We live in Northern Minnesota, so when we say it get's cold in the winter, it gets COLD. Just a few winter's ago it was almost -60 with windchills. We had -40 during kidding in December. That is always fun - wet babies when it is nasty outside. During weather like this, it always makes me wonder why I am crazy enough to still live here. With those extreme temperatures though, there is always a risk of a goat going down and their temperature dropping drastically. Why does this happen? There are too many reason's to name: parasite overload, injury, not fed enough (extra grain during the cold months to stay warm is recommended), silent pneumonia (frequently will cause a huge spike in temperature and then their temperature will bottom out - this can happen on warm days too), etc. This post will deal with getting that temperature up, but figuring out what caused the drop and how to treat the reason behind the drop, will require some detective work on your behalf. Once you get the goat's temperature back up again, you need to address WHY it was low or you could still loose the goat.
We just had a goat go down, it was a buckling I had already registered named Jeremy, but now is being wethered because I do not know if there could be any long term effects to his ability to breed after this. I would rather not risk that. There are so few who have the knowledge on how to save a goat under these conditions that I thought it would be wise to share.
The cause of Jeremy's temperature drop was multifaceted. One, a bigger buck hated him and I didn't realize wouldn't let him get his portion of grain. He is a fluffy little guy with more of a round belly, I never realized how skinny he was. A skinny goat in -40 weather cannot stay warm. In addition, that same buck must have hit him from the side as it felt like one of his ribs were broken. My daughter heard whimpering and crying from the buck pen and found him on his side, covered in urine, in -30-50 below windchills. She ran inside carrying him yelling he was dying. There is an old saying - even for goat's that look dead - "a cold dead goat isn't a dead goat until he is a warm dead goat". This is a true statement and can be applied to many a farm animal.
What temperature is dangerous (too low) in a goat?
A goat's normal temperature is between 101-103° F. If the temperature drops below 100° then their rumen starts shutting down. If it stays down for extended periods then it's other organs will shut down also and they will die. NEVER give a goat anything to eat, drink, drench if their temperature is below 100°. ALWAYS verify their temp. is above 100° before giving them anything orally.
What to I need to have to raise my goat's temperature?
Thermometer
Molasses
B-Complex
20 gauge needle w/syringe
Probios
Stress Eaze/Electrolytes (dam's milk if kid)
Plastic Bag (sometimes)
Heat Pad (electric blanket)
My goat is down, temperature below 100°, what do I do now?
First, get them in HOT water. The bathroom sink or the tub will work depending on the size of the goat. I run as hot of water as my hands can handle. You can put the goat in a plastic bag to prevent them from getting wet. I have found it works easier for me to not use the bag and just put them straight into the water - full body covered - except their head. You will have to drain and continue to add hot water to keep the water temperature up. If a goat's temp. is below 100° this is considered a life threatening emergency and it is NOT recommended to just use blanket's etc. You want to get that temp. up asap and hot water is the quickest way to do that. If this is a full grown large breed goat then an electric blanket would be a good option in a heated garage. If you have a heater in the bathroom, then running that to get the air temp. up is also beneficial. Keep them in the water and check their temp. every few minutes to get that temp over 100°. This was an adventure for us this last time. When we first brought Jeremy inside his temp. was so low it was not even readable. After being in the hot water for awhile, his temp. finally showed up at a whopping 91.5°. To make matters worse, the windchills were dangerously cold, so we were getting rippled. That means our electric is shut off for our heat and we have to use a back up system. The ripple is also on our water heater. We quickly ran out of hot water. We were boiling water on the stove trying to keep the water in the tub hot enough. It wasn't enough. We had to pull him out of the water quicker then we would have liked - as he still was not maintaining his temperature - but we couldn't heat the water fast enough on the stove to keep the tub hot.
My goat's temperature is now above 100°, what do I do now?
First, you will want to give them an injection of B-Complex. This will give them energy and also the desire to eat. Dosage is 5cc for every 100lbs.
Secondly, drench them with a mixture of electroylite water (I like the stress eaze that also has the additional vitamins in it) and hot molasses water. If this is a young kid, then we would use dam's milk instead and rub some molasses on the gums. If it is a kid under 24 hours we would use colostrum ONLY. Nothing goes into a kids stomach but colostrum for the first 24 hours. We will slowly keep drenching this to make sure the goat is not dehydrated or does not become dehydrated. The sugar and vitamins also give extra energy.
After administering the above, double check their temp. If it is dropping then you may need to keep them in the water until then can maintain thier temperature better outside of the hot water. Get a heat pad ready.
Take the goat out of the water when his/her temp. does not bottom out when removed. Time will very on goat - we had one that was laid on by his dam that couldn't be removed from the water for hours and the heating pad for 24 hours. Jeremy was in water for probably around 1-2 hours and heating pad 3-4 more. Then remove the plastic bag (or blow dry until dry) and get him/her on a heat pad. You will want to prop them up so they are not on their side but upright. Rolled towels or blankets on each side will work for this. Make sure there is a cover on the heat pad before you put the goat on it. If it is a large goat, you may have to use an electric blanket. You do not want to get them too hot or burn them. Keep an eye on the goat's temp. You do not want it above 103°. If the goat is active and wants up and wants to move around - let them - just keep an eye on that temp. to make sure it stays in the normal range.
At this point, detective work is needed. Why did the goat go down? Our's was down because it was too cold, he was on the thinner side, and he was injured by another goat. Anti-inflammatory were given for pain here for Jeremy. If it is likely pneumonia then you would want to administer antibiotics here. And so on and so forth.
My goat's temperature is staying up, what do I do now?
We normally leave the goat inside for the night. This can be tricky, but we want to make sure that they can maintain their temperature without any additional heating supplementation. A heated garage would also work. We give probios and hay at this point. The probios is to help their tummy digest properly after the drop in temp. Jeremy completely ignored his hay when he was removed from the heat pad and still barely stood up. We put clean dry towels in the bathtub and put Jeremy in there with some hay and molasses water to settle in for the night.
In the morning, all Jeremy's hay was gone and he was eagerly waiting to get out of the tub! Because of the temperature difference in the outside air and inside air, we put him in the birthing stall with a heat lamp to help him adjust to going back to the lower temperatures. We didn't want him lonely, so we brought his brother in with him. We left him in there for 24 hours with a heat lamp, another 24 hours with heat lamp only at night, to make sure he still maintained his temp. If the goat is a kid and goes down, I recommend keeping the kid inside and just bottle feeding. There is a risk once you move the goat outside you will then have to deal with pneumonia. This is even a greater risk with small kids, so keeping inside on a bottle is the safest way to go! For the next week or so keep a close eye for signs of pneumonia.
At this point, I would expect that goat to be a pet. We wethered Jeremy. He is a complete sweetheart and he will make a great pet for someone and there is no worries that the huge drop in temp caused any reproductive issues this way. So if you are looking for a great pet, we have him and two other wethers looking for new homes! This is him less then 24 hours after he was down - in the barn with his brother :)
***Disclaimer: We are simple farmers and not veterinarians. This is for informational purposes only. What we do on our farm may not be what is best for your farm so please do your own research. This is not intended to replace professional veterinary and/or medical advice. We disclaim all liability in connection with the use of these products and/or information.