Goat bloat

My 3 1/2 month kids have bloat. The vet has seen them twice and given them several medications, including baking Soda, goat bloat, pro biotics nutrient supplements and more. Nothing seems to make any difference. Anyone have a suggestion?

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  • The way you tell the difference between "hay belly" and bloat is that with bloat, the belly is tight as a drum. With hay belly, when you mash it in, it stays mashed in for a bit like cookie dough because you're mashing in all of the chewed up hay and grass.

  • This is NOT bloat. They would have been dead long ago. Big belly is a classic sign of parasites. They're starving, so they're eating as much as they can. Pull down the eyelids. My guess is that they'll be white or very light pink. They should be dark pink or red. White means they are extremely anemic and could die at any time. That would also fit with lethargy. If you've ever been anemic, you know you don't feel like doing anything, including eating.  This is VERY sad that your vet doesn't know this. 

    A fecal can confirm but NOT rule out parasites. If they said it was "negative," they may have simply messed up the test. Goats will ALWAYS have some worm eggs in their poop. It's an over-abundance of worms that will make them sick. You have to be sure that you use fresh poop and that the fecal is done immediately and correctly. Worm eggs will hatch in the poop if it's above 50 degrees. If it's room temp, they'll hatch in an hour or so, so if that sample sat on the counter in the vet office, they would not have seen any eggs because they'd all hatched, and they don't see live worms in the flotation. If your vet is used to seeing dogs and cats, they have "negative" fecals. Goats don't.

  • Before stomach bloating free choice hay, water, goat minerals and a small handful of goat grains or black sunflower seeds. Since bloating began only hay, minerals and water.
  • What are you feeding them? (What is their normal diet?)

  • I should have mentioned that a fecal test was done and was negative for parasites.
  • I'd be more concerned about parasites than bloat.  Jess is right, if it were active bloat they would be critically ill by now. Leaves should not be hurting your goats, it's their natural diet.  It's possible they got into some poisonous ones, but that wouldn't necessarily cause bloat. And that would be a completely different treatment plan. 

    Most vets don't know a lot about goats.  I would call around to the large animal vets in your area and see if you can find one that knows goats.  

  • The lethargy and not eating well began with the bulbous stomachs
    The vet mostly relied on the way they looked.
    The vet also was concerned about them eating a lot of leaves prior to the symptoms appearing
  • If it were bloat, yes, I'd think they'd be dead by now. And they'd probably be feeling too ill to eat anything.
    Were lethargy and decreased appetite the initial symptoms, too? If those are more recent symptoms they could be in reaction to the medications making them feel a bit off.

    What symptoms did the vet cite for bloat?
  • Symptoms started about a week ago. Treatment started last Wednesday. They are lethargic and not eating as much as usual
  • When did you first suspect bloat and when did the treatments start?

    Are they behaving abnormally? Or in distress?
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