I borrowed 2 goats,one adult and one newly weaned, about 3 weeks ago to eat the weeds in my garden. I also bought a bag of feed that the owner recommended(Nutrena Mighty Goat) which was medicated for cocci. Both goats have been perfectly fine and we were going to take them back after church. Well the young one was dead when we got back from church. It looks like it lay down to sleep and just died. Any ideas because this has got me reconsidering getting a milk goat. Thank you, LaDena

-- LaDena Johnson(delurking) (kjohnson@wcnet.net), October 28, 2001

Answers

What a terrible experience! I'm so sorry for you! Please don't believe that this experience is typical of what happens with goats. In the 6 years that I've worked with goats, I've never experienced an acute death like that. I have worked in places that can be very rough on goats, and there was always something that would clue me in to the fact that something was terribly wrong (diarrhea, off-feed, etc.). Three weeks is such a short time that the animals were still adjusting to the stress of the move (from the breeders place to yours). With no obvious syptoms and no necropsy, you may never know the answer. With the goat so young, it could have possibly have had digestion issues that the breeder didn't know about (since it was just weaned) and you were the one to find the problem. That's terrible! If you enjoyed working with the goats, don't give up due to this one bad experience.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), October 28, 2001.

Looks like tomato plants

-- bin jr (bin@laden.com), October 28, 2001.

Been an idiot jr. if you lose that stupid name, wait a couple of weeks and come back with reality in your mind, there is an outside chance you would be accepted, but we will be watchfull for your stupidity, childness, and inmaturity. At this time you are displaying immense stupidity useing that name, you are insulting those of us who went "over there" to protect rights here, you are jabing the spear into our sides like they did to Christ. It is obvious that you are reaching for help, but your doing it the wrong way....

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), October 28, 2001.

I agree that it could have been wither tomato or potato plants. Otherwise, it could be that there are other plants in your garden that are poisonous to goats or become toxic after a frost. Foxgloves, delphiniums, and rhododendron are just a few ornamentals that are deadly to goats. what were the goats eating before they came to your place? If they were eating hay and no pasture, the sudden change in diet could have been a factor. How much of the grain were they eating per day and had they gotten into it lately?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 28, 2001.

Dealing with as many animals as I do, I've had my share of what we call "unauthorized deaths", our tongue-in-cheek way of describing a sudden, mysterious passing. Once in a while we'll have a necropsy done on the animal, but usually we just watch things a bit more carefully for a few days to see if we have a real problem starting. We almost never do. Those unexpected deaths are discouraging and upsetting, but don't go overboard blaming yourself. Animals drop dead suddenly just like people do, from aneurysyms, unknown birth defects, strokes, allergic reactions, etc. Live & learn, and do your best, and don't blame yourself unnecessarily.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), October 28, 2001.

LaDena, This happens to all of us and it is always worse when it is not your animal that dies. I had gathered cut weeds that a neighbor had cut at the edge of the roads(dirt) around our house. One young weaned goat started screaming and died at my feet. All the rest were just fine! I asked the vet and he said" probably ate something poison", Why didn't it bother the rest? "They did not eat any of it" It doesn't happen very often so don't get discouraged, and goats are usually very hardy creatures. karen

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), October 28, 2001.

Hi LaDena, It's so hard to help with so little information. From your post the only thing that catches my eye is the "just weaned" are you sure the kid was eating? Was it truly used to the Mighty Goat, and how much was it eating. The stress of the move could have caused cocci build up in the system, especially considering where you live. Not eating enough of the medicated feed didn't allow enough of the meds in the blood stream so it wasn't protected. Young stock can die from cocci without any diarrhea (if it had diarrhea than it was cocci or worms), though at necropsy the intestines are riddled with white bumps. Poison is also an option, with the older goat consuming grain, and hay even eating a little of something would not necessarily hurt her though kill the kid. Bloat, if the kid overate the pellets. Enterotoxemia from not being vaccinated and then eating grain at your home, not being used to it. And the one sudden death we had some years back, a heart defect, the only MAYBE concern we have had that perhaps someone at sometime was G6S positive, neither me nor my vet has the records on whose kid it was. She also just laid down in the shade of the tree, didn't wake up when I called to the kids. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 29, 2001.

Thanks for the answers everyone. My friend wasn't upset and told me that it wasn't my fault. This along with my car wreck last week(Tuesday) has me putting off getting a milk goat for now. Well off to pickup girly from school. Thanks again everyone:)

-- LaDena Johnson (kjohnson@wcnet.net), October 29, 2001.

As others have said, many ornamental plants are deadly. The young goat wouldn't have had any chance to build either resistance or judgement. I'd do a web search on each item they might have eaten - each item in your garden and the area they were living. I notice you're in an area where oleander might be grown as well - that's another one that it might have been able to get a lot of without anyone noticing. REALLY, do those searches - people just do not realise how deadly many of the plants they grow as ornamentals are, and that can include deadly to children as well.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 29, 2001.

My friend had the exact same experience. She borrowed several goats from a friend down the street and one day she came out and the goat had dropped dead. There was no indication why and the other goats were fine. There were no ornamentals in the area as they were fenced in to a brambly area and all of the goats had been eating the stuff in the area. The goats all had plenty of water. Luckily, the owners were not upset about it and were quite matter of fact about it although my friend was very upset because she was afraid she had done something wrong. I'll let her know that others experience this same kind of thing and that it is just part of owning goats.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), October 31, 2001.