[maddy]

Hi I am new to the forum and wonder if anyone can help me in my numerous problems.

I have 4 AN x females who we had as 6 month old and they kidded in April with a total of 9 kids which are gorgeous.

I lost one last week sadly with a broken leg and since then one by one all the kids have all had bad scours which I eventually took a sample to the vets and it was coccidia!  I treated them all with Baycox and they are almost all better now.

Would it have been my husbandry which caused the coccidia?  They have a large shed with access to a field outside whenever they like.  I cleaned the whole shed out completely and now pick up any poo and lay fresh straw down.

Two of the mums now have slightly greeny runny poo.  Would that be caused by the lush green wet grass that we have or would that be coccidia?

The same two mums look very scrawny and skinny - they are still feeding the kids.  Will they pick up when they have stopped feeding.  They are very good attentive mums.

I read my goat books as bedtime reading and now I am worried that they may have liver fluke or copper deficiency!  How would I know.

Another problem is do I need to wean them, as 4 girls are going to a new home at the end of August, and we are keeping the rest.  Would they naturally stop feeding.  They eat their hay and hard feed.

I seem to spend all my time worrying and thinking they have got something awful.

After the death of the little one and now the coccidia I feel as if I have lost my confidence in knowing I can look after them adequately.

Sorry for this whinging on but I want to look after them to the best of my ability.

[Dogwalker]

Don't be too hard on yourself. An experienced keeper will be along shortly with lots of helpful advise.
I'm also a new keeper and think the vets must be fed up of me phoning for advise.

Do you have a good farm vets by you? they're usually happy to give phone advise for free rather than deal with a midnight emergency from something being left too long.
I've also got a kid scouring this morning so will await replies with interest.

[Dogwalker]

Sorry I've just reread my post, I didn't mean to imply any fault on your part. I know how easy it is to doubt yourself when animals are ill.  It must be awful to lose a kid, touch wood haven't had to face that yet.

[jinglejoys]

Stop reading the books!
    My goats got a hell of a lot better when I stopped reading books and went back to treating goats like goats.
  Goats are browsers so provide lots of browsings.Don't get too many goats for your land (Better to have too few goats than too many you can always use it as winter grazing.)Don't over worm them and bulk will do them so much good rather than too many concentrates.If you are worried about the wet grass fill them up with hay or straw before you let them out although it shouldn't be as problem if they have instant acess to grazing day and night
   And don't believe everything vets tell you as even as a beginner you probably know more about goats than they do ..Oh and if they tell you after they've treated them "Bring her back in a couple of days if she's not better"expect a dead goat in the back of the car before you get home
We all have problems when we first start,don't panick  

[tizaala]

Do they have access to rockies mineral licks with copper ? do you drench them monthly with a cobalt and copper suplement ? do they have access to add lib clean, dry hay ? do you cut hazel and willow for them ? do they get any goat mix?
 You don't say how old the kids are now, so are they due to be weened yet ? are you milking the mothers ?
Feeding kids takes a lot out of goats so you must help her replace what she is giving.
This terrible weather is not good for goats and the grass is going to go very acid soon with all the rain, so silage and hay won't be the best made, Your vet can deal with the coxy .

[maddy]

Thanks for the replies.  The kids are just over 12 weeks old.

They all have adlib hay and straw and goat mix + whole oats.  I spend some time every day cutting hazel, willow, brambles, hawthorn and some oak leaves.  Can they eat docks and nettles?

They have a salt lick, dont seem to to much the red rockies or the Adam Henson lick.  Have ordered some from Denis Brincombe .

I must admit I do feel as if I am becoming obsessive about them!! My poor husband.

[maddy]

Oh I meant to say I dont drench with the cobalt and copper supplement.  What is it and where do you get it from?

[plumseverywhere]

Hello Maddy 


Its easy to become obsessed and scared silly when you have all these issues come at once - I've had 2 goats die on me and the knock back that caused was indescribable, I nearly sold my herd.


I went to a meeting about kidding and was told "expect the kids to scour at about 12 weeks, its most likely Coccxy and get some veccoxan from the vet...." so I expected our kid, Sixpence to scour and I felt quite calm. He hasn't yet so fingers crossed he won't    but what I'm saying is, its something that goat keepers seem to expect at aroudn that age and its treatable.


My understanding is that coccxy is in the land almost everywhere so its not your husbandry.
We've had some green squits recently both in goats and sheep - probably from eating lush and wet grass. I stick them on hay and water and it dries up (the poo not the grass!)


We have copper licks from countrywide and the goats give them a lot of attention.


try not to worry!! a little worry is good, but too much will stop you enjoying your goats  [size=78%]  [/size]

[Anke]

Yes, just recently (at 12 weeks old!) I have had one of my 5 kids scouring with suspected cocci (actually it started after she ate green wet grass pinched from next door pen), I treat mine with Intradine (injectable) and have had good results, but you can expect a relapse about a week after the first bout. All quite normal, leave them in their mums/feed goatsmilk, but not milk replacer. I also put Rehydion into my milk bottles, it is really good stuff. Other than that free access to hay, but no concentrate/fresh greenery until fully cleaned up and then re-introduce gradually.
 
I have yet to meet a goatkeeper who didn't have cocci. My vet doesn't even bother to test for the cause of the runs at this stage, just treat immediately and it so far was always successful.
 
