# Help! My goats are dieing!



## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

Well I have two goats. Male and female. Recently we had someone come out to the yard and clean up some of the excessively large plants and trim them. He put azelea's (sp?) and wisteria. Don't know what exactly kind of plants they are but the same day that they were placed in the goat field both goats got violently ill. We made the assumption it was something they ate in that pile. So we took everything out. The male was barfing everywhere and real bad diareheaa and suds coming from his mouth. There was no sign that they got attacked by something. The female wasn't as bad as the male. She got better the next day but doesn't do anything but sit down. They aren't eating any food or drinking. They both got a little better yesterday but were still bad. The male suddendly took a turn for the worst today. He is just laying on the ground screaming and not moving. Please someone help me keep my goats alive.

I already have this pre-written on word pad cause it is taking a long time to get my account approved. Why does a admin have to approve a account on a livestock forum? I'm not angry or anything cause I appreciate any help I can get. It's just that I feel my male goat doesn't have much more time to live. We also can't get a vet out here cause of financial issues. (It took a day to approve my account)

Today the female is better but the male is still in bad shape.


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## sancraft (Jun 7, 2002)

Sounds like bloat in the male. If he's got his head curnved back over his back adn making a God awful noise, a 22 in the back of the head will end his misery. Sounds too late for him. Keep the female moving. Get baking soda and mineral oil down her. A vitamin B shot and some Probios should help. But try and keep her moving. Going down is the worst thing for livestock. I'm sorry you're having to go through this. Could there have been some sort of pesticide on the foliage. Is there a vet that can come out? Please keep us informed. Again, I'm sorry. I wish I could do more.


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## sancraft (Jun 7, 2002)

I had worked out a deal with the vet near my old house where I worked 6 days per month in exchange for emergency care. Routine stuff I did myself. You may be able to work off a billwith your vet


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

very sorry for your goats. azalea are poison for goats and would have needed treatment immideatly. i don't know for the doe, she might did not eat as much as the buck. i would put him down that he does not need to suffer any longer.


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## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

Okay so now I know that the azalea's are what happened to them. I feel the female will make it but the male won't.


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## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

So without vet help what's the chances of the male making it? And BTW I really appreciate everyones help. Before this I was clueless.


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## Goat Freak (Jul 6, 2005)

I'm not sure, but I do believe that someone saved their goat when he ate too much azaela, without a vet. If he is getting up now, he might possibly have a chance, and until you are sure that he would die anyway, you shouldn't put him down, it could end up haunting you for a long time. Good luck, I'm going to be praying for your little guy, and your girl. Good luck, bye.


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## lgslgs (May 30, 2005)

These are cut and pasted from goat web. Azaleas and rhododendrons are basically the same thing and poison the same way. I've not tried these, but figured you needed some info and this is what I found: 

POISONOUS PLANT ANTIDOTES 
By: Irene Ramsay & Lorraine
Web Site:Not Available
About the Authors

Please Help Rate This Article 5 = Extremely Useful 4 = Very Useful 3 = Somewhat Useful 2 = Okay but not enough 1 = Not At All Useful

Rated 2.2 by 454 responses. 
These recipes work for plant toxins and are good first aid for other toxins while you wait for the vet. - Irene. 
Irene's Recipe for Rhododendron Poisoning. 

Ingredients:
15 mls Renco (rennet)
15 mls Mylanta (milk of magnesia)
5 mls brandy
Mix all together
This is the adult dose! 
For kids under 4 months give 5 mls each of Renco and Mylanta and 2 mls brandy, for kids over 4 months give 10 mls of both Renco and Mylanta and 5 mls brandy. Treat goatlings as adults. 
Renco is the tradename for junket rennet and you can buy it in any supermarket. It is good for a variety of gastric ailments in goats, and it works even when it is well past its UseBy date, so don't chuck it out just because you can't use it for junket or cheese any more. The action of the rennet is to neutralise the toxins from the rhododendron. Mylanta is the trade name for milk of magnesia. Sometimes you'll find it in a supermarket but more often you have to go to a chemist. Again, it is useful for a number of stomach upsets in goats (as well as humans). 

Its action is twofold: it puts a lining on the gut, and it regulates the pulsing of the gut (peristalsis), which often gets out of kilter with poisoning or colic. 

The brandy works, but I haven't yet found out why. It is a fortified spirit so has a high alcohol percentage and you don't need much. Alternatively you can use sherry, which is a fortified wine. They are both made from grapes, and work better for medicinal purposes than spirits or wines made from grain or other substances. I got 100 mls of bulk brandy from my local Liquorland. The staff were highly amused when I told them what it was for, although I admit I have nicked the odd tablespoonful for making fruit mince. 

It is usual for goats with rhododendron poisoning to vomit rather spectacularly, everything within a 5 metre radius is likely to be covered in green slime. For this reason it is difficult to drench them with an antidote because it is easy for things to go down the wrong hole and either drown the goat within minutes or cause inhalation pneumonia which isn't treatable in the farm situation. That is why I like this recipe because the amounts are small, and you can take 15 minutes over the drenching, a ml or two at a time between sickies, if you have to. One dose is usually sufficient. I've never heard of anyone having to give two although if the goat did not show improvement within an hour after dosing, one could consider a repeat. 

