fresh spring growth? If so, it is very possible she simply overate on the fresh greens.


I should note...I am not a veterinary professional but raised goats for most of my life. I am a moderator on a goat forum as well so if you'd like a link to that board, I'd be glad to message it to you.

 

[Brad69]

Where were the sores?

 

[mom45]

I think he meant scours rather than sores. I'm just guessing based on the description of how fast the goat passed.

 

[mom45]

wcd - I saw your post on the goatwisdom page. Please check over there as others have also responded.

 

[wcd]

wcd - I saw your post on the goatwisdom page. Please check over there as others have also responded.

Wow small world!!!!! We have had a tremendous amount of rain, I mean like 2 weeks strait of sometimes 3-5 inches of rain in 24 hours, She was vaccinated. She has always been kind of moody I think it was her personality so we didn't think it odd that she was by herself. Each pasture is about an acre and they have in ln line gates. So I don't think it was a housing condition issue, as we clean out their barn and wash the rubber mats and supply fresh bedding on a regular basis. The Brush including grass and onions is about 6 inches tall now and really green. We have not made any changes in their diet and we do our own hay. My sons ag teacher thought she might have had some kind of intestinal blockage.

 

[mom45]

Lots of rain can also create conditions that are perfect for parasites to thrive. I would get a fecal check done on your herd. I'm not sure how many goats you have, but if not all of them, at least a couple to see if there are any issues.

It is common when the pastures first get very green for goats to overindulge and scour...and die. Scouring dehydrates them pretty fast if it is severe.

That is also an environment where e-coli can set in pretty fast. Usually, there is blood in the fecal matter if it is e-coli.

That's just a few thoughts off the top of my head. The Merck veterinary manual is online and a good resource. Goatwisdom (both the forum and the web site) has good info on diseases/illnesses and treatments. Goatworld.com and Onion Creek Ranch Health and Management Articles are two of my favorite sites that have reputable information.