Red Urine In Goat!!!!

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have known people to give a bottle of warm water after the bottle. I never did but I never heard of any trouble from doing so. If alfalfa caused stones in bucks all of my bucks over the years would have had them. They didn't. Neither did the bucks of my neighbors and they fed alfalfa to their bucks, too. Whether alfalfa causes a problem in bucks may depend on where you are and the mineral content of your water.The only time any of my bucks ever got stones was once when the automatic waterer failed and I didn't notice it until some time had passed. One of the bucklings in that pen got stones and the vet told me the lack of water was likely the cause. Made sure that didn't happen again. Some people put ACV in their buck's water to prevent stones. Don't know if it helps but it can't hurt. If your buck had stones he would most likely be straining and show signs of pain. Red urine can be caused by a number of things. There is a condition called red water in cattle but I wouldn't think he would have that. See how he is tomorrow. Is he droopy? Does he have a fever? Could he have received a blow from another goat? If that red urine continues you need to talk to your vet. See how he is tomorrow and go from there.

It is not that alfalfa *will* cause stones - it is that alfalfa has a much higher calcium content than grass hay and a diet high in calcium *can* be a cause of the development of stones. Just as how a diet high in calcium can cause serious health issues for roosters and non-laying chickens who store the excess calcium in their body vs. expelling it in the form of shelled eggs.

 

[cassie]

I have read that about alfalfa and urinary calculi for years. It makes sense. However, if it were true I should have seen urinary calculi in bucks. If not mine, then in someone else's. But I haven't. I personally think it is one of those things that make sense and are logical, but are nevertheless not true. I'll tell you why I say this. I raised goats for over 40 years. Had a dairy and quite a few bucks. The bucks were fed alfalfa almost exclusively. I know quite a few people who have raised goats longer than I, had and have much larger operations than I ever did and who feed their bucks alfalfa with no problems whatsoever. There has got to be some other factor involved.

 

[GuineaFowling]

Happy to report that his urine is no longer red. No idea what caused it but I am going to buy some ammonium chloride to keep on hand in case he does it get a stone. I know there is a feed that has that in it that people feed to their bucks but my feed store doesn't carry it. I am going to closely monitor him for about a week to make sure all is well. Thanks for the responses!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I have read that about alfalfa and urinary calculi for years.  It makes sense.  However, if it were true I should have seen urinary calculi in bucks. If not mine, then in someone else's.  But I haven't.  I personally think it is one of those things that make sense and are logical, but are nevertheless not true. I'll tell you why I say this.  I raised goats for over 40 years. Had a dairy and quite a few bucks.  The bucks were fed alfalfa almost exclusively.  I know quite a few people who have raised goats longer than I, had and have much larger operations than I ever did and who feed their bucks alfalfa with no problems whatsoever. There has got to be some other factor involved.

Most likely, urine pH is also playing a role.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Goats fed a high grain diet don't produce as much saliva as they do eating roughage, cud chewing produces enough saliva to keep the highly acidic rumen a more neutral ph. When too much grain is added goats can develop acidosis as well as bloat and other digestive problems, it may also contribute to the formation of stones in male goats, another theory.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

This is a fairly good resource to explain stone formation in goats. Be warned though, there are a few graphic necropsy pictures.

http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/SP/MG/Documents/SLIDES/Urinary calculi.pdf

It's not the calcium that causes stone formation but an imbalance in the calciumhosphorus ratio. Calcium is actually beneficial for goats, as it helps phosphorus get absorbed by the intestines so it is not lost in the feces. It goes into more details if you are interested. I think the worst thing for goats though is a being over fed a rich, grain diet. Many goats do quite well on forage, especially bucks. Alfalfa does have a lot of protein in it though, which is often why it needs to be limited.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks, good information

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

No problem. I'm learning myself, but I actually signed up for a sheep and goat medicine class this "elective" period, so I'm sure come March, I'll be a lot more knowledgable! (Well, hopefully!)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds exciting, that article really did explain things pretty well. You will have to share some of what you learn, not a lot of knowledgeable vets as far as goats go around here, though I saw a show that said Wisconsin has the most dairy goats of any state, but most vets are dogs, cats, cows and horses.