RIP Grandma the Goat

[AlecBGreen]

My sweet herd leader died tonight after getting into the grain. Blind in one eye and very mischievous but a great animal and wonderful mom. The sad part is she was just days away from bringing her new babies into the world. She will be missed very much

Here she is on the right, with her two daughters.



The rest of the animals are looking rough and I dont know if they will all make it. If you're the praying/good vibing kind, send some their way.

[Charlemagne]

1. Do goats have

a matriarchal social hierarchy like apes and stuff do? I was not aware. Sorry for the loss.

[AlecBGreen]

2. Not necessarily

Its usually a male in my experience but in my herd they all seemed to follow her lead, even the bucks. NOBODY gave her any kind of grief, headbutted her, etc. Everyone loved Grandma

[Sanity Claws]

3. What do you mean, getting into the grain?

Did she eat something that is toxin to goats?
I'm a city slicker and no notice about those marvelous creatures.

[AlecBGreen]

7. Goats are ruminants

that means they regurgitate and rechew their cud. Their body is designed for lots of fiber and the rumen evolved to be at a near-neautral pH. Eating too much grain leads to a quick fermentation in their rumen, dropping the pH and making it much more acid. This is called lactic acidosis. Eating a little grain is OK, eating several pounds each, in a just a few minutes, can lead to death

[Flaxbee]

4. RIP sweet Grandma

So sorry to hear about her! Vibes for the rest of your herd.

I don't understand why getting into the grain killed her and hurt your other animals ...

[elana i am]

5. too much grain can cause toxic shock in ruminants

it's basically poisoning by carbs. the byproducts of digesting starch are toxic in large amounts.

[nolabear]

6. Oh, so sorry. Foundering is so easy and so awful.

Goats are grand critters. Sorry you lost her and the kids.