Learning how to help my little goats

Hi,

I just purchased 3 Nigerian Dwarf goats. One is a 10 day old doeling and the other 2 are 3 week old boys (soon to be wethers). We are bottle feeding them. One of the boys has had diarrhea since we brought him home a week ago. We got him on some soluable powder similar to Albon and the vet had us take the 107g pack and add it to a gallon of water. We started off giving the boys 7 lm and now they are getting 1/2 that amount for the next 4 days but no change and his diarrhea is more projectile. I had hoped we would see improvedment after 24 hrs. but none as of yet. He finally did have a normal temp of 101.7 after carrying a 105 for a few days. Does anyone know if there is anything else I can do for him? I am also adding in some Pedialyte to his milk to hopefully prevent dehydration but feel pretty helpless with our new boy. We are feeding every 5-6 hours and the vet is coming Thursday and I will ask him to do a fecal as I am not sure if it is coccidia or not. He is still eating well and active. Thanks for any advice anyone can give us. We are so grateful to be on this site where we can learn how to care for our new babies correctly.

Thanks everyone! Robin

Thanks so much!

Cheryl K. Smith said:

I hope you can continue to get enough liquids into him until the vet comes. Is the diarrhea foul-smelling? If so, it may be bacterial. I had success with using the terramycin powder to treat it. It may be the antibiotic you are using isn't working.

I second Janel's recommendation regarding the yogurt. I also suggest that you not give the electrolytes with the milk, but instead, give it solely for several feedings. This may give a clue as to whether it is intolerance to the milk or replacer.

Then you can try the milk again. The pedialyte alone will give him energy, liquids and time for his gut to rest from the milk. (I had a kid who wouldn't tolerate any milk or milk replacer. He lived but was extremely small and died a year later.)

Here is a recipe for homemade electrolytes: http://ruminationsongoats.blogspot.com/2009/05/homemade-electrolyte...

Replies

Robin Parmley June 15, 2011 at 5:23am

Thanks so much!

Cheryl K. Smith said:
I hope you can continue to get enough liquids into him until the vet comes. Is the diarrhea foul-smelling? If so, it may be bacterial. I had success with using the terramycin powder to treat it. It may be the antibiotic you are using isn't working.

I second Janel's recommendation regarding the yogurt. I also suggest that you not give the electrolytes with the milk, but instead, give it solely for several feedings. This may give a clue as to whether it is intolerance to the milk or replacer.

Then you can try the milk again. The pedialyte alone will give him energy, liquids and time for his gut to rest from the milk. (I had a kid who wouldn't tolerate any milk or milk replacer. He lived but was extremely small and died a year later.)

Here is a recipe for homemade electrolytes: http://ruminationsongoats.blogspot.com/2009/05/homemade-electrolyte...
Cheryl K. Smith June 14, 2011 at 11:17am

I hope you can continue to get enough liquids into him until the vet comes. Is the diarrhea foul-smelling? If so, it may be bacterial. I had success with using the terramycin powder to treat it. It may be the antibiotic you are using isn't working.

I second Janel's recommendation regarding the yogurt. I also suggest that you not give the electrolytes with the milk, but instead, give it solely for several feedings. This may give a clue as to whether it is intolerance to the milk or replacer.

Then you can try the milk again. The pedialyte alone will give him energy, liquids and time for his gut to rest from the milk. (I had a kid who wouldn't tolerate any milk or milk replacer. He lived but was extremely small and died a year later.)

Here is a recipe for homemade electrolytes: http://ruminationsongoats.blogspot.com/2009/05/homemade-electrolyte...
Deborah Niemann-Boehle June 12, 2011 at 10:15pm

Are you feeding goat milk (fresh, pasteurized, or ultra pasteurized) or milk replacer or cow milk or something else? How much and how often? Warm or cold? What position is the kid's head when you are giving the bottle -- nose to sky or pointing forward?

Have you spoken to the breeder? If so, does he/she have any ideas or suggestions?
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres June 12, 2011 at 9:27pm

My breeder gave my doeling some kaopectate when she got a bout of the runs. It stopped the runs and she did not get them again. Might be something to try to see if you can at least manage the issue until you get the results from the Vet in regards to the coccidia. If he's had it for so long, it seems like at least getting it under control would be a good idea. I'd still get the tests though.
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres June 12, 2011 at 9:24pm

What are you feeding him right now? Whoops! Sorry, I just re read and see you're bottle feeding.
Janel Rickey June 12, 2011 at 3:09pm

So sorry to hear you are having diarrhea issues. One thing we tried with our little guy when he was sick, we added plain or vanilla yogurt to his bottles. This helps build good bacteria into their stomachs. We did this for several days and it really made a difference. I also had some baby acidophiles that I alternated between feeds. Hope this helps!

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