| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 04 2012 : 7:21:35 PM
Hi everyone! We got baby goats last week and they quickly started showing signs of illness. They would go completely limp an be unable to stand, would refuse to eat, etc. We tried everything, but two of them have now died :( We are so sad, and are wondering whether the people we got them from knew that they were sick... Our kids are just heartbroken! What signs should we look for next time we get goats so that we know they are healthy? Thanks! |
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 09 2012 : 2:10:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by grace gerber
He also decided to listen to the other things I told him not to do with the little ones. So see life lessons all rolled up in a sweet four legged buddy. Conrad still tells folks about that story and the lessons he learned.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
I love this! This is exactly why we feel it is important for our children to be around & care for our animals. They can learn so much from them!
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 09 2012 : 2:08:53 PM
quote:
Originally posted by wooliespinner
Amy I was curious how old these goat kids were when you brought them home. I had a friend that dealt with floppy kid syndrome. I remember her giving them sodium bicarb for treatment I just don't know how much she gave them. I am so sorry for your loss and glad the one you have is better. Glad your dog has made him his friend that is so sweet. Take care.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats
Thank you for your response. They were about 2 weeks old.
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Mar 09 2012 : 06:54:36 AM
A single goat will find others to make into a family. The dog, the kids, chickens and you. Just make sure you tell the kids about certain types of play is not O.K. otherwise when the goat gets bigger it will play ruff and someone might get hurt or the goat might get into trouble for things it does not understand is off limits..
My youngest son always thought it was fun to put his forehead on the little rams and push. No matter how many times I explained this was not O.K. and why my son Conrad would not stop. That is until a year later when ne bent over to tie his boot and that same ram took that as play time and came running up and head butted him flat on his butt. So lesson learned and he never did that again with the little ones. He also decided to listen to the other things I told him not to do with the little ones. So see life lessons all rolled up in a sweet four legged buddy. Conrad still tells folks about that story and the lessons he learned.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| wooliespinner |
Posted - Mar 08 2012 : 1:51:04 PM
Amy I was curious how old these goat kids were when you brought them home. I had a friend that dealt with floppy kid syndrome. I remember her giving them sodium bicarb for treatment I just don't know how much she gave them. I am so sorry for your loss and glad the one you have is better. Glad your dog has made him his friend that is so sweet. Take care.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 07 2012 : 1:15:02 PM
quote:
Originally posted by sherrye
amy where is paradise? were your goats a special breed. were you going to milk them? i am sooo sorry. i know your making the best of it better days ahead sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
Paradise is near Chico in Northern California. We planned to milk the female (eventually) and the males will eventually be meat goats.
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| sherrye |
Posted - Mar 07 2012 : 07:21:33 AM
amy where is paradise? were your goats a special breed. were you going to milk them? i am sooo sorry. i know your making the best of it better days ahead sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 07 2012 : 07:18:02 AM
We've been saying one goat is a lonely goat too- luckily our goat (Hoppy) & our little dog (Hank) get along great...Hank thinks Hoppy is a dog & Hoppy thinks Hank is a goat! lol
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| amomfly |
Posted - Mar 07 2012 : 02:57:38 AM
Amy Beth- I am glad all is good now. You are doing the right thing. We have always had animals, we have had some major losses. But it does teach our kids something important about life, it is precious!
I hope you can get some more goats soon. One goat is a lonely goat!
Good luck!
Come visit my blog
http://angieruralliving.blogspot.com/
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 08:48:42 AM
Thanks Kris! The surviving buck is doing great! He thinks he is a house goat, though because we brought him inside when he was so sick! lol
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 08:46:07 AM
AmyBeth, I am so sorry you lost the 2 kids. I hope the little buck is doing better. I think you are doing the right thing to expose your kids to "real life" stituations and you don't keep that from them. Yes, it hurts and it's so stinkin' sad to lose an animal. But at least they will know why and probably helped as much as they could to keep that from happening. My grands help butcher chickens and turkeys and they know where their food comes from. Sometimes things just happen but that is life.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 08:30:52 AM
quote:
Originally posted by grace gerber
Sometimes no matter how much we do, who we know and what we give them they are just not meant to be here. I know it is hard on the children but I can also say from experience it has shaped my sons into the compassionate men they are today... Sneding love, light and prayers for the one still standing.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
Thank you! Your post is very encouraging :) My 8 year old is such a sensitive soul, he was just heartbroken :( But I feel like they will learn life lessons from experiences like this one, and hearing that others agree helps (because some family members think it's mean of us to expose them to such things).
