# wether vomiting???



## meleahbee (Nov 21, 2007)

My 1 1/2 year old Nubian/Boer wether is acting really weird this morning. His 7 penmates (including his twin brother, also a wether) are fine. This guy, Waffles, is usually totally crazy about food. This morning when I went to feed them, he completely ignored it, and walked around as if he were in a daze. He was drinking some water. Then he kinda makes a face like "the Joker" and kind of chokes a bit then seems to throw up a yellow substance that looks like egg yolk (no, he hasn't been eating eggs ) He is just acting totally unlike himself. I have to run to church right now, so I haven't taken his temp. Last night was just bitter cold out here though (windchills down to -15 F) and it was the first real cold snap - don't know if that had anything to do with it????

Any thoughts on what this could be? How should we treat this?

Thanks in advance!


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

The yellow vomitus is bile, and that is the acid that breaks down foods in the stomach. This gets barfed up when there is no food to digest in the stomach, which makes sense when you said he ignored his food. Now I am a total goat rookie, so am not sure if goats throw up or not, but if they do, the yellow substance would be bile.


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## Dodgegal79 (Aug 29, 2008)

Rumiants I don't think can barf, but then again they do chew cud. If its yellow I would think infection somewhere, maybe sinus infection that is leaking down and he is spitting out?? Check his temp if you can, raised means infection somewhere.


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

the only time we can see something similar to vomiting is, if there is an obstruction in the esophagus. does he come from a cl negative herd? 
have you seen any abscesses in any of your goats?
what do you feed your wethers?

btw, bile fluid should be green


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## needstoknowmore (Feb 6, 2005)

Goats can barf. usually after injesting something poisonous. I would be giving him some charcoal. and checking to see if his rumin is functioning.


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

Nope goats can't barf 

Goats can burp up their cud and then sling it out of their mouths. They literally sling their head to pull the cud out of their cheek.

It's usually due to an obstruction, choke. Or they have eaten something and are trying to get it out of their system.

Check his mouth really good maybe he has something stuck in his mouth, teeth etc... Vicki


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## Dodgegal79 (Aug 29, 2008)

Are you sure goats even produve bile?? I know some animals don't, bile is used to digest fats.


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## meleahbee (Nov 21, 2007)

Well I've been checking on him and it seems like it is an obstruction of some sort. I thought I'd try and get some probios paste in him in case he just had some upset tummy issues - he just shook his head and spit it out like a projectile. I saw the same thing in our horse when he choked on some beet pulp that hadn't been soaked through. 

I'm assuming he has got grain stuck in there??? The wethers live with the does and yes, they eat grain (balanced by alfalfa to preserve Ca) so that could be it. 

So.... if he has an obstruction.... can I wait for it to pass? Massage his throat area? I've had to tube an adult goat before... so I could do it again if I had to. Any meds I should administer??

TIA


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

meleahbee said:


> chokes a bit then seems to throw up a yellow substance that looks like egg yolk



this does not look like obstruction from grain or other food but an infection probably abscessed that cause the obstruction. that is why i asked if he comes from a clean herd or if you ever have seen abscesses in you animals.
what is his temperature now?


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## meleahbee (Nov 21, 2007)

No current abcesses or history of abcesses in him or his herdmates.

His temp is 101.5 and it's freezing outside, may explain why it's a bit low??


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Dodgegal79 said:


> Are you sure goats even produve bile?? I know some animals don't, bile is used to digest fats.



Nope, lol, not sure about much with goats!! Never even thought they might not produce bile. Thought all critters with a stomach did!

I sure hope you can get to the bottom of it. So they can choke like horses? Gosh, I have soooooo much to learn...


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## KimM (Jun 17, 2005)

What animals don't produce bile??  Goats certainly do.

Did the substance come up right after he drank water? How often is he doing this? What does it smell like? I know that sounds gross but it might help determine where it's coming from. 101.5 temp is in the normal range.
Is your hay course? Can you feel anything in his throat - on either side of the front of his neck all the way down to his chest?




Dodgegal79 said:


> Are you sure goats even produve bile?? I know some animals don't, bile is used to digest fats.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I went on line and found a bunch of interesting goat barf subjects, but all seemed to point to the eating of poisonous plants. Any possibility of that?

