Well the weak goat kid died cuddled up on the couch with me on Thursday night. I got home that evening and he had been out in the barn for the day, had eaten well from the bottle a couple of times. But when I went out he was all fluffed up and standing all alone not moving. I tried to get him to take a bottle but he couldn't latch on. I learned that if they are cold they often have trouble latching. So I brought him into the house and got him warmed up. Fed him a little from a syringe but he just didn't want to swallow it. I had to go out for a bit so I gave him to sis-in-law to warm up. Got home and he was floppy. Couldn't stand up and was super lethargic. Gave him some nutri-drench, which is a concentrated electrolyte, and a b-complex shot. About 10 minutes later he perked up a bit. Was able to stand on his own but still wouldn't take a bottle. Kept syringe feeding him but shortly after he became floppy and lethargic again. His mouth was cold inside, which is another thing I learned - you can tell if they are cold by sticking a finger in their mouth. So I heated up some flax seed bags in the microwave and put them under him and around him while I had him in a blanket on my lap. His temp went up and his mouth was warm, but he was still super floppy. I rubbed him vigorously but still got no real response. I had tried all my tricks and the only thing left was to try tube feeding, which I had never done before. I was thinking of waiting until P got home but it seemed urgent. So I watched a couple of youtube videos and went for it. Last year I bought the tube online from the goat supply place, so at least I had the tools. But I needed a large syringe which would fit on the end of the tube. After 3 trips out to the barn in the freezing cold, I found one that would work. The instructions said to give the kid 1-2 oz. I opted for 1 oz since he was so small and that was the only syringe I had. To tube feed a kid, you measure from where you think their stomach is to their mouth and make a mark on the tube. Then you insert it into the side of their mouth and feed it down into their stomach. It seems like a really horrible, difficult thing to do, but it was actually really easy. It slipped in without any problems or fighting. Once it is in place, you have to listen at the end of the tube to make sure you hear stomach sounds and not breathing sounds. If there are breathing sounds, it is in the lungs so you have to remove and reinsert it. The first time I wasn't sure. Didn't hear gurggling but didn't hear breathing. To be on the safe side, I removed and reinserted it. Heard definite gurrgling. I gave him the syringe full of milk. When removing the tube, it is important to crimp it so any remaining liquid doesn't drain into the lungs on the way out.
Ok, job done. Goat kid was not coughing, spluttering, choking or foaming at the mouth and didn't die, so I knew I'd done it correctly. I hoped to see some improvement in 20 minutes, but there was not change. I took him back to the couch and waited. He breathing became more labored over the course of a couple hours. He had a couple of seizures where he went stiff and trashed about. I kept my hand on his side because his breaths were coming fewer and farther between. I kept waiting for the next breath until at last I waited and the next breath never came. So at midnight, after hours of trying, he went to goat heaven.
I cried a little. I tried so hard to take care of him, but he was just too weak to begin with. And without his mom caring for him, he just didn't have a good enough start. I learned a lot from the experience though. I am sad when I lose an animal but I am trying to remember that I care for them the best that I can and that I learn something in the process. Without the losses I've had this year, I wouldn't have learned the things that kept two of my other goats from dying. So with every death, I hope to save many more lives and be the best goat keeper that I can.
~T
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