Large Poops!

[Suzanne Shaw]

I am having a hard time figuring out why my doe is making clumps of golf ball sized poops.  She had twin bucklings at the end of July, so I have been feeding her about a cup of grain in the morning and a cup in the evening, she has hay and pasture to graze on.  She is more of a grazer than a browser and we have quite a bit of clover in our field even now when everything is looking very yellow.  I'm wondering if maybe she is eating too much clover?  I have asked the breeder that I bought her from if I should be concerned and she said no, but I was always told that if a animal has strange poops you should pay attention.  In the past when she would do this I would give her blackberry branches and it would help her but even this isn't helping!  what could be the problem?  She appears healthy in every other way, shots up to date, and she was wormed in January, could that be the problem?  I sure would appreciate some input:)

[Suzanne Shaw]

Thanks Shannon, so glad I'm not alone!  Poopy Patch, that is so funny, as for the little girl- out of the mouths of babes :)

Shannon C Stangeland said:

Most of ours are making those clumps in the Springtime after kidding while on rich alfalfa/grain diet. With 30+ goats all with clumpy poop It's more like Poopy Patch Farm than Poppy Patch Farm here in the Spring! A little girl at state fair last year looked at our herd sign and thought it said Poopy Patch Farm but her Dad quickly corrected her.

It is always good to worm does just after kidding but don't think you need to be overly worried about clumpy poops.

Shannon

[Suzanne Shaw]

Thanks you guys for all these possible causes.  I did check her eyelid and it is quite lighter than I was hoping to see (my older wether's is as well) so I think I am going to take Debbie Lynn's advice and get the herbal wormer and worm both of them.  I'm assuming it is safe for lactating does?  Thanks again, I'm so glad I found this site:)

Debbie Lynn said:

Shannon,

Glad you brought this up.  I hesitated to mention this as well to Suzanne, because of only owning goats for  three years, and not feeling qualified in stating our observations with our own herd. When it comes to "grain" in our case alfalfa pellets, we can't just let the mom's eat as much as they want on the goat stand during milking.  I add some to their grain ration, but not as much as they want.  If we add too much, we get what Suzanne as described above ourselves. If I back off on the alfalfa pellets, then the goat berries are back to normal.

Suzanne, that is why I offered for you to check their eyelids first.  To me gloopy, clumpy poo doesn't always mean worms, it can also mean too rich of something in the diet too, that is our observation with our herd.  As far as natural dewormer, I'm fond of Molly's Herbal program, from the fiasco farm website, put will use chemicals too if needed.  I'm also very interested in the method that has been described here on the forum, using Famacha as a tool of course, but giving more copper as a form of "deworming" so to speak.  Meaning, if the copper levels are kept high in a goat's system without being toxic, the worms do not like to be in  that environment.  I'm still researching this myself, because I surly want to get to the point of not using chemicals at all if we can.  Just our preferred method, but always open to the ideas of those that are more experienced than I when it comes to goats.

Thanks Shannon for further clarification :)

Shannon C Stangeland said:

Not uncommon at all for does who are getting grain. If you go to a goat show where so many milking does are heavily fed on grain lets just say you had better watch where you step!

[Suzanne Shaw]

That was another potential cause I was thinking as well Shannon, I don't normally feed her this much grain when she is dry, its usually about a handful so, but during the last month of her pregnancy I gradually increased her grain.  When I started seeing  her large clumps of poops I reduced her feed but the breeder I bought her from told me to keep her on the cup twice-a-day feeding while she is nursing.  I'm going to check her eye lids and take it from there.  Thanks for your input, and yes, I have noticed that I have to clean their area alot more often and be extra vigilant about where I step even out in the pasture around their shelter! 

Shannon C Stangeland said:

Not uncommon at all for does who are getting grain. If you go to a goat show where so many milking does are heavily fed on grain lets just say you had better watch where you step!

[Suzanne Shaw]

Thanks so much Debbie, I had a feeling that could be the problem but wanted a second opinion.  Where could I get a natural dewormer?  Thanks again!

Debbie Lynn said:

Suzanne,

I would suspect she needs to be wormed, since she has not been wormed since Jan.  Have you checked her eyelids?  See the "Famacha Score your Goat" video that is posted in the video section of this forum to show you how to do it. If her eyelids are pale to white she is anemic and needs to be wormed.

Also, kidding is an added stress to a goat and stress can activate the worm population in the body.  We like to worm our does right after kidding, we use natural dewormers, but if we suspect a goat is in greater need we use the chemical wormers.