Aboutgoatlady Expertise Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats.
Note: Keep in mind, the goat expert is volunteering her time to help other goat owners, she also runs her farm with her own herd of 100 goats and may not be at her computer at all hours. Questions are answered as soon as she can possibly read and answer them, usually within 24 hours.
(! During times of severe summer weather in the Midwest, I may experience a delay in internet service due to the interference of the satellite reception - but will answer your questions as soon as service is restored. !)
Experience 17 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction.
Organizations 5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service
Publications United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™
Education/Credentials Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Expert: goatlady Date: 7/10/2008 Subject: Sudden pot belly goats
Question QUESTION: Hi, I have 4 goats. I feed them all scrapes from my fresh fruits and vegetables. I was told "Goats can eat anything!" Well a couple days after I fed the goats some corn husks, cantaloupe rinds, a very soft peach, watercress roots, banana skins and cooked corn cobs, Jack, my 1 1/2 year old billy goat (now fixed) grew a huge bloated pot belly and he seems to be ill. He is moping around and he doesn't want to stay around his wife Baby 1 1/2 years old and their two twin girls (Fawn & Mickey) 5 months old. They share there area with 4 sheep, 5 geese, 3 ducks, 6 chickens and 2 great Pyrenees dogs. They were all wormed 2 months ago with this awful purple liquid that the vet gave me. We live in western Kentucky and have not had rain for about 2 weeks so they all have been eating hay and all stock feed since the grass is not growing well. The other 3 goats are starting to show a pot belly, but not showing any illness signs. Do you think the pot belly is from some scrapes I gave them? Are there any vegetables or fruits that you should not feed your goats? Do you know from the info I have given you if there is something else causing the sudden pot belly ( feels like air ) in the tummy? Maybe worms?
ANSWER: Hi Amy,
First of all you need to massage his left side where you feel the air- and get some baking soda in a teaspoon wet it with some water to make it like toothpaste and give it to him in his mouth - like you would feed a baby, then rub again his left side up high where the air is. He needs to burp. You also need to get a digital thermometer like people use and take his temperature rectally like you would a child and see what it is- normal is 101.5 to 103.5. Both higher and lower are not good. This may take an hour to get the gas up.
The hay they are eating needs to be good quality and never ever moldy and they should have as much as they want. The grain needs to be cut back so they do not eat more than a half cup each and this also cannot be moldy. What breed of goat are they? A pygmy goat looks potbellied naturally. This is my article on bloat and has photos of a goat who is bloated as well: http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=81
The purple stuff is called cydectin and it smells like gasoline sort of and it is not the best choice for deworming.
You need to get Ivomec Plus injectable and or Valbazen oral white liquid. Read my article on deworming, it explains what to use and how to use it : http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=46
All of this being said, is he peeing? watch him carefully to see if he pees a good steady stream. If not, is he kicking at his belly? If he is a wether (castrated male) too much sweet feed can cause urinary calculi where a stone clogs the urethra and prevents the urine from coming out properly, this can be fatal if not dealt with.
Here is my article on UC: http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=128
Goats should not eat an fruits with a pit in the center, peaches, plums cherries etc. All the rest of what you mentioned is fine.
I have a couple of different articles on my website where you can look up different plants poisonous to goats- look at the left menu for these links: http://Goat-Link.com
If he has a high temperature he may have pneumonia. Is he coughing at all or does he have a runny nose at all? Pneumonia is treated with Tyaln200 ( I use 1cc/25lbs injected SUbQ twice a day) which is an antibiotic you can get online from livestock supply houses. The dewormers can be found there as well- if they cannot be found at the local feed store- a good feed store will carry all of these things.
(The general livestock catalogs below each carry similar livestock products. It is helpful to shop in all of them, as products and prices vary from one to another.)
Jeffers Catalog is similar to that of Omaha in its coverage of livestock supplies, except that it has no prescription section. Its phone # is: 1-800-533-3377. www.jefferslivestock.com.
KV Vet Supply has an extensive offering to meet the needs of livestock owners, as well as owners of small animals, and has a prescription section. It carries the flotation systems used for running fecals . Its phone # is 1-800-423-8211. www.kvvet.com.
Omaha Vaccine's Professional Producer catalog carries a wide range of livestock supplies, and has a prescription section. Its phone # is: 1-800-367-4444. www.omahavaccine.com.
PBS Livestock Health Catalog is a good source for supplies, and has a prescription section. Its phone # is 1-800-321-0235. www.pbsanimalhealth.com
Revival Animal Health catalog has the French catheters for tubing kids! Its phone # is 1-800-786-4751. www.revivalanimal.com.
Valley Vet Supply is an additional source of meds and supplies that is worth browsing thru while deciding who has the best buys! Its phone # is 1-800-468-0059. www.valleyvet.com.
Nasco Farm and Ranch catalog is a great source for farm-oriented equipment and supplies, carrying a much wider range than most other catalogs. It's retail, but if you can't find it elsewhere, this is a great place to look. Its phone # is 1-800-558-9595. www.enasco.com
Read my website through, it has many good articles to help you with your goats and my site is geared toward new goat owners making it easy to understand.
goatlady
Goat-Link.com
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QUESTION: Hi, We had a big storm last night and the goats and sheep were up and moving. Bambi and her babies were not bloated in the morning but Jack still is. He looks just like the photo of your pot belly pig that has bloat. I massaged him and gave him baking soda paste and massaged him again, but still no burp that I could hear. I watched him the rest of the day and he seems to be less out of it. He ate hay in the evening and a 1/2 cup all stock feed at night. I rescue most of my animals and I am really picky about hay and feed. Always barn kept..NO MOLD hay and since I have a lot of different types of animals I chose to feed an sweet all stock feed. Well about 2 hours after all 4 goats ate the all stock they had big bloated bellies again! Should the goats not eat All Stock Sweet Feed? I don't see any signs of the bag being damaged or moldy. I gave Jack 20cc of yogurt tonight with live cultures and I massaged him again for an hour. He didn't burp but seemed to feel a little relieved. He has never been down yet and I was wondering how long does it take for all the air to get out? I have only had all my animals for a year and a half, so I learn something new almost everyday. I really appreciate your help and advise. My vet is great but he is a country vet, we are from southern California, and he uses the cheapest remedies available as per most customers request, so It is nice to have another resource. Thanks again, AMY
Answer HI Amy,
Try not giving them grain for a few days- all of them and see if this makes a difference. When you massage a goat rumen (left side where the gas is) they should burp in a matter of minutes - I usually spend an hour or so rubbing massaging and alternating baking soda with massage- you will hear him burp no doubt about it. The photo is not a pig really, she is a goat..a pygmy goat.. I was trying to be funny in the article (maybe I should change that sentence ) She is a pygmy goat with bloat- too much rich alfalfa hay.
See how the left side is so much higher and bigger than the right? This is bloat- the left side is way bigger than the right side because this is where the rumen is- the largest part of the 4 chambered stomach. This is where the gas is and where you need to massage - high up on the left side. Do you have pygmy goats? They are naturally pot bellied shaped- it is when the left side gets so big and full of air that it is considered bloated and when they are in pain and cannot breath correctly and are not bringing up cud. Good for you on the 'no mold' hay- many people do not know this. Have you been able to deworm them yet?
I think I would take the grain away for a few days and see if this makes a difference- You will not be popular I warn you.. ;)