It is important to keep the goat warm, but not in the sun, and out of the wind. Have a bucket of fresh warm water available for the animal to drink, and each time it gets fouled by vomit (which has stuck to the face hair) empty and refill it, otherwise the goat will just be drinking up more poison. A goat which is vomiting all over the place is getting rid of the toxins much more efficiently than one which is not, so vomiting is good. 

Once the goat is feeling better, offer a mixture of yummies, a handful of various weeds like yarrow, cleavers, dock, prairie grass or twitch, some green pine needles, tree lucerne (tagasaste), willow, and some good plain hay or straw. Don't give much at a time as anything which is fouled will have to be thrown away, so why waste it by being over-generous? 

Some other evergreens such as camellias will give similar symptoms to rhododendron, though not usually so severe, and the goat may not vomit. The recipe will work pretty well on most forms of poisoning, including toadstool spores. It also does a good job as a first-aid measure in organo-phosphate poisoning until you can bring goat and vet together. I suggest sticking both Lorraine's and my recipes on the wall beside your telephone so you always know where they are, and you have immediate access if someone else phones you in a panic. 

Lorraine's Recipe for Rhododendron Poisoning 

Quantities do not need to be too exact.

Ingredients:
Â¼ cup cooking oil
Â½ cup strong/strong cold tea (6 to 8 tea bags removed) ["English" tea]
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
MIX ALL TOGETHER and drench the goat with it all. 

How does this work?
Oil puts a lining on the stomach preventing more poison going into the system, tea is the antidote, and ginger relieves pain, baking soda helps bring up the gas. 


We welcome your comments or own recipes for poisonous plant antidotes. Please write us at:
[email protected]
Your help and information could help to save a goats life!


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Don't they have charchoal treatment for poisoning? I believe it is in syringe form. Look for it at a few farm supply stores, maybe.
Ask around again to vets. I don't think one would ever ask 1500.00 for looking at a goat! I paid 45.00 for our vet to pull two stuck kids and a bottle of pennecillin! Now, I know not all vets are like that but 1500.00 is way overboard. Check around. Try "livestock" vets or "large animal vets"


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## TexCountryWoman (Jun 22, 2004)

If you are stuck at home with these goats do this. Mix some regular kitchen baking soda and water into a syringe and squirt it into the mouth. It counteracts the acid in the stomach. It will make the goat burp. Lots of people keep baking soda out for goats to eat on their own anyway. Don't be shy about it, the goat may die anyway. Just try not to get it into the lungs. If you can then get some cooking oil into the goats mouth, that will coat the stomach and cause the foam inside the stomach to dissapate.

Keep the goats out of the hot sun. Try to get as much water down as possible. If the female is still able to walk, keep her moving. If they do pull through, no feed for a while, just hay.

If I can think of something else, i'll post. I am so sorry!


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## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the help. My mother is gonna go out and get the things for the antidote. The female is going bad again. She's not moving just laying down and rarely responds to noise. The male is keeping his head up and drinking alot but won't eat.


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## boermommy (Jan 13, 2006)

If you can keep them in the sitting up position, it seems to help.
Massage their bellies, too. The cooking oil and/or soda might help.


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## TexCountryWoman (Jun 22, 2004)

Hang in there. Most all of us who raise goats have had some get sick and even die die before so we really, really know how sad it is when they get so sick and you feel so helpless. I'm glad to know that the male is drinking. What are their names?


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## ChickenMom (Sep 27, 2005)

Get activated charcoal. Keep it with you everywhere you go. You can give it to animals and humans alike. Poisoning, upset stomach, gas. Just crunch it and mix with water and get it down them. It acts as a sponge and sucks up the pioson and takes it out of the system. You can get it at the drugstore, grocery store, wal mart, health food store.


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## goatmarm (Nov 19, 2005)

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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

I totally agree with chickenMom. get the activated charcoal. It is what they need for the poisioning. Sorry about your goats.


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## TSYORK (Mar 16, 2006)

Vitamin C is great for them. If all you can find is tablets at the local walmart then crush them up and drench them in it..... i know a goat that was saved by this when they got into azeleas.


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## boermommy (Jan 13, 2006)

Thought about you all night last night. How are they today?


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## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

Wow I really can't believe all this help. I appreciate every single person that went out of their way to help me. We mixed together the antidote that was previously posted. Gave it to male and soon after he stood up and just stood there. Which was great because everytime before he tried standing up he would stand up for bout 3 second and collapse and start screaming. 

We gave some to the female to just to make sure. She was doing great. She was out and about eating and walking around normal. The male continued to stand up for a long period of time. He still wouldn't eat. He made it to one of the barns bout 20 feet away and sat down with his head up. I could imagine he was extremely tired and weak but I could tell he wasn't in pain anymore. He was very alert to everything and would actually respond.