Re skinny mums - if they all had twins/triplets and are still feeding their kids I would expect them to be a bit on the skinny side. They will slowly get fuller again as the kids reduce their milk intake (btw my ewes look like coat racks too atm). Don't be tempted to increase their protein intake massively, it will just lead to diarrhoea. Branches, hay/grass, are best - and from what you are describing you are doing al the right things. My goats love thistles, docks and dried nettles, sticky willy (not sure of the botanical name), willowherb, brambles - you name they eat it.
 
Only thing I would do is get a worm count done, I would just take in one sample from one goat and treat all of them if they have worms.
 
I have had kids weaned by 14 weeks last year as I sold two and the person buying them didn't have any goatsmilk. They all did fine, but in my case I was able to reduce the milk gradually as they were on the bottle. Not sure about the strategy with kids on dams tbh, but  would start by having the kids separated from mums during the night, then milk dams out in the morning and offer the kids concentrate and hay before letting them back out with their mums. Then increase time kids spend on their own? With lambs it is just a "cold-turkey" separation, not sure that woudl work with goats.
 
If they have got Rockies in their pens and don't use them, they just don't need them. You may find adding some goat mineral to their daily feed/concentrate ration helpful, I use caprivite. My BT's lick their yellow Rockies, the GG's don't touch them, but they all milk well...
 
Just stop worrying, kids are always one step away from some calamity (even my goatling nearly strangled herself the other day ), but most will survive and calm down by the time they have their first kids...

[Lesley Silvester]

I was given a medical book for goats when I started and I scared myself witless by reading it all.  Now I only use it if I have concerns.  It's only natural to worry when you start but it sounds like you are doing the right things.  Just enjoy them.

[fifixx]

Talking of calamities:  the Sat before last when Dorset was underwater, I checked the forecast, flood warning (none) and the goats at 10pm - dry as a bone.

6am Sun - went to check, goats up to shoulders in floodwater!  Goat rescue with husband and lodger!  Had to wade through the water, pick up kids (first ever black eye for me), take to wall, pull mums through water to yelling kids.   Waded through floods all day with bin fulls of hay and they spent the day on the wall.  next morning, they were back in the field as if nothing had happened.

Now they are back in the winter barn and out grazing in the day, not on the flooded land as it might contain liver fluke.

I felt such a dumbo having left them in the barn - but it has never flooded and these were the worst floods I have ever seen.Pics here

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151078048184878.490656.518309877&type=3&l=3f3c8c7e7b

[omnipeasant]

Can't wait to see what my kiddies are going to get up to. So far so good. I feel like a beginner because it is about 20 years since we had goats. It was so easy then, purpose made goat paddock, lovely big goat shed with loose boxes and a milking stand in the corridor. Fond memories. Still, we have more space here and it is a long way to the road and other people so fingers crossed.

[glenadolezal]

Hi I am new to the forum and wonder if anyone can help me in my numerous problems.

I have 4 AN x females who we had as 6 month old and they kidded in April with a total of 9 kids which are gorgeous.

I lost one last week sadly with a broken leg and since then one by one all the kids have all had bad scours which I eventually took a sample to the vets and it was coccidia!  I treated them all with Baycox and they are almost all better now.

Would it have been my husbandry which caused the coccidia?  They have a large shed with access to a field outside whenever they like.  I cleaned the whole shed out completely and now pick up any poo and lay fresh straw down.

Two of the mums now have slightly greeny runny poo.  Would that be caused by the lush green wet grass that we have or would that be coccidia?

The same two mums look very scrawny and skinny - they are still feeding the kids.  Will they pick up when they have stopped feeding.  They are very good attentive mums.

I read my goat books as bedtime reading and now I am worried that they may have liver fluke or copper deficiency!  How would I know.

Another problem is do I need to wean them, as 4 girls are going to a new home at the end of August, and we are keeping the rest.  Would they naturally stop feeding.  They eat their hay and hard feed.

I seem to spend all my time worrying and thinking they have got something awful.

After the death of the little one and now the coccidia I feel as if I have lost my confidence in knowing I can look after them adequately.

Sorry for this whinging on but I want to look after them to the best of my ability.

[jaykay]

It does rattle your confidence when things go wrong, especially one after the other. That's what's nice about this forum, it's always ok to ask.

How are things now, is everyone ok?

It's unlikely to be your husbandry that causes the coccidia, unless you leave them in filthy sodden conditition which I'm sure you don't. Once your land's got coccidia it has and you may have kids get it each year.

My two wether kids got it last year - first animals I'd had with it. This year, one of the girl kids got it and I treated it straightaway - injection from the vets. The other two (fingers crossed) didn't get it.

This morning, Ellie, my matriarch, has a rather poorly tummy but that's eating too many hawthorn and sycamore prunings from fencing yesterday. It sort of serves her right cos she could have shared them more with the others  Hay and water for a day will fix her.

[Lesley Silvester]

Talking of calamities:  the Sat before last when Dorset was underwater, I checked the forecast, flood warning (none) and the goats at 10pm - dry as a bone.

6am Sun - went to check, goats up to shoulders in floodwater!  Goat rescue with husband and lodger!  Had to wade through the water, pick up kids (first ever black eye for me), take to wall, pull mums through water to yelling kids.   Waded through floods all day with bin fulls of hay and they spent the day on the wall.  next morning, they were back in the field as if nothing had happened.

Now they are back in the winter barn and out grazing in the day, not on the flooded land as it might contain liver fluke.

I felt such a dumbo having left them in the barn - but it has never flooded and these were the worst floods I have ever seen.Pics here

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151078048184878.490656.518309877&type=3&l=3f3c8c7e7b

That's horrendous.  And in such a sort while.  I wonder why the goats didn't get themselves onto the wall, or wasn't it accessible?