Ok my 7 week old nigerian is acting different today. He didn't want his bottle this morning and that is very unusual but I didn't think nothing of it just thought maybe he had eaten enough hay to fill him up. Well while he was out he kept acting like he was peeing but nothing was coming out. So I figured maybe he was dehydrated so I put some water in his bottle and he drank some of it and then went out into the yard and peed. But I don't know if there is something truly wrong with him. He was running around the yard and nibbling on grass and leaves. He don't make any noise when he is attempting to pee like he would be in pain. I'm just worried about him. I don't think he drinks water out of his bucket. What do you think this could be? I don't know if he has peed again since cuz I am not outside atm.
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
Replies
That is great news, just keep a close eye on him. Especially in this heat. And keep giving him a bottle for a little while. I did lose some kids a few years back that the vet could find nothing wrong with except low blood sugar and he swears they must have there milk til at least three months and says not having milk caused it yet they were over 2 months and almost off their bottles. Everyone else seems to wean that early. He talked like there was a connection to the stress from heat and the lack of sugar. I don't know, it never made good sense to me. But we know how vets are.
I've never heard of stones in a 7-week-old, but that sure sounds like the symptoms of a blockage. Has he been castrated yet? I'd probably be calling the vet to see if you can get some ammonium chloride. Some people give it to bucks regularly, and it's a feed additive in some feeds. It probably wouldn't hurt and might help. A vet could give you a better diagnosis though. You can often feel the stone if it's towards the end of the penis.
I'm not an expert either, but those all sound like classic signs of urinary issues... I don't know about trouble shooting that before calling a vet... but I know it can kill pretty quickly if it's not taken care of. Let me see if I can get Deb or someone with better insight to hop over here.
Well he does eat bermuda hay which is very good quality and pelleted food but not very much. He peed earlier today but hasn't peed since that I know of and he is not his usual rambunctious self. I am worried but I am not an expert goat owner so I'm not sure what to do
This could be a sign of a very serious problem in bucks. It sounds to me like he might be in the beginning stages of urinary stones... which can be fatal if not treated... I didn't think it was common in milk fed babies...