Can you feel the obstruction? If you can feel the obstruction, like a knot on the underside of his throat, try a massage from the area above it, firmly over it, and down. That's how you can help a horse move an obstruction down. It worries me a bit that he would still have the obstruction, it "should" have gone down by now. Hope it's not something foreign, like a piece of rope or whatever.

Keep us posted on how he is doing.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Bump. How's the goat this AM?


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## meleahbee (Nov 21, 2007)

Thanks for asking about him 

He's still not better. He's not "barfing" or whatever that was (presumably because he has no food in his system) 

His temp is still 101.5

He hasn't eaten in at least 24 hours now. He is drinking water really well though. I've been going down 3-4 times a day to put hot water in their buckets to keep it warm so they'll drink. Every time I do he just drinks and drinks. Some of it comes back out, but most of it is definitely going down. I saw him urinate this morning and although there wasn't much, it was pretty clear.

He seems kinda weak and just repulsed by food when I offer it to him.

In response to some of the other questions - 

I don't think it's anything poisonous.... We just got hit with a bunch of snow so they haven't been out of their pen in a few days. They have no access to anything other than what's usually in there. 

I've palpated and felt all down the front of him, from the underside of his mouth down the front of his neck and I can't feel anything out of the ordinary. He doesn't seem to mind it either. 

I also read that a goat who is choking will usually stand with his neck extended but Waffles isn't doing that.

I just don't get it.

Is is time for a vet visit?????


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## meleahbee (Nov 21, 2007)

Another update - several other goats didn't really want to eat this morning either...

I don't know if they're just too cold to eat, feeling sorry for their buddy, or ????

these goats are baffling me.


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

is the hay moldy?
i would give fortified b complex injection to all of them especially the one that was choking. 
if he doesn't improve, i would call a vet now, before his condition worsens.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I'd agree, maybe time for a visit from the vet. It's scary that they are all starting to reject food! But then again, I'm really gun-shy right now. Still, that's a long time for no food, but glad he is drinking. If he drinks, does it come right back out or is he gulping it all the way down?


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

Is it at all possible that he ate something that was big and it scratched his throat or punctured his esophagus? 
We had a person on another forum that had a goat doing the same thing. She ended up having to tube some water in him and then she called the Vet to come put him down. Before the vet could get there he did pass away. They ended up cutting him open right there and he had a puncture in his esophagus and all the food was going into his neck and it ended up suffocating him.
Now I am not saying that is going to happen, but I do know I am always worried when I give them a horse treat ot Alfalfa cube that they are to big and it will choke them.


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## LaManchaPaul (May 21, 2008)

Yes, they do vomit. I witnessed barfing twice. They can and do upchuck the contents of the stomach. A buckling and a doeling went with me on an outing for the day. They browsed on lots of plants that I knew. We passed over to visit my sister and I offered a large leaf from a flower to each of them. The doeling refused it but the Rubin nibbled until he had eaten all of it. I put them to bed that evening with very full stomachs. They were very happy little goaties.

During the night I was awaked by strange sounds. He was throwing up and shaking his head vigorously from side to side and green mush was splashed against the walls. I could see it come up (as if a cud to be chewed) and to expel it heâd sling his head. He vomited several times until about six in the morning. It had the smell of a freshly gutted deer. His little belly was flat. He only nibbled at food that day but was fine the following day.
His brother barfed a few weeks later but I didnât determine what he had eaten. 

My sister called the flower a trumpet flower and a niece-in-law called it a night-shade.

Paul


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## Dodgegal79 (Aug 29, 2008)

I think rabbits is one animal that doesnÃ¨t have a gallbladder. i remember reading it when I was reading about butchering an animal, but i forget which kind.


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

I'd do exactly what Susanne suggests. Fortified B complex to stimulate appetite, and a call to the vet. Waiting for improvement in a goat who's not eating never seems to have a good outcome.


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

Meleah, How is he doing? Please give us a update.

Something else you can give him is a little or a lot of yogurt, it will help out the bacteria back in his tummy.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Yes, been thinking about you and your herd.


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