Goat Question

[MGG]

My sister has a goat kid who is being bottle fed because it's mom wasn't lactating well. My question is about its poop. It has REALLY runny poop. Like, it just kind of drips out. We are taking it to the vet tomorrow for another issue (something is messed up with his one leg) and we will ask them, but he smells really gross and we have to wipe him off all the time. Just wondered if you guys had any ideas or solutions to help the poor thing out. Thanks

 

[kaythlin]

Question did you take his outside to graze? He could’ve gotten into a bad plant.
Anyways I had the same situation with my baby lamb
He had the grossest runny poop and I know exactly what you’re referring to.
We left it be and he did great. We just kept on bottle feeding him whole cow milk.

 

[MGG]

No we haven't. He is in our dining room on newspaper in a pen. Definitely starting to stink Thanks for your reply. We may have to find somewhere else to put him

 

[chickens really]

@cassie

 

[cassie]

No we haven't. He is in our dining room on newspaper in a pen. Definitely starting to stink Thanks for your reply. We may have to find somewhere else to put him

If he stinks that bad, something is not right. Poop never smells like lilacs, but it shouldn't run you out of the house either. Newspaper is not the best choice. It is very important that new babies be kept clean and dry, and newspapers just don't cut it. I have used shavings and shredded paper. In your case, I think your best bet is to just get some disposable baby diapers. Get the smallest size you can find. They work well. Wet bedding is very unhealthy and it is really hard to keep them dry enough on newspapers. At least I never could.

 

[MGG]

We change the papers all the time, but yes it still smells. We weren't sure if the diapers would be bad for him or infect him or something, but if its ok we will pick some up. Thanks for your reply

 

[MGG]

@cassie , have you ever seen a mild form of white muscle disease in kids? He always holds one leg really stiff, ever since birth. We didn't notice it right away, but the stiffness has progressively gotten worse. He is starting to pronate on his other leg and his hoof on that leg now turns it angle. He holds the stiff leg up now, and is hesitant to jump or play now because of it. It isn't painful to him though. Any idea what it could be or how we could help him? We're taking him to the vet tomorrow afternoon, but if we could help him with a cheaper solution I'm sure my sister would be happy. She loves him so much and would be devastated if anything happened to him. TIA

 

[cassie]

We change the papers all the time, but yes it still smells. We weren't sure if the diapers would be bad for him or infect him or something, but if its ok we will pick some up. Thanks for your reply

I got the idea of using diapers from a sheepman who was raising a bunch of bummer lambs. He kept the new ones in his camper.

 

[MGG]

Cool, thanks. We'll try it

 

[cassie]

@cassie , have you ever seen a mild form of white muscle disease in kids? He always holds one leg really stiff, ever since birth. We didn't notice it right away, but the stiffness has progressively gotten worse. He is starting to pronate on his other leg and his hoof on that leg now turns it angle. He holds the stiff leg up now, and is hesitant to jump or play now because of it. It isn't painful to him though. Any idea what it could be or how we could help him? We're taking him to the vet tomorrow afternoon, but if we could help him with a cheaper solution I'm sure my sister would be happy. She loves him so much and would be devastated if anything happened to him. TIA

I routinely gave my kids a shot of BoSe for white muscle shortly after they were born. White muscle manifests itself in various ways. Trouble using the legs, stiffness, and cardiac problems are just of the few things I have seen.