# Shivering goat.



## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

I went out to check on my goats and all are doing good and I found one of my does shivering. I made a coat with an old sweat shirt and its just not working. She is so short that she is walking out of it. I cant sit and watch her shiver. Does anyone have any other ideas for a sweater or coat in a pinch?


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

you need to find a reason for the shivering of your goat. how old is she?
is she very thin? is she eating enough hay? when did you last worm her? fecal check? what mineral do you have for your goats?
i'm in michigan and believe me, very, very cold.  none of my goats are shivering


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## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

I am unsure of her age. She is fat and by no means thin. Shes been wormed, has hay and loose goat mineral 24/7. As far as eating the hay that I wouldnt know. She is out with 4 other goats and she has been eating her 1/2 cup grain she gets. Shes acting normal. It has also rained all day here but she was not wet. It has been colder here then now and she was fine before that I could see. Its about low 50's now and supposed to be low 30's tonight.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I was concerned for some type of metabolic thing as well, some of the first signs of some of these are shivering. Can you get a temp just in case?


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## 4h farmer (Jan 21, 2009)

I would say the same thing get a temp.... i have even use old dog coats as warmers even a old leg warmer out holes for legs and i ahve use sweat shirts u have to fit it to size and maybe even stich a few places even a old adult sweater u can use cut the arm out and use it depends on how big the goat is .. but i would check the temp and signs of being sick first ..


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

may i ask why you are feeding her grain if she is already over conditioned?
what kind of hay and what brand mineral? is there enough copper in there?


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## powderhooves (May 11, 2008)

Depending on her size cut the leg of a pair of sweat pants or sleeve of a sweat shirt and cut holes for the front legs while tapering the back. Hope that helps.


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## picklespickles (Nov 3, 2007)

my goats are out when its' very cold and i've never seen them shiver. try the extra clothes but yeah, i think she might be sick. is she doing anything else weird? goats can do the alive or dead thing pretty quick. good luck.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I think she's sick. My goats don't shiver at -30 F.

Has she been checked for worms? Some kind of stress is using up her body heat.


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## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

I just went out and checked on them and she seems good. It's still chilly out and very windy. It was rainy and cold yesterday so I am thinking the dampness chilled her...?. They are all standing in the sun now. I went out and got a dog sweater and a blanket style coat and she was warm underneith. I did give her a dose of Safe-Guard. When I can get ahold of her good Im gonna dose her with Ivomec Injectable. She hates to be held down and will throw her head up and horn ya when you dont suspect it. I have to get a moment when hubby can hold her down. Im gonna keep an eye on her today and tonight and see if I dont notice anything else out of the ordinary. Im hoping it was just the dampness. The ground is still wet out there. She does like to lay in the shelter on the shavings and hay they pull out of the feeder. I doubt she will lay on the wet ground.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Keep an eye out for odd behavior, like standing by herself, facing the walls, not eating, hunch back, walking in circles, staring up at the ceiling, hind end weakness, and so on. Hoping she really did just get a chill, but if she does anything else odd, I'd jump on it. Just in case-do you have B vitamins, penicillin and so forth in your arsenal? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Hoping she really is just a light weight about cold weather!


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## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

beccachow said:


> Keep an eye out for odd behavior, like standing by herself, facing the walls, not eating, hunch back, walking in circles, staring up at the ceiling, hind end weakness, and so on. Hoping she really did just get a chill, but if she does anything else odd, I'd jump on it. Just in case-do you have B vitamins, penicillin and so forth in your arsenal? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Hoping she really is just a light weight about cold weather!


Thanks....I will. She has been eating normal. She has always sorta been a loner goat since the day I got her. But she will play with the others during the day. I have a bonded doe/wether pair that keep to themselves and the 2 little yearlings hang out with this doe more then the pair. But as for the other things to watch out for...I havent seen any of that...but Ill watch for that.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Just to add something, goats in metobolic stress...hypcocalcmia, milk fever, don't shiver, their muscles twitch.

Shivering is their bodies way of keeping themselves warm and even with a big layer of fat, a doe with not enough roughage to cud in her rumen will shiver. Think of her rumen as a fireplace, and the wood, is all the browse and hay. IF she is shivering after a cold windy wet day than she isn't getting enough hay to eat in the barn. It's actually the only time I do feed hay in the barns is wet weather and hurricanes.

Your not doing anything by worming with safeguard where you live. Vicki


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

Jaytori, you said she was a bit of a loner goat. Is she at the bottom of the pecking order? I don't know how you feed your hay but she may be struggling to get enough hay when competing with the others.


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## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

BethW said:


> Jaytori, you said she was a bit of a loner goat. Is she at the bottom of the pecking order? I don't know how you feed your hay but she may be struggling to get enough hay when competing with the others.


As for being at the bottom...I really cant say. She does socialize with the others but not like they do with each other. If that makes sense...?. She always sleeps in the goat shed at night by herself. She sleeps behind the hay feeder where she can eat. The others lay outside. I keep it in there so I dont have to drag it back and forth before it rains etc. You never know when its gonna rain here half the time. Its one of those DIY hay feeders and I put a whole bale in there so dragging it would be a challenge. She can hold her own and she does push the other goats around when she feels the need to. Especially the yearlings. Its chilly tonight and I was just out there and didnt see her shivering. But I left her sweater on and put the blanket over that. She still seems and acts normal.


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## jaytori220 (Jul 23, 2008)

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians said:


> Just to add something, goats in metobolic stress...hypcocalcmia, milk fever, don't shiver, their muscles twitch.
> 
> Shivering is their bodies way of keeping themselves warm and even with a big layer of fat, a doe with not enough roughage to cud in her rumen will shiver. Think of her rumen as a fireplace, and the wood, is all the browse and hay. IF she is shivering after a cold windy wet day than she isn't getting enough hay to eat in the barn. It's actually the only time I do feed hay in the barns is wet weather and hurricanes.
> 
> Your not doing anything by worming with safeguard where you live. Vicki


Vicki,
I agree...its the same with horses. I always has hay 24/7 out for my horses. She has access to the hay 24/7. Someone else mentioned that maybe she is just the low man on the totem pole. Thats a possibility. But I do see her holding her own and pushing the others around when she feels the need. Maybe she herself just isnt eating enough hay. Maybbe I should drag the feeder out of the goat shed? I would hate for an afternoon shower to ruin their hay since I do put the whole bale in the feeder.


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians said:


> Just to add something, goats in metobolic stress...hypcocalcmia, milk fever, don't shiver, their muscles twitch.
> 
> Shivering is their bodies way of keeping themselves warm and even with a big layer of fat, a doe with not enough roughage to cud in her rumen will shiver. Think of her rumen as a fireplace, and the wood, is all the browse and hay. IF she is shivering after a cold windy wet day than she isn't getting enough hay to eat in the barn. It's actually the only time I do feed hay in the barns is wet weather and hurricanes.
> 
> Your not doing anything by worming with safeguard where you live. Vicki


I agree too!!! Totally!


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