This morning when I woke up I went out and checked on them, the female was still out and about and the male was still sitting down. But once again he didn't look to be in any pain and would actually respond to me when I called him over. He would stand up think about it then sit back down. I imagine he's extremely weak from this sickness and not eating for the past 3 days. So anything anyone could suggest that he would eat? Once again thank all of you so much. I thank God theres still people like yall around in the world.


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## Jen H (Jun 16, 2004)

Honestly, I wouldn't give them anything but grass hay to eat for the next week or so. It sounds like they're stomachs have been through a lot, so just keep it simple until you're sure they've gotten through this.

He might eat hay if you sat down with him and hand fed it to him - they can be big cuddle butts sometimes.

I'm so glad they're doing better!


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

I think someone mentioned probios above -- now would be a good time to give it to them, to make sure their guts have the necessary flora and fauna so they can digest food.

Kathleen


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## boermommy (Jan 13, 2006)

Well I usually want a dry toasted grilled cheese when I'm coming off an upset stomach but I don't think that's a good idea. 

First things first......wouldn't be a bad idea to give him some Nutri-drench, it's full of vitamins, minerals, and other good stuff. I've also used Pedialyte (a drink used for little kids) and Gatorade to help them gain strength. 

I would try giving him some hay first.


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## Goat Freak (Jul 6, 2005)

Glad to hear that your goats are doing better! Good Luck with them. BYe.


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## TexCountryWoman (Jun 22, 2004)

That is great! So good to know that the antidote may have actually worked! The "Probios" that people are talking about can be bought at a feedstore. It is in a big syringe type tube and the kind i have is a blue paste (kinda like tooth paste)..I just squirt some in their mouths, and inch or so of it out of the tube...to be honest, i never really worry too much about the exact amount, the point is to get some into the digestive track through the mouth. When the goat has a bad stomach problem (or if you give them antibiotics that kills the good germs in the stomach) it is good to give Probios to help get things going right in the stomach again. If you can't find Probios, you can give them regular people yogurt which has "live cultures" in it.


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## Sweeney89 (Jun 4, 2006)

Okay, well they are eating like crazy today. The male is up and about. They both ate alot of bread, goat feed and a little bit of cereal. I'll pick up the probios today. How important is it? Is it something that needs to be rushed to get done?


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## TexCountryWoman (Jun 22, 2004)

No rush, but watch what you are feeding them now......you said they are eating bread , goat feed and cereal..........they should probably just be eating hay...they can bloat and die very easily now...how about just hay for a week and then a tiny amount of their regular feed started out slow next week? You may be going to fast with the feeding...remember, they are just being goats, and goats always act starved....don't lose what you have gained here.


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

Bread and cereal and grain? Not a good idea. A good clean grass/timothy hay is what they need right now. When a goat has gotten into poison or bloat do not worry about them eating right away. Their system needs to heal and the very basics - hay - is all they should be on for awhile. Probios is terrific as both treatment and followup to many illnesses. As goes the rumen, so does the goat. So glad to hear they're doing well but take it easy on the diet for now.


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## Jen H (Jun 16, 2004)

Think about what you eat for yourself after a long hard bout of stomach flu or food poisoning - you know, the spend the day in the bathroom kind. You start out with just chicken broth, right? Then maybe add some dry toast or crackers to the mix, and work up from there to make sure you don't set your stomach off.

The same thing applies to goats. Only for goats, the grass hay is the equivalent of chicken broth. Work them up to the goodies slowly once they're doing well on grass hay.


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## boermommy (Jan 13, 2006)

And hang a big sign on the fence that says

DO NOT FEED THE GOATS!

ANYONE CAUGHT THROWING FOREIGN
FOOD, CLIPPINGS, ETC. WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT! 

Just kidding, 99% of the population think that goats will eat anything including tin cans. They didn't know any better.

Thankful they're OK.


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## sancraft (Jun 7, 2002)

I'm glad they're doing better. You really need to get them on hay only. Not even fresh grass is a good idea right now.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

Yeah, don't feed the bread and cereal right now. They can't deal with the yeast very well anyway.

Right now? Their gut is so out of whack they can't handle a lot. Plain hay, Pro-Bios, or YOGURT would be a better bet. NOT A LOT OF YOGURT, just enough to get the gut going. 

If you have any other goats? (This is real icky/odd)... When you see them 'burp' up cud? Steal it. And give it to the goats that are having trouble. You are essentially re-populating their gut with the correct flora. Yeah, it's odd. 

Again, DO NOT GIVE THEM BREAD AND CEREAL RIGHT NOW. You could kill them very easily right now. Good luck! You might want to tell your neighbor to NOT NOT NOT give them any clippings. That you appreciate it? But please do not. 

My friend brought over an entire wagon load of sweet corn leavings years ago. Fed it to my horses and goats. Geez, what a scouring mess and upset guts. Because the stuff ferments in hot sun? Wow. What a mess. I also almost killed my goats with bread and baked goods... Please go SLOWLY with re-introducing their 'normal' food. 

Think when you are recovering from being sick? Cooked white rice, etc. BLAND, easy to digest food. Same with goats.


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## Goat Freak (Jul 6, 2005)

I am SO GLAD to hear that they seem to be all right now, or at least doing MUCH better. CONGRATS! Good Luck. Bye.


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