HELP!! Bloated baby goat

[katlynd003]

I have a 3 week old alpine baby goat and he's been bloated all day I don't know the cause of it I'm really worried. What can I do to help him? He is bottle fed, been drinking calf milk formula

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Bottle babies will bloat if feed improperly. They are very sensitive to changes in volume and especially with a milk replacer in the ratio of the mix. Calf milk replacer isn't good for goats and can cause bloat. If you are going to feed a milk replacer you should feed one made for goats and follow directions. Making and changes slowly.

I will treat bloat with some baking soda mixed in water, about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in a cup, either feed it through the bottle or use a syringe to slowly squirt it in the mouth making sure it's swallowing and not inhaling it. Your goat should start to burp soon after. Get it moving around. You will need to find a goat milk replacer and follow the directions.

 

[katlynd003]

Bottle babies will bloat if feed improperly. They are very sensitive to changes in volume and especially with a milk replacer in the ratio of the mix. Calf milk replacer isn't good for goats and can cause bloat. If you are going to feed a milk replacer you should feed one made for goats and follow directions. Making and changes slowly.

I will treat bloat with some baking soda mixed in water, about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in a cup, either feed it through the bottle or use a syringe to slowly squirt it in the mouth making sure it's swallowing and not inhaling it. Your goat should start to burp soon after. Get it moving around. You will need to find a goat milk replacer and follow the directions.

I bought unimilk for him now and just gave him some baking soda about how long does it take to start making him burp

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They should feel better within 10-30 minutes. Hopefully he's okay, I was a bit worried.

 

[cassie]

Bottle babies will bloat if feed improperly. They are very sensitive to changes in volume and especially with a milk replacer in the ratio of the mix. Calf milk replacer isn't good for goats and can cause bloat. If you are going to feed a milk replacer you should feed one made for goats and follow directions. Making and changes slowly.

I will treat bloat with some baking soda mixed in water, about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in a cup, either feed it through the bottle or use a syringe to slowly squirt it in the mouth making sure it's swallowing and not inhaling it. Your goat should start to burp soon after. Get it moving around. You will need to find a goat milk replacer and follow the directions.

It depends on why he is bloated. Entero would be my first guess. How is he standing? Is he getting up and lying down? Grinding his teeth? Looking back at his belly? Does he seem constipated? Does the belly seem tight?

Has the kid been vaccinated for entero? In any event I would get some entertoxemia (clostridium perfingens) antitoxin and administer it ASAP. If the kid doesn't have entero the antitoxin won't hurt and if it does, the antitoxin may well save its life. As for feeding calf replacer to kids, it can work out just fine. I personally know a dairy that raises several hundred kids a year on a premium calf replacer and the kids thrive on it. Occasionally one may bloat but GasX takes care of it. I have seen, and I have had kids bloat on the premium replacers formulated just for kids so I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference. If you have just a few kids you are better off to feed milk than replacer anyway.

 

[katlynd003]

He is standing normal and has pooped twice since I gave him the baking soda

Here's a picture of his belly. His belly is really tight. He grits his teeth occasionally but not all the time. I can tell he doesn't feel good because he doesn't want me to hold him

 

[cassie]

This is what I would do if he were my goat. First of all, I would give him a tablet of GasX. You can get it at any grocery or drug store. If it is simple bloat, the GasX will cause him to deflate promptly. The baking soda certainly can't hurt either. If it is entero, without the antitoxin it isn't going to make much difference what else you do. A dose of penicillin might help. Penicillin is effective against clostridium perfingens. Usually, entero kills very quickly, but sometimes you are lucky and the animal will have a slower form and this gives you some time to round up some antitoxin. Just from the picture it is hard to tell for sure if it is entero or not, but from the way he is standing I'm guessing it may not be.

 

[cassie]

The tooth grinding means he is in pain.

 

[katlynd003]

This is what I would do if he were my goat.  First of all, I would give him a tablet of GasX.  You can get it at any grocery or drug store.  If it is simple bloat, the GasX will cause him to deflate promptly. The baking soda certainly can't hurt either. If it is entero, without the antitoxin it isn't going to make much difference what else you do. A dose of penicillin might help. Penicillin is effective against clostridium perfingens.  Usually, entero kills very quickly, but sometimes you are lucky and the animal will have a slower form and this gives you some time to round up some antitoxin. Just from the picture it is hard to tell for sure if it is entero or not, but from the way he is standing I'm guessing it may not be.

i gave him gas-x mixed with water by syringe and he has pooped diarrhea twice. Bloating went down a little bit but not fully. also he is walking around trying to stretch his belly out some too. I noticed he starts bloating worse as soon as I give him a bottle

 

[cassie]

It sounds like your kid may have entero although without seeing him it's hard to tell for sure. You really need to find some clostridium perfingens antitoxin. You ought to be able to find it at any livestock supply or feed store that carries vaccines. Be sure you yet antitoxin and not toxoid. When you get it, give it under the skin. Draw up another dose in the syringe, remove the needle and give this dose orally. If you don't see improvement in about 20 minutes, repeat. Some penicillin both under the skin and orally will help too. As I said before, if he doesn't have entero the antitoxin won't hurt him, but if he does, without the antitoxin his chances of survival are slim.