I am little concerned about the young kid that we got last week. He was born on 9/27. He still has loose stool- bad. I have given him probiotics- when I can get him to take them, but it does not seem to help. My other two wethers- who are 4 month old brothers- and are the friendliest little guys to us- are not being very good to him . They will not let him in the house during the day- not even in the rain. I am playing crowd control as much as possible, but I cannot be out there all of the time. The one brother rams the young kid when he tries to get into the house, and many times, the only time that I can get them to let the poor little guy in is to physically bring him myself, and stay in there with him. The older boys are double his size, which worries me that they may hurt him.
It is coming up on a week, and I thought that there would be more of an improvement by now. I am a bit concerned about the young kid. He is such a sweet little guy, and I feel terrible for him. I know that he cannot be too happy. It seems like all he wants is to be a part of the herd, and they will not let them- even though they are sweeties- instinct takes over. We have been trying to spend extra time with all of them to help matters.
I am not sure what to do. I have considered trying to find the kid a home where he can be happier, which I really hate to do, since he is such a sweetie. However, I need to keep in mind his safety and happiness.
All threes of these wethers are great, but together they are not working as a herd. My two brothers are great together, but I gues that the old saying that 2 is company and 3 is a crowd must be true- at least for now.
I attached a picture of the little cutie- like the others, he has adorable!
Is this normal? How long does it usually last? How long should I let it go on before I should really worry about the little guy?
Thanks in advance for all of your input! :)
Glad things are going better. If you have any questions and don't get an answer as soon as you think you need it, you can call me. I would just ask that if it is not an emergency that you don't call during the night. We both work and I get up between 4:00 and 5:00am to do chores and get ready for work. We usually are in bed about 9:00pm. Everyone should feel free to call. My home number is 913-681-1927, if I don't answer, leave a message. I am at work from 7:15 to 4:00 weekdays.
Yes- albon is exactly what he is on now, and YES they found it in the fecal test. I am waiting- imaptiently- for the mail today. I ordered di-methox from Hoeggers and it is set to arrive today. I am treating the others with it ASAP.
Things are getting better. The little guy is still a bit of a loaner, but the boys are bullying him much less.
I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. He probably has Cocci. The fastest way to treat it is with Albon. It is a prescription from your vet. 4cc first day then 3cc for 3 days. I hope you took him to the vet. They should have found it if they ran a fecal.
Jeanette Walker
Dianea Fay said:
have gone to someone I trust to ask questions of .Have asked her to jin this group. She has been breeding for 18yrs. I think she might help you. Lets hope she checks her mail tonight.
It should be okay, since he's older, and you're going to start him on the meds right away. The younger they are, the harder it is on them, since their immune system isn't that mature.
Really, I don't see much difference between taking care of 2 and 20 goats unless you're milking them.
I'm not aware of any long-lasting effects of coccidiosis, and in seven years with goats, I haven't seen anything that I'd contribute to an early case of it. Since he's a wether, I'd say there is even less of a problem. Even if his growth were slightly stunted, it wouldn't matter -- and I'm not saying that it would be -- but that's the only thing I can even think of that could happen. Wethers usually get pretty big anyway. Without the hormones, they're usually VERY easy keepers.
I really don't think the problem is the goat -- it's the humans who sold him to you at such a young age AND when they had other kids with coccidiosis AND the fact that they refused to help you when you called and told them he was sick. You're had a rough introduction to goatkeeping. It's usually much more fun!
This whole experience has been awful for the humans and goats involved.
I am still a bit torn about whether of not to actually return the little guy. He seems to be doing better and I am hoping that when I reintroduce him to the other boys they accept him better. Three goats have been so much more work than 2, but we really don't know what it will be like when the little guy gets better and we are not scrubbing out the house and everything in it at least once per day. The little guy is so sweet, and I can't help but to feel guilty about thinking of getting rid of him.
After these anti- biotics, we will better anf free of cocci, right? Can he get it again if the older boys continue to stress him out? Are there any lasting effects of him having the cocci at such a young age?
