A Loss on the Farm

If you remember from a previous post, Annie, our Nubian goat, had triplets yet again.  The only female kid was stepped on by Luna and was injured, but has recovered.  She walks with a limp that is only noticeable if you know about her injury.  The two bucklings have been plagued for the past week with diarrhea.  This is not uncommon in calves and kids.  Sometimes they drink too much milk.  We live in a hot, humid, wet area and that serves as an ideal breeding place for bacteria and parasites.

Last week Tricia told me that Domino was getting skinny and weak as he continued to have runny stools.  Domino was one of the bucklings who was named Domino because of his white spots on his black torso.  Tricia began reading up on causes and treatments of diarrhea in goats and began treating him. 

Domino did not respond to treatment and continued to worsen.  Tricia went out to the barn numerous times trying to keep him hydrated and comfort him.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  Domino would cry a weak cry.  Tricia is not one to exaggerate or get overly emotional, but she told me, "I think we are going to lose Domino."

Tricia was right.  Friday morning, Tricia went out to care for little Domino.  He was struggling to breathe.  When Tricia gently picked him up to re position him, he breathed his last.  Tricia got a stool sample and brought it to our veterinarian to identify the culprit.

He informed us the name of the parasite.  It is very common in this area and this is the prime time for losing animals.  In fact, our vet told us that he has a veterinarian friend that gave up raising goats due to his frequent loss of goats to this parasite.  He sold us some valbazen wormer that should do the trick and we are treating the other goat that was affected.

It is always a sad thing to lose an animal.  We move forward, though, and continue to try to do our best to care for our animals.