[plumseverywhere]

one of our castrated boys (7 months old) has just come out of the shed looking very sorry for himself and has a blanket of loose stool from tail to back hooves.  the shed doesn't have much of it on the floor so I think its running down him.

have been trying to gradually change their feed to one that is sold locally rather than the one sold locally to where I got them maybe I over did the ratio?

other 3 all perfectly well and sprightly.

should I get the vet in or just continue to try to hydrate him and keep an eye? is this quite common in goats. I know they diidnt get to eat anything in my neighbours garden as tony got them out as quick as they got in. when they got into my veg patch they just had one leaf off the ribena bush and that all.

[Roxy]

It can be a sign of worms, but in this case I would say its food related.  Either your goat did eat something in the garden, that has not agreed with him, or its more than likely the change of feed.  I would cut out the goat feed, and stick with hay, and plenty of water. Like you say its important not to let them get dehydrated.

Scour forumula powder - for calves, is what I use for my goats when they are like this.  Its mixed in with water.

[plumseverywhere]

Thanks Roxy, still waiting for vet to call me back and arrange appt. I want all 4 screened and wormed and whatever, should have done it day after they arrived really but now I have a prompt.
just went to countrywide and saw a tub of that scour formula but was a bit nervous as they said it wasn't for goats (is anything?!  ) will pop back.

[Roxy]

Not much is for goats - but are safe to use.  You should be able to buy the sachets individually (a couple of pounds each or so).  The tub may have been full of these sachets, for farmers to buy in bulk  lol!  There are two parts in the sachet, and it corrects acidosis and rehydrates the goat.

Usually our vet will suggest this remedy for the symptoms you describe.  I would tell the vet that the goats have been in a garden, and also you have changed their feed

[plumseverywhere]

OK I will do.

he's been drinking a bit more now. have been offering him water every hour but no feed.  to start with he refused but i put it all round his mouth so he licked it off, now he drinks from a small bucket quite well.

typical that today my eldest (8 year old) has broken her toe but has insisted on going on a school trip with my splint effort and a full dose of nurofen, the cat is due to have babies, the fences need finishing and my cheese making kit has arrived and i'm desperate to give it a go lol!!! 

[Roxy]

OMG .....thats a lot happening for you all at once.

Good that your goat is drinking - he needs to drink a lot.  Offer him hay etc. but no goat feed.  Will not do him any harm to do without that.  May take a while for the runs to stop, and even when they do, he will look a bit miserable, as his stomach will feel rough. Hopefully he will be back to normal by tomorrow. 

[plumseverywhere]

thank you. I'll make sure he's got hay, the other 3 happily have their other feed but he's not interested anyway.

can hear a cat meowing very loudly - better go check!

speak later and thanks again

Lisa

[plumseverywhere]

vet has been (what a nice man!!)

he's taught me how to inject worm stuff (felt very different to humans in my nursing days!) so all 4 are wormed. he thinks its probably that these kids have never been wormed and needed it badly. the stress of move, new feed and all this grass might have triggered it. so...ronnie is now looking much more like his old self thanks to lots of water and he's just had some milk from mum.

thanks for all your help today everyone 

[Roxy]

Good that Ronnie is sorted .....suppose you will have a hefty bill, but hey, thats livestock keeping for you!!

Its not easy injecting animals, and goats in particular have a strong skin to get a needle through.  And made all the harder if they wriggle at the wrong moment.

[langdon]

sorry to hear plumseverywhere about your goat.
molly is still a worry to me as im still trying to find out what is wrong with her udder.
where as milly she is a worry free goat at the mo.
hope yours gets better soon

[Anke]

Hope your boy is feeling better. My three adults (two nannies in milk and a goatling) seem to all have somewhat looser stools a the moment, and as they were all three tested for worms in mid-pregnancy I think its the new grass and in particular the clover that is growing very strongly just now. (You should see the back end of my hoggs and the ewes - again I never had worms on the holding, and all are well. So can only be the green green grass!)

[little blue]

poor kid, glad to hear he's getting better.... and that your vet is good!
like you say, goat-related stuff and 'experts' (outside of TAS) are sometimes hard to get hold of.

Why??!!

[plumseverywhere]

It is very frustrating, even the online milking supplies seem more geared to cows.  Have been very lucky with this vet - he is very young but has a special interest in goats and in one hour he taught me so much!
without TAS I think I'd be a wreck by now!!

youtube has been good for learning milking skills and hoof trimming but I've been watching several clips by different people so as not to rely on one who might be doing it wrong!! katie thear's book is also a godsend 

Ronnie is looking much better today although still hanging out in the shed while the other 3 go wandering to hunt for grass and stray cats.

[little blue]

you also have to get YOUR goats, they are all their own little personalities so what one will take happily, another may not have at any price!
ours are quite different, but get along perfectly well........

Best wishes to Ronnie