Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Scours in 3 week old kids  (Read 5075 times)

tinwheeler

  • Joined Mar 2012
Scours in 3 week old kids
« on: June 01, 2012, 08:49:29 am »
Hi,
I'm new to keeping goats and have taken on 2 rescue kids from a dairy farm. took them at 2 days old and been feeding lamlac (diluted to recommended goat strength) with no problems. with the fab weather they started going outside for excersise etc whenever I'm there with them from about 10 days old. One started scouring pretty soon after and the other has now done so too. first must have been scouring a week now.
Both seem completely fit and healthy, take bottle happily and are eating every flower, leaf, weed and grass they can when outside.
Scours look like the 'normal' goat berries but in a sort of smelly foamy liquid that dribbles out.
I'd put it down to the sudden change in diet when letting them outside but has been going on long enough now i'm getting concerned.
Advice please!

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2012, 10:13:24 am »
Could be a couple of things but judging from when it started, ie when they started going outside, it could well be coccidiosis. In which case you need to get it sorted asap cos the longer it goes on the more damage it does to the gut.


The vet can give you some stuff for it. They may also give you kaolin and morphine to reduce the scouring, if not you can get at least kaolin from the chemists.


My goat kids got this last year for the first time ever - took a couple of weeks to sort it out but they were fine afterwards.


There's a research project that looks at artificially feeding lambs and found that those where an 8oz pot of live yoghurt was added to every 2 litres of artificial milk, and the milk fed quite cool (not refrigerated just not blood temp) had fewer bloat and scour problems than the others.

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2012, 10:29:12 am »
I would assume coccidiosis.... which WILL kill if left untreated.  They need Baycox or Vecoxan immediately  but this is prescription only so a Vet call I'm afraid.
Never ever leave a kid scouring for more than 12-18hrs without treatment..... they die very quickly.....better to pay the Vet than lose them
Sorry to be blunt but time with goat kids is rarely on our side.

tinwheeler

  • Joined Mar 2012
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2012, 11:53:24 am »
Thanks both. Have spoken to vet who doubts coccy as too young and there have been no other animals on the land they've gone out to for a year or more. They put it down to change in diet and have suggested pro rumen and electric fence to limit their access to such a wide range of plants.

I'd read somewhere that pro rumen not for such young kids though.

Any thoughts?

If I treat for coccy and it's not, will that do any harm?

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2012, 12:01:14 pm »
Cocci can strike kids on outside nibbling from as early as 10days old........most vets, unless experienced with goats, treat them like sheep.   Baycox is dosed at the rate of 3ml per 10kg.
I am reliably informed by goat specialist Vets.... that Cocci, once on the ground is always there.
My choice would be Cocci treatment, restrict milk intake for 24 hrs... difficult if on the dam....but don't forget to dose the mother as well.   It could be she is the one shedding cocci whilst showing no symptoms herself.

chickenfeed

  • Guest
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2012, 12:02:41 pm »
liquid life aid is a must in the first aid cupbord

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2012, 01:44:36 pm »
If these kids are still under 4 weeks of age cocci is unlikely to be the cause, it is more likely that they are out on (damp?) grass and coupled with drinking Lamlac it would explain diaorrhea. If they had cocci they would by now be quite ill and in pain (arched back, not keen on milk). I would feed quite diluted lamlac (more than the recommended level), add some Rehydion, and take them OFF grass and put them onto good quality hay. At this age their rumen is just developing, and hay is a lot safer than grass.
 
I always leave at least one hour, preferably two after feeding milk and before goat kids go outside. I don't let them out if the grass is wet until they are completely off milk.
 
Another safe drug to give in case of suspected coccidiosis is INTRADINE, but that is now not any longer specifically licensed for cocci. Still available, but you may have to buy a whole bottle at a time. It is injectable, so allows exact measures to be administered. Weigh your kids before giving any medicine, if necessary by holding them and going onto your bathroom scales.  ;)

poppy2012

  • Joined Mar 2012
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2012, 10:35:30 pm »
hi there - i had the same problem ...first kidding this year and our girl annie started scouring at about 4 weeks, the foamy poo is exactly what she had, she seemed ok, just a little unhappy for a week - i put it down to the milk- im feeding caprilac - she wasnt overly ill, so a week past and she was still pretty shitty, so decided to start milking out the other goat and introduce the fresh milk, the problem persisted...
so i called the vet after another few days and she treated for cocci. i thought that it would work, as she was the same for a few days...bt it cleared up and she hasnt had a problem since, and is growing strong. the vet said that they sometimes give the medicine as a preventative, and wouldnt do any harm!
i hope that this helps, as i think it would be worth youre while treating as the vet said like a preventative and if no luck, try the vets again! it all depends on which one you get!
hope they get better sooon, as i know how upsetting it is when you cant fix them!


tinwheeler

  • Joined Mar 2012
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2012, 04:16:16 pm »
thanks for all the advice, Just to follow up, I had a fecal egg count done with zero result, scours continued - Didn't have the option of keeping them off the grass and with the weather this year it was always wet! had another egg count done a week later, still zero and then the scours cleared up after another week or so. Goats both doing really well and causing no end of trouble and entertainment!
Ultimately it was simply a case of them not being used to the rich grass.
Pictured a couple of weeks ago on their new climbing frame!

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2012, 04:29:22 pm »
Good result and I like the climbing frame.
 
Just one thought as these were taken from their dams quite early and may not have had the max intake of colostrum - I would vaccinate with Lambivac (2 2ml doses 4 -6 weeks apart, under skin injection) them quite soon. If you use a sterile new needle for each of them, then tape the vacine bottle shut straight away and keep it in the fridge you can re-use the same bottle, although merchants etc will tell you you need new stuff each time. Boosters are then every 6 months, one injection of 2ml.
 
They should be good milkers if from a dairy herd.

NormandyMary

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Scours in 3 week old kids
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2012, 11:07:37 am »
Wow!! My boys would just love a climbing frame like that. Ive just shown it to hubby to drop a huge hint!!

 

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