My 4 week old is bottle fed Land O Lakes Doe's Match milk replacer. She is 5 pounds and I give her 6 oz four times a day. I noticed this two days ago her stool looked a little soft, yesterday I didn't notice anything, this morning it was runny enough that it stuck to her back side. Other than this, she seems to have her normal bubbly personality. She hopping and running all over and is just so adorable.
Any suggestions on what I should do?
Replies
Medicated milk replacer is specifically for coccidia prevention, although I have seen medicated feed actually take care of an active case of coccidiosis. It would probably be the most cost effective way for you to deal with this.
You shouldn't use a dewormer unless she is actually having a problem with worms, just as you wouldn't give her an antibiotic unless she was actually sick. Same idea. Worms are starting to get resistant to dewormers, so they need to be used only when needed -- just like antibiotics. The most common worm in most parts of the US is the barber pole (haemonchus contortus), and it causes anemia. You can pull down her lower eyelid, and it should be bright red or at least dark pink. If it's light pink or white, that's a sign of anemia, and it's usually related to worms because barber pole attaches itself to the inside of their stomach and sucks their blood. Other worms can cause diarrhea or bottle jaw (swelling under the jaw).
Thank you so much! I'm going to cut back on her milk, hopefully that will solve the problem. Will the medicated milk replacer help with the Coccidia or just is good for other things? Is there one brand better than the other and how long should I feed the medicated milk replacer to her?
Also, at what age should I deworm her and what should I use?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
If she had been with other goats, then she could have been exposed. Three to four weeks is right about when you see a problem. She should probably be treated for coccidiosis. If you don't have a big herd of goats, you might want to get the meds from the vet or perhaps the person who sold you the kid. Coccidia meds are sold in rather large quantities at the farm stores and online. You can also get medicated milk replacer.
If you decide to cut back on the bottles today to see if that helps, you would still give her about 18-24 ounces in 24 hours, but split it up into smaller bottles, more often. If it's too much milk, you should see the diarrhea stop within 12 hours or so. So, if it's too late for you to get anything today, you can try the smaller feedings, but if she still has diarrhea by tomorrow, you need to find something for coccidia.
She is in the house, but goes in a kennel at night and when we leave. I have cypress down to keep her clean, changes daily or every two days at most. I don't think she was always in the house though, when we got her, she was with the other goats at times in shed type housing. Two oz in a bottle how often? She acts like she is starving when she gets fed, but I did notice you can almost hear is slush in her belly.
Should I treat her for anything or wait and see what happens when I reduce the amount of milk.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
If she's in the house, it's highly unlikely that it's coccidiosis because there's really been no way for her to get it -- unless she was born in an area that was really dirty. A couple of times through the years we've had does give birth unexpectedly outside in a shelter where there was no straw, so the kids got dirt in their mouths right away. In both cases, the kids had coccidiosis right at three weeks, which is the life cycle of coccidia.
If she didn't have that type of exposure, it's probably just too much milk. Try cutting back to 2 ounces in a bottle, but give them more often. Kids double their weight between 1 and 2 weeks, so she is definitely not gaining like she should have, and it's not from lack of milk. There could be something else wrong with her internally. We had a kid born blind a couple of years ago, and as she got older, we realized she had multiple issues. It got harder and harder to give her a bottle as she got older. She died when she was only about 2 months.
Could you give us more history on this doe? Most doelings are 5 pounds by one or two weeks. Is she being bottle-fed because she had challenges from birth? Is she in the house or with other goats in a barn? Giving 24 ounces to a one-month-old would normally be fine, but that's way too much for a kid that only weighs 5 pounds. There is also the possibility of coccidiosis, but we need more details on her history.
Is this a typo? You say she's 4 weeks and weighs 5 lbs.? It might be coccidia, but I'd like to hear whether or not she's really only 5 lbs. That seems quite small to me. Best wishes with the little darling. :)