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Deadly disease going through my herd

5K views 66 replies 23 participants last post by  Goats Rock 
#1 ·
This is something very weird going through our herd 4 goats have now had it ranging from newborns, and yearlings no matter what we give or do it ends in fatality of the goats, first it starts with diarrhea and the slowly leads to them becoming very skinny and weak and in the final 2 days it ends in lameness, not being able to push anything through the body and having no interest in water or food, we thought at first barber pole but that did nothing and then maybe polio tried that literally everything we had including red cell, tried keeping them hydrated but it wasn’t enough and this morning we just lost one of our registered to it we have no clues towards it like the lameness gets so bad that they can’t keep their own head up and drool on themselves does anyone have any leads on what this could be because no matter what it ends in fatality
 
#60 ·
Actually some farmers close to us and friends of ours are losing their goats to the exact same thing, this year they say the goats aren’t reacting to cydectin and they have to use ivermectin, we had another goat farmer come over the other day and he said when the goats go down like that it’s best to bring them in and get their temp up, and it worked for a bit with her but we got to her too late
 
#61 ·
Actually some farmers close to us and friends of ours are losing their goats to the exact same thing, this year they say the goats aren't reacting to cydectin and they have to use ivermectin, we had another goat farmer come over the other day and he said when the goats go down like that it's best to bring them in and get their temp up, and it worked for a bit with her but we got to her too late
I'd really be looking into a bacterial issue, etc. not parasitic, being that it has happened in goats so young.

I would start everybody on 3 cloves of raw garlic every day, tell your friends too.
 
#62 ·
Ok, so this may be way off base- but, with all your losses and the neighbors, etc. I would be looking to environmental. A few years ago, pregnant race horses were dying all over KY, they determined it was caused by a fungus.
Here is part of the article:
75% of all fescue is infected with the endophyte Acremonium coenophialum.

An endophyte is a fungus that grows inside another plant without detriment to the host plant. In some instances, the fungus actually provides benefit to the host plant. Such is the case with Acremonium coenophialum. The fungus produces alkaloids, and these alkaloids protect the plant against certain natural insults such as insects and nematodes. Because of their increased durability, the plants become more tolerant to marginal soils and suboptimal growing conditions.

Endophyte-infected tall fescue causes legions of problems, collectively called fescue toxicosis, in broodmares: prolonged gestation (as long as 13 to 14 months), foaling difficulties, thickened placentas (including "red bag" emergencies), and a decrease or complete absence of milk upon delivery. The ill effects of tall fescue consumption can continue beyond foaling frustrations, as affected mares may be hard to get back in foal, leaving breeders with a smaller foal crop the following year.


Now, I am wondering if your collective hay and or silage has a similar infection. Have you contacted your local extension office? There may be a lot of farmers in your area with a similar problem that may be traced back to a common cause. Just an idea......
 
#63 ·
The ideas from local farmers is interesting, but really just a guess. I'm sure you are tired of losing animals, a necroposy is the only way to figure out what is going on. Yes it costs - but in the long run may save your whole herd - which costs more in $$ and heartache. Ivermectin and cydectin are the same class of wormers - not saying that it's not the problem - but you really don't know. Too many losses to guess at this point. I would contact your vet and find out what you have to do to get the necroposy done.
 
#64 ·
We called the vet to do a necropsy and they said they close at 2 and don’t open until 8 we didn’t have a way to freeze her body so we had to bury her but we are looking at the possibility of making our pasture sandy, also the other doe that had extreme bottle jaw is better with a mixture of apple vinegar+honey+lemon it’s completely gone after 3 days but still continuing dosage
 
#65 ·
Gosh, I wish you would have at least done a self-necropsy, cutting open and checking organs and digestive system for parasites is what they do in the field when vets aren’t available.

We REALLY needed to know what was going on but I hope we can just prevent it.

I’d rest your pasture/rotate them from wherever they are living now or do a deep clean out of all bedding.

Start everyone on a ton of garlic - please please please!! 3-4 cloves per goat daily.

I’d also go to fir Meadow LLC’s website and purchase DWA, GI Soother, and HerBiotic.

All three essential.

Let’s save your goats and never let this awful thing happen again, I am so sorry for this ordeal in your herd.
 
#66 ·
Gosh, I wish you would have at least done a self-necropsy, cutting open and checking organs and digestive system for parasites is what they do in the field when vets aren't available.

We REALLY needed to know what was going on but I hope we can just prevent it.

I'd rest your pasture/rotate them from wherever they are living now or do a deep clean out of all bedding.

Start everyone on a ton of garlic - please please please!! 3-4 cloves per goat daily.

I'd also go to fir Meadow LLC's website and purchase DWA, GI Soother, and HerBiotic.

All three essential.

Let's save your goats and never let this awful thing happen again, I am so sorry for this ordeal in your herd.
yeah definitely going to do that, first year ever having another like this with 5 years owning goats, I don't know how to actually dissect an animal except for a frog so I wouldn't have been much help if I would've done that, we are also getting all our fecals done this month
 
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