My husband and i noticed our doe has froth on her mouth, now she is due to kid any minute, and when she went poop, it was loose, not the normal pellet looking stuff, can anyone give me help on what in the world could be going on with her???? she is also about 7 or 8 in age. thanks, Laurie,and Scott

-- Laurie and Scott Franke (slaf99@cs.com), February 15, 2002

Answers

Sounds like bloat to me. Can you get a tube down and see if any gas is released? If not it could still be bloat and she'll need a bloat treatment or at the very least some veggie oil. Now not later.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), February 15, 2002.

I agree that it sounds like frothy bloat. How is intake? Has her diet changed lately (i.e., access to richer forage or an increase in grain access too quickly)? If you can't tube her with confidence to release any gas try offering sodium bicarbonate. Also, let us know how her rumen motility is by listening with a stethoscope (or by putting your ear right up to her left side).

-- Dewey Longuski (longuski@pilot.msu.edu), February 15, 2002.

If the doe is shanking it head and screaming and is kind of vomiting it's cud it might have eatin something poisonous.Something mixed in the hay possibly.When I get a new goat brought to my land they sometimes eat the mountain laural and get sick for half a day and get a smelly discharge from their mouth.I usually just let them alone and they feel better after a while. A way to tell if it's bloat or not is, the goats usually burp up their cud and chew it even when they are not eating.If they are not burping up cud and chewing, it's probably bloat and if you don't have a bloat treatment, an 8 ounce glass of vegetable oil poured down the goats throat while someone holds her head and mouth open helps greatly.Watch her to see if it is bloat or not by seeing if she is burping up and chewing her cud.Bloat needs to be treated fast or she could die.

-- SM Steve (notrealmail@msn.com), February 15, 2002.

I think we all agree it is probably frothy bloat. We use a turkey baster to put veg. oil into the goat as usually there is just one person available. Straddly the goat so that you can open her mouth with one hand and put the baster in with the other. This also has the advantage of there being less chance of getting it into her lungs. As mentioned above, the time for the oil is now, not later.

-- Dianne Wood - Woodland, WA (woodgoat@pacifier.com), February 15, 2002.

Oops...if you don't know what straddly means, change it to straddle. Thanks. My fingers runneth away.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), February 15, 2002.