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 08:28:37 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RedHoopWoman
mysterious sudden death from floppy kid syndrome which is very startling in it's rapid onset.Don't give up on goats I am sure no one did anything wrong it just happens sometimes,I'm always sorry to hear of it though.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut"
Floppy kid syndrome: this perfectly describes what happened :( Thank you for your reply. It's so frustrating, especially because we cannot replace them any time soon, as our budget is so limited due to my husband's illness...it took us quite a while to save up the money for these goats. sigh. It will happen in the right timing :)
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 07:01:21 AM
Amy I am so glad that your husband has such skills - I know when we started this was all new to my boys and I - we had to learn from some horrible situtations which now seem so far away... Sometimes no matter how much we do, who we know and what we give them they are just not meant to be here. I know it is hard on the children but I can also say from experience it has shaped my sons into the compassionate men they are today... Sneding love, light and prayers for the one still standing.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| RedHoopWoman |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 06:26:36 AM
Amy I am so sorry for your loss I know it is terribly upsetting to lose the little ones.Kids have a high mortality rate in the first weeks of life and there are a variety of ailments that can get them such as navel ill,coccidiosis,pneumonia and mysterious sudden death from floppy kid syndrome which is very startling in it's rapid onset.Don't give up on goats I am sure no one did anything wrong it just happens sometimes,I'm always sorry to hear of it though.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 7:29:49 PM
Actually, my husband used to herd goats (150-200 goats) when we were first dating. So he knows what to look for, how to administer medications, has raised many many many baby goats. So he knows what he is doing, I am the one who is learning & has questions.
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 7:16:21 PM
I'm so sorry about the loss of the goats. Keep us posted. I hope the other goat is well and continues to get better.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 6:58:26 PM
I am sorry for your loss but two weeks means they are still in what I call the question zone. Even if my babies are with the mother I never take my eyes off them for three or more weeks. Also there are many genetic issues that will not show up till that time. What is your experience with keeeping goats??? Starting off with babies on a bottle is not the easy way of doing this - I never recommend that to new goat owners. Way too many signs can be missed in purchasing, caring and what is needed in emergency care. I know this is hard and I hated to read this - with more information we might be able to give you more response as to what might be the problem. Also, what does the breeder have to say about this???
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| oldbittyhen |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 09:19:48 AM
you want to find out for sure what killed them, you don't want to have a contagious disease on your property, if you can, have a necropsy done, also see if the goat formula was tainted some how. I would also talk to the people you got them from to see if any of their other goats are sick, and if possible, do it in person so you can see for yourself...sorry you and your kids are going thru this...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
| Amy_Beth |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 09:09:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by sherrye
oh amy i am so sorry for you. you need to call the folks you got them from. do you still have some alive. how old are they. had they been weaned and off mama for awhile before you got them. what are they eating can you take a temp. if you have molasses put some in warm water. they may drink it. they need to stay hydrated. please tell us more so we can help you better. i will check this in the morning. hugs to you sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
Thank you for your reply!
We still have one who is doing really well. He was definitely stronger than the other two. They were 2 weeks old when we got them & had been weaned onto goat formula...the people we got them from sent it with them. We now know that the female was a triplet & the only to survive. The 2 males were twins. They had been eating well until they got sick. At first we thought that the first one to get sick had injured his leg somehow, as they had been fine & only a short time later could not even stand. DH gave them an antibiotic shot, the surviving goat has done well ever since. His twin seemed better, and the next day got sick again, and died that night. The female goat never seemed sick & died in the night...she was still warm when we got to her...a few minutes earlier and we may have been able to save her :(
The surviving goat seems really healthy now- eating well, full of energy...
Farmgirl Sister #3936 |
| sherrye |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 06:25:40 AM
i am wondering how the babies are? are you ok?
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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| sherrye |
Posted - Mar 04 2012 : 9:05:27 PM
oh amy i am so sorry for you. you need to call the folks you got them from. do you still have some alive. how old are they. had they been weaned and off mama for awhile before you got them. what are they eating can you take a temp. if you have molasses put some in warm water. they may drink it. they need to stay hydrated. please tell us more so we can help you better. i will check this in the morning. hugs to you sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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