I have a pet goat. She has largely lost interest in eating,

Question

she is over salivating and drinking more water than normal. We had the vet out but he couldn't find much wrong with her other than muscle wastage which i suspect was due to her not eating much. We have given her a vitamin tonic which initially improved things but she seems to still have the same problem. Any ideas anyone Please!!

Answer 1

Do you think she may be lonely, after all we all like company.... even animals.

Answer 2

You must go and see another vet. there is something seriously wrong with your goat.

the not eating much and salivatating could be due to a stomache bug/problem or a digestive problem.

otherwise it could be to do with his/her teeth...animals are very fussy and won't eat if they're teeth are unsettled.

i am not sure about the drinking a lot part though.

hope this helps.

Answer 3

My vet's been stumped by some of the stuff my goats have ended up with, too - so don't panic.

Some questions you need to ask your vet is if he has drawn blood and fecal samples.  These test results will indicate any presence of parasites, infection or some diseases.  Ask if she has been (or can be) tested for Johnes Disease, white muscle disease (which is a selenium deficiency) and coccidiosis.  Some of these are pretty basic, but if your goat is over the age of 4, check into the possibility of Johnes, which is a chronic wasting disease.  It's not good news, but there are certain things that you can do to treat the symptoms and prolong their lifespan.

Has your goat been given its current CDT?  What type of wormer are you using?  Safeguard is great, but you may want to talk to your vet about dosing her with Ivomec Plus (for cattle - you have to watch the dosage carefully).  Resistant parasites sometimes don't respond to Safeguard.  Is she running a fever?  Has the vet ruled out listeriosis (circling disease)?

Is her stool normal or soft?  Have you changed feeds lately?  Changed hay?  Any of these may contribute to bloat or a stomach issue.  Was she bred this year?  Some of my does go off feed after kidding and I have to race to find something they'll like better.  If you are feeding regular pellets, try a textured sweet feed, beet pulp, cracked corn, or in a pinch, I've given a skinny, picky doe toddler cookies (Gerber Graduates banana cookies are 30 calories each, and it might be an easy way to get some calories into her!)

Has she been offered baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)?  Drooling and water drinking without an appetite can indicate a stomach issue.  Goats usually don't eat things that are toxic or dangerous, but there's always a chance.  Has she gotten into anything she shouldn't have?

Make sure you give her a vitamin B injection ASAP.  Vitamin B will give her energy and will help keep her rumen functioning.  This is the very first thing you want to do with any kind of health issue with your goat.  For a 150 lb. doe, you can give a 1 ML injection subcutaneously every 2-3 days during the course of treatment.  It'll really help.

I wish I could give you a sure-fire fix, but there's so many different things it could be.  If you want to, you can email me with more specifics and I'll try to help you narrow it down.

Good luck - I know how scary this sort of thing can be.

Answer 4

Has she gotten into anything that might be tangled in her stomach or digestive track?  I would take her into the vet to get an x-ray if this goes on.  If there is something tangled up in there that is not hard, like string for example, a vet would not be able to feel it.  An X-ray might not even show it.  It may take exploratory surgery to see what the problem is.  It might have turned septic.  It might not be it, but from what you've told me, it sound just like what happened to me.  I won't go on about it, but it did not end well.

Answer 5

I'm just here for the points.