Very sick goat...

[bheila]

I'm not sure where else to post this. I noticed yesterday that our 6 month old wether pygmy wasn't moving around much yesterday and he has horrible diarrhea. We just got him about 2 weeks ago. His hay hasn't changed because we are the ones who sold hay to his former owner. He did get into the All Purpose Poultry the day before. Could this be what's making him feel so bad? I was told to give him Pepto Bismol, so I did that yesterday. His stool seems to be not so watery this morning. He still drinks water every once in a while, he just won't eat anything. He is so lathargic today. Is that from not eating? I'm not sure what to do for him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I was also told to give him a raw egg for his diarrhea. Now I'm just worried about him being so weak. How long should I wait before I take him to the vet?

 

[goldensunriseranch]

I would get a vet out immediately. He may be dehydrated and his rumen might be 'off' now. Either thing can kill a goat quickly. Some Probios might help which will help get the rumen going again. And I would get something called Nutri-Drench which is a high calorie liquid supplement that could help him bounce back and you can give him that every 8 hours or so. But I wouldn't wait on calling the vet. A fecal culture might be a very good idea. I don't understand the raw egg, that's one thing I would not have done.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

Also is he bloated, does his rumen side feel very hard like he's full of gas? If so he may not eat because he feels so full, but isn't getting any energy from the lack of food. If that is the case I would also give him some bloat treatment, with a lack of that, some kind of oil should help break up the bubbles of bloat and having him step his front legs up onto a hay bale so his front end is higher than his back end will also help get the gas out in belches. Just don't use mineral oil, it is tasteless and he can aspirate it since he won't know to swallow it without any taste.

 

[kinnip]

He may have bloat. Have you noticed him biting at his left side? Is his left side unusually swollen? Is he chewing cud? Can you feel the movements of his rumen?
If it's bloat, the Pepto may help along with a massage of the rumen. Frothy bloat is another matter, however, and might require he be tubed, either by you or a vet. If he's still looking bad tomorrow, you may want to take him in.
When goats, especially young ones, get into feed that upsets their tummies, it can open the door for coccidiosis. If the scours persist, this is very likely to happen. The best OTC treatment I've found for this is Scour-Halt for pigs. Medicate as per the instructions for ten days. This will only help rid him of cocci, and will have no effect on bloat, if that's the problem.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

I was also thinking that if bloat is possible, and there's no bloat treatment on hand you can also try giving him some baking soda besides the oil. It can't hurt.

 

[bheila]

He is bloated. I figured that's part of why he isn't eating. I will give the oil a try.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

And like kinnip said massage the rumen area, between the oil, baking soda, elevating his front end and massage you can usually get it to pass. Get the Probios or even some plain yogurt can help repopulate the rumen with some good bacteria.
But if it continues to get worse and not better I'd have a vet informed at least that you may need them quickly so they can release the gas.
And if you don't have an electrolyte powder to make up into a drink for him to help with the dehydration from the diarrhea, then try some gatorade.

 

[bheila]

So here is what we figured out. On Monday our goat got into some All Purpose Feed. Tuesday the diarrhea started and he also wasn't eating anymore, he was drinking water on his own though. So in total he had diarrhea for 3 days and no appetite. During all of this time I was giving him 1/2 a cup of Gatorade every 1-2 hours.On the fourth day he was no longer pooping and he only peed twice. By the end of the day I had him at the vet. The vet told me that when goats get into chicken feed it usually ends up killing them because it tears apart their insides. So he gave him 5 shots and sent me home with 2 other kinds of medication. He also complimented me on using Gatorade. He said that he would probably pull through because I kept him so hydrated. I'm thankful ya'll suggested Gatorade. I've learned my lesson. It's too bad my little guy had to pay for my lesson.

 

[kinnip]

I'm glad he's o.k. It's hard to keep goats out of things. One of my idiot bucks drank whitewash last week. He spent the day frothing and whining and slinging grody cud all over me. It's paying attention and acting fast that makes the difference between living and dying, so good for you.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

I'm so glad! Yes they do seem to get into things so you are not alone. We were siding a barn once and one of my does thought a mouthful of nails would be tasty, got her in time but have NO idea why she thought they'd be a good snack!
Chicken feed is a favorite thing to try to get into, if I let them range and forget to close the coop I find myself running to shoo goats out of the coop.