My 2 yr old buck has had dog-log poos for 2 days. I am new to doing fecals (took a class at convention last summer) so I've done it 3 times. Only thing I find is some cocci eggs and not a lot of them, and only a couple of round worms. His eyelids look nice and pink and he's eating and drinking normally and doesn't seem "off" except maybe more relaxed than I'm used to seeing but he is coming out of rut so that may be why. What could be causing his upset rumen? I had been giving him just a tiny bit of grain morning and night because he's thin already and it's been super cold here but since yesterday I took the boys off any grain at all and they only have good quality hay (+minerals and baking soda). I thought he was improving this morning but this evening it was clear he still has doggie-log poo. Any ideas?
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
Replies
I bolussed him about 3 months ago with COWP (after reading your threads on this site). He still looks low in copper so I tried to give him more just last week but failed to get it down him except a little (putting it in some raisins). The first time I gave him COWP, I used grain and he ate it all but because his poo was clumpy I didn't want to upset his rumen more with grain. We do have high iron in our water but he mostly drinks rainwater except the last couple of months when I've had to take well water out there. I'll give him some more using grain tomorrow, unless you think that's a bad idea given his upset rumen? Thanks for any suggestions.
Do you have any copper boluses (copper oxide wire particles)? If a goat is low on copper, it can make them unusually susceptible to internal parasites.
So, I have had him on a diet of just regular grass hay and he has made no improvement. The last dewormer (safeguard again) had no affect either. Today I checked his eyelids again and they looked pink but then I checked the buckling's eyelids and they were deep red. I realized how much lighter Earl's eyelids are! He must have a worm load that is making him ill and not a diet problem. I gave him a dose of Quest Plus today and I hope I hope I hope this one will kill those buggers for good. Poor guy is so skinny and he has been since I got him 4 months ago although he hasn't had obvious signs of worms until now. Also, I took a sample in to the vet when I first got him and nothing showed so I thought he was clean. He may have had this worm that doesn't show on the fecal all along.
I think this food is just too rich FOR HIS constitution. It is fine with the other goats.
I have this issue with one of my sheep - she was a 4-H sheep and heavily vaccinated and conventionally treated. It destroyed her gut. I got her better using homeopathy but you could do the same with herbs if your an herb person.
So if you don't find hidden worms - it is probably the goat and not the food.
BUT - I will say that I bought a load of 2nd cut hay for my sheep and after a month of eating it - everyone started developing soft stool. We got new hay and it was cleared up in 1 day and no problem since. That 2nd cut hay that caused it was quite rich and just not good for them. The new hay is also 2nd cut but more fibrous and they are doing great.
Tell the poor goat - I'm the same way!!!
Good luck! Go get some less rich hay - real hay in a bale and see if things change.
Judy
Yes, I doubled the dose on the Safeguard and he did improve for a day. So maybe some hatched the next day? If I give him a double dose for 3 days, that should work (I hope I hope!)? I guess rather than going out for another one, I'll try that. Thanks for your help!
You could try three days of Safeguard. When you gave him the Safeguard, did you double the dosage on the bottle? If you want to try a different one, I'd go for Quest Plus because that's a combo with moxidectin (Cydectin) and praziquantel, which should kill all types of worms. However, three days of Safeguard should kill the same worms as one dose of the praziquantel. Ivermectin and moxidectin are in the same family, although moxidectin tends to be a bit stronger. Since he had normal poop after one dose of Safeguard, sounds like you were on the right track.
<sigh> he's still clumpy today :( Should I go get Quest and try for a (gasp) 4th treatment option? Shouldn't it have cleared up overnight since I treated him yesterday morning?
If I compare that to the cattle ivomec, which is 1%, it sounds like you used enough.
I've never heard of anyone dosing horse dewormer like that. Usually you just give double the horse weight, so for a 65# goat, you'd eyeball it at about half of the 250# mark.
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
of 4 Next