3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain (hypocalcemia problems).

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

I'm sorry but whatever is wrong with your goat its not what your feeding! standard protocol here is working up to a pound of grain, maybe more so their eating their milking ration when they kid. I've always done it and I'm not the only one. The AP is just ground up hay..I've fed it as the only roughage as well. Your probably dealing with ketosis now..How were you treating the hypocalcimia?

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

Mishael is right and the vet is wrong regarding feed however I would take her off the grain for right now and get her back up. Is she on her feet?? and what exactly is her temp?
CMPK injectable is the fastest acting for hypocalcimia is she chewing her cud is she ruminating?? Is she drinking pleanty of water?? if not she probably is dehydrated and needs lactated ringers. ASAP

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

Tiffany, where are you located?

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

OK if she is up that is a GOOD thing. put koolaid or gator aid in her water I personally would lay off the nutradrench and give her the oral cmpk 30 cc twice a day. I personally would leave the kids alone if she is up and walking around. put some salt on her tongue so she is thristy. what are you using for cmpk ?? put some baking soda out so she can take some if she wants to. But don't force it down her. What is her temp? Yes please give us a location and put it in your signature line

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

you are correct that is withing the normal range so nope don't believe she has a low grade fever. Do you have any beet pulp?? Black oil sunflower seeds? a cedar tree somewhere? even oatmeal regular kind not instant. Try intising her with any of these things to eat something. Corn chips is also something they like (not too many of those tho) and branch of cedar usually is a good thing. parsley, a leaf of comphey. willow branch course you may not have them greened up yet. Keep her hydrated anyway possible and only offer her a tad of grain 1 cup morning and eve but hopefully alfalfa etc will be her mainstay once she starts eating again.

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

When you say grocery store are you using Sue Reith's recipe and all the ingredients there?

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

With no reduction in temperature and the alfalfa pellets she has been eating I think you are dealing with Ketosis. Has your doe had any swelling in the rear legs or was she in "good" flesh prior to her going off feed. There is a big difference between being fit and pregnant and large because of fat and pregnancy.

Take a look at these links:

http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/milkfever.htm

http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/ketosis.htm

If you have grass hay or clean straw make it available to her with fresh water.

Also, do you have any poly glycol?

http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/medications-2.htm#pg

You can pick it up at any farm store. Until you can get some try making some magic mix

1 part Molasses
1 part Corn Oil
2 parts Karo Syrup

Jolene

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

You probably need to get this goat to a vet with some "sense". An IV would help her tremendously, then keep her on CMPK. If she's still putting milk in that udder, that's good. Could be her belly looks smaller because the kids have turned in a different position. Try gatorage or apple cider vinegar in her water to encourage her to drink. Too much of propylene glycol can cause them not to want to eat, really can kill their appetite. Are you sure of her breeding date? If this is a classic case of Ketosis, you may want to make a decision on which is more important - saving the doe, or the kids. If the doe is more important to you, then you could induce labor to help her try to recover.

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

ok I would not give prop glycol read ARticles on pg 3 Goat 101 by Sue Rieth on Ketosis and also those on Hypocalcimia Keep up the recipe for cmpk give her more than what you have been, 3 cc B Complex twice a day probios

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

Think I'll watch these old timers try to help you as far as meds, and what is wrong with her.........but for my 2 cents worth about the info that your vet give you about killing your doe with that 3 to 1 ratio that you've been feeding is B.S. , and that ain't baking soda if you know what I mean..........we, and I mean a bunch of us would be out back burrying our goats right now if that was the case.
I do however like the plenty of good grass hay right now, and plenty of fresh water too. Don't think I would tinker around trying to abort those kids right now if she were mine. If I were to abort every time that I had a pregnant doe to go off feed (with no temp, and no serious discharge) I would probably never raise a kid here.

Best wishes with your doe,

Whim

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

If all else fails here......try giving her some raw goat milk at room temp.....in a bowl.

I let you decide whether or not you want to heat treat it first (CAE). Not too much at first if she's drinking it.....maybe start with a cup now.....then maybe another cup in an hour or two. .....maybe then two cups again about 3 hours after that.

If you are getting at the point where you are at witts end.......then try this.

Whim

 

Re: 3lbs of alfalfa pellets to 1 lb of grain is killing my goat and unborn kids

Hi Farm mom,
I am in Central Oregon also. I had a 2 yr old FF Lamancha last year go off her feed and do exactly what your doe is doing. She had been eating 3 lbs of pellets and a 1 lb of grain too before she went off feed. We ended up giving her the homemade CMPK twice a day, B complex shots twice a day and probios. She would eat a little hay and nothing else. No fever. She wouldn't drink anything no matter what we tempted her with so we ended up going out several times a day and drenching her with water. She also looked like she'd shrunk and I thought her kids were dead. We did this for two weeks and she ended up delivering one huge very much alive buckling and she was fine. Started eating normal as soon as she kidded.

This year we had all our does on the same feed of 3 lbs alfalfa pellets and 1 lb grain and none had problems.

jo