I'm sorry you had such a dreadful experience. It's very hard to know what to expect when getting your first goats. It seems like a close relationship with a vet would be a good thing, but in the case of goats, it offers no guarantees, since I've yet to find a vet who knows much about them, and I've heard more goat-vet horror stories than I can count. Here's my latest -- a new goat owner was out of town recently, and her wether got his leg stuck in the hay feeder. Her son rushed him to the vet, who said he was okay, but gave him a shot of antibiotics, "just in case." Just in case what? The kid had no broken skin. Even vets who've owned goats don't seem to know much. It's really strange and quite different than what people experience with dogs and cats.
Have fun with the two little guys that you still have!
After heated correspondence with the sellers, they have agreed to take back the kid, and refund 75% of what I paid for him. While I will miss the sweet, cute little guy, I think that this is best. He is on medication and has shown signs of improvement. However with his young age, I think that he is best back with his Mom's protection and original herd. Their herd has 2 other young kids. I think that our boys have tagged him 'sick' and still are pretty rough on him and do not want him in any area with them- can't blame them there. I know this because the little guy escaped quarantine last night and tried to get in the house with them. He manages just long enough to leave some scour for me to scrub this morning. This is the 5th full house scrubbing in 3 days!
I have leaned alot in this experience, check and double check your seller. MAKE sure that they are selling you a healthy goat- ask for paper work in advance. In addition, with all this going on, I think that two healthy, happy goats is an easier situation than 3 battling goats with a sick kid, as we are only goat owners for about a month now.
Thank you all for all of your help and support.
A vet at U of I told me that it's impossible for goats to have zero parasites since they eat off the ground, and all the FAMACHA research pretty much says the same thing. They're specifically talking about worms, so I'm not sure if the same is true of coccidia, but I do know that adults can harbor it, and it usually doesn't bother them. Presence of coccidia in the environment is why some breeders keep their kids in pens separate from adults and why some feed medicated feed to kids or put meds in their water or milk every day.
There's no problem letting the three boys together once you've started the other two on the medication.
Once he is treated for the coccidia, it shouldn't be a problem, so if you wanted to sell him, there's no problem with that. My problems with the people who sold you this goat were: 1) he was MUCH too young to be weaned!!! and 2) they had two doelings with diarrhea, so should have treated him or provided you with the medicine to treat him.
Replies
Things are getting better. The little guy is still a bit of a loaner, but the boys are bullying him much less.
Jeanette Walker
Dianea Fay said:
I'm not aware of any long-lasting effects of coccidiosis, and in seven years with goats, I haven't seen anything that I'd contribute to an early case of it. Since he's a wether, I'd say there is even less of a problem. Even if his growth were slightly stunted, it wouldn't matter -- and I'm not saying that it would be -- but that's the only thing I can even think of that could happen. Wethers usually get pretty big anyway. Without the hormones, they're usually VERY easy keepers.
I really don't think the problem is the goat -- it's the humans who sold him to you at such a young age AND when they had other kids with coccidiosis AND the fact that they refused to help you when you called and told them he was sick. You're had a rough introduction to goatkeeping. It's usually much more fun!
I am still a bit torn about whether of not to actually return the little guy. He seems to be doing better and I am hoping that when I reintroduce him to the other boys they accept him better. Three goats have been so much more work than 2, but we really don't know what it will be like when the little guy gets better and we are not scrubbing out the house and everything in it at least once per day. The little guy is so sweet, and I can't help but to feel guilty about thinking of getting rid of him.
After these anti- biotics, we will better anf free of cocci, right? Can he get it again if the older boys continue to stress him out? Are there any lasting effects of him having the cocci at such a young age?
Have fun with the two little guys that you still have!
I have leaned alot in this experience, check and double check your seller. MAKE sure that they are selling you a healthy goat- ask for paper work in advance. In addition, with all this going on, I think that two healthy, happy goats is an easier situation than 3 battling goats with a sick kid, as we are only goat owners for about a month now.
Thank you all for all of your help and support.
There's no problem letting the three boys together once you've started the other two on the medication.
Once he is treated for the coccidia, it shouldn't be a problem, so if you wanted to sell him, there's no problem with that. My problems with the people who sold you this goat were: 1) he was MUCH too young to be weaned!!! and 2) they had two doelings with diarrhea, so should have treated him or provided you with the medicine to treat him.
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