| Author | Message | ||
     Karlynn (Unregistered Guest) Posted From: 205.188.116.198 Rating: N/A |
Oh you are sooo helpful. She IS chewing cud I watched her yesturday. I guess I am just a little paranoid as I have horses and I know when something is wrong with them cause I just know them...and I have had horses forever it seems. The goats on the other hand are so new and I don't want to make mistakes. Thanks again...your helpfulness is much appreciated! | ||
| Maggie Leman Posted From: 71.111.205.236 Rating: N/A |
If she is eating, playing and comfortable she is not bloated. Bloat makes a goat very painful, they won't eat, they often won't lay down and certainly won't play. The left side right in front of the hip is very swollen and hard and will "ping" like a thumped basketball if you thump it. It is normal for the rumen to look very full if the goat has been eating alot of hay. Alfalfa in particular can cause alot of gas. But if she is ruminating and chewing cud she is not bloated. | ||
| Karlynn (Unregistered Guest) Posted From: 152.163.100.138 Rating: N/A |
I will be very carefull with the selenium/vit E...thanks. She is bloated again. Is this that common? The only thing that I have changed is that I changed her to the first cut alfalfa hay from the second cut. I have given her some Mineral oil and baking soda...is there anything else I can do? She is normal and happy otherwise...she is still eating and playing etc. Thanks again!!! | ||
| Maggie Leman Posted From: 71.111.205.236 Rating: N/A |
Glad to hear she is better. With such a fast improvement I would think it could well be a selenium deficiency. We are also in a selenium deficient area and give BoSe (a selenium/vit. E injection) twice a year at 1 cc per 40 pounds. Selenium and Vit. E are stored in the body and can accumulate. | ||
| karlynn (Unregistered Guest) Posted From: 205.188.116.198 Rating: N/A |
Thanks again. She is MUCH MUCH better tonight! She was laying down when I came into the barn tonight and when she got up she wasn't stiff at all! I am sooo happy to see this. The only thing different is the added slenium/Vit E (which she is getting a very small amount of once a day. I am going to try cutting that back even more just incase. I also started giving them some first cut alfalfa/grass hay hoping that that might help too. I don't have any plain grass hay but I have been looking for some for them. It's actually hard to find around here and I bought some beautiful alfalfa hay for the horses that I paid $2.25/bale for. That's cheap around here. Thanks again and I will keep you posted. | ||
| Maggie Leman Posted From: 71.111.205.236 Rating: N/A |
Excess calcium (and she is getting ALOT of calcium) can cause bone and joint deformities and lameness and stiffness. In your original post you said you were feeding the alfalfa hay. Now that I have the whole picture, it could be the hay in combination with all the other stuff you are feeding that could be causing her problem. Cut out the soy oil, pygmies tend to get fat on AIR and don't need the extra calories. Second cut alfalfa hay is the richest in calcium, you can cut back on that too and add more grass hay. Your grain has added calcium to help balance the phosphorus in it. Minerals usually have added calcium, more in balance with feeding a grass hay than alfalfa. So she is getting alot of calcium. She obviously comes from a herd that has been successfully raised on a diet MUCH lower in calcium too. Easy on the supplemental selenium especially given daily. Selenium can be overdosed and the only symptom of that is death. I raise pygmies for show and don't feed any alfalfa, mostly because it is very expensive here. But many pymgies raised in areas where the alfalfa is cheaper are raised on alfalfa only, no grain. All goats should be getting a loose mineral mix free choice. A beef cattle mix with a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio is a good substitute if you can't find one specifically for goats. I do know of at least one instance of overfeeding calcium to a pygmy that caused joint problems and lameness, similar to what your goat may be experiencing. IF this were a wether he might be having stones by now too. | ||
| karlynn (Unregistered Guest) Posted From: 205.188.116.198 Rating: N/A |
Thanks Maggie. She has really good confirmation from what I know about goats (coming from a horse person) with straight front legs. Right now, she is getting second cut alfalfa hay with a little grass in it and 1/2 cup 13% horse ration with added Soy oil twice a day. I just started supplementing her with Selenium and Vitamin E yesturday in her grain. We are from near London, Ontario. I am just really confused about the hay issue. Is it good to feed alfalfa hay? Her breeder (a petting farm) swears that its the hay causing the problems. thanks again | ||
| Maggie Leman Posted From: 71.111.205.236 Rating: N/A |
Some pygmies have certain myotonic traits (myotonia is what makes fainting goats faint). What exactly do you feed? Is she getting any supplemental mineral? And where are you located? Being a dwarf type goat she may have some leg characteristics and build that makes for stiffness when getting up, such as poorly conformed stifle (rear knee) joints, or crooked front legs. | ||
| karlynn (Unregistered Guest) Posted From: 64.12.116.138 Rating: N/A |
I have a 4 month old Pigmy doe that I have had for just about 3 weeks. I am feeding her fine quality alfalfa hay free choice and ever since I about 2 weeks ago she seems to be really really stiff when she gets up for laying down. She seems fine otherwise. She eats well, is active etc. Another time she was out on her leash and she fell over with her legs straight out (locked) for a second then got up fine. I have been told that she might be a fainting goat but she never does this when she is scared. I was told by a breeder to feed my goats nice alfalfa or alfalfa mix hay and fresh water. Another breeder told me that she is stiff because of the alfalfa hay and that I shouldn't be feeding her ANY alfalfa, corn etc. Is this the hay? Does she have white muscle disease? Does she need added selenium and Vit E? Thanks for any help! |