Warning about buying "pigmy" goats

[Chantemerlière]

Following an advert from a Forum on another website, we made the trip up into the Deux-Sèvres to buy a young

male. After a 2½ hour journey we found an élever and it was not a pigmy goat that

he had but a larger variety. Still,

never mind they seemed nice people and we decided to have him.

He was fine when we got him home and was

soon following our ram around and settling in well. However, 6 days later he

seemed unwell and we took him to the vet. The vet diagnosed indigestion and

gave him some medicine. The next morning

he appeared to be back to normal and we let him out. Some time mid morning he went

into the shelter, which was usual for him, but when I went to look for him at

around 11:30am, he was dead. We had had him one week.

We took him for an autopsy and apparently

he died from something called Enterotoxemia or Pulpy kidney! This is a common disease affecting young goats and it causes sudden death. There is no cure and anyway, due to the

short course of the disease, treatment is generally not possible or practical. The

only answer is vaccination and an effective vaccine is available to control the

disease. Young animals should be

vaccinated when they are a couple of weeks old and all good élevers should do

this.

The following day I phoned the élever (who

by the way, is English) and spoke to the wife. “Oh dear, theses thing happen”,

she said and when I went on to explain the disease she seemed to know all about

it. She said that her husband doesn’t like injecting the animals but that he

would email us when he got in. That was a week ago and we have

not heard from them since. We have since emailed them and again no response.

So, be warned, if you want to give a good

home to a “pigmy” goat find out a bit more about their background and get proof

that they have been vaccinated.