scours frustration

[goatsintheopen]

May has no fever, eating and drinking acting like herself ..BUT yesterday started having watery poo and still today..the poo isn't AS watery but loose .. been giving her Pepto, Gatorade and Probios... can't think of what could of caused this other than a big roll of fescue we put in for the herd. they normally eat Alfalfa and orchard grass. however the color of the waste isnt' green...it's a light brown and foul... thinking worms.. but wormed her yesterday..nothing really changed.. The other 4 are perfectly fine..no issues.

She's going to the vet in the morning.. was hoping it would be nothing and would clear today.. still hoping it's nothing..

 

[cmjust0]

When I'm dealing with persistent, watery or really runny, foul, brown-colored scours, I don't immediately think worms.. I think bacterial gut infection, like e.coli or salmonella, something like that...and then I think worms...and then coccidia...and I treat for all three, ASAP.

If she were mine, I wouldn't wait till morning.. I'd give her:

a) 6ml spectinomycin (scour-halt / scour-chek) OR 6ml of oral neomycin
b) safe-guard dewormer, 1ml/10
c) ivermectin or cydectin dewormer, orally (you can find dosages on here for the various types)
d) di-methox (find dosages here)
e) begin her on a round of injectable anti-biotics.

Does that sound like a shotgun approach? Absolutely. Which it should, because it is. But I've learned the hard way, more than once, that the watery brown type of scour is NOT to be messed with, and I'd so much rather be called a 'shotgunner' than have to dig graves. Besides that, vets and docs shotgun meds all the time and hardly anyone criticizes them for it so long as the patient lives.

Just my $.02. Good luck with her.

 

[goatsintheopen]

When I'm dealing with persistent, watery or really runny, foul, brown-colored scours, I don't immediately think worms.. I think bacterial gut infection, like e.coli or salmonella, something like that...and then I think worms...and then coccidia...and I treat for all three, ASAP.

If she were mine, I wouldn't wait till morning.. I'd give her:

a) 6ml spectinomycin (scour-halt / scour-chek) OR 6ml of oral neomycin
b) safe-guard dewormer, 1ml/10
c) ivermectin or cydectin dewormer, orally (you can find dosages on here for the various types)
d) di-methox (find dosages here)
e) begin her on a round of injectable anti-biotics.

Does that sound like a shotgun approach? Absolutely. Which it should, because it is. But I've learned the hard way, more than once, that the watery brown type of scour is NOT to be messed with, and I'd so much rather be called a 'shotgunner' than have to dig graves. Besides that, vets and docs shotgun meds all the time and hardly anyone criticizes them for it so long as the patient lives.

Just my $.02. Good luck with her.

Thank you. I appreciate the reply.
I did give her the Safe Guard last night and unfortunately, I don't have Ivernectin or Di-methox and I don' t have any injectable anti-biotics.. either nor do I have scour halt.(will be getting some though after this) Pepto was recommended to me by a number of goat owners round here the last time I delt with scours, and it worked ..but not working this time...
ok now I feel like a bad goat owner for not having all that on hand.. Lord willing she'll be fine until I can get her to the vet in the AM... I'm wondering if you're correct in what you think it could be.. although with an infection, wouldn't she have a fever of some sort?

 

[autumnprairie]

I am still new but I would say to keep her hydrated, I am not sure how fast scours will dehydrate her. And I will be going to the store also and getting these things also. ( dont have them either :/ ).


do we have a list of what should alsways be on hand? I have seen the ob one but not the other.


Good Luck , I hope she will be ok.

 

[Roll farms]

Scour Halt and DiMethox, along w/ ivo and safeguard, are some things I *must* have on hand. And Probiotics.

I've only ever used scour halt on one adult, but I'm glad I had it here.

I agree you want to stop the scours, but I'm of the opinion you should also stop the CAUSE of the scours....treating w/ pepto alone, unless it's just a dietary issue, is just masking the issue.
Sort of like trying to put a bandaid on a major cut that needs stitches. Yeah, it'll help, but it won't stitch the cut or keep it from getting infected, if you know what I mean.

How old is she? If she's a kid, I'd worry about coccidiosis.
Adults, I'd be more inclined to think worms.
Or bacterial, but truly random gut infections aren't real common - they do happen, but it's not something I've dealt w/ frequently.

Please keep us posted on what the vet says. Good luck w/ her.

 

[elevan]

Make sure that your vet knows to do the extra float for coccidia...it takes about 8 minutes longer than a standard fecal and you often have to ask for it.

 

[kstaven]

In all the threads here I am surprised to never see Gelatin mentioned when one encounters scours.

 

[Roll farms]

In all the threads here I am surprised to never see Gelatin mentioned when one encounters scours.

Well, I don't recall seeing you suggest using it anywhere...?
I've never heard of it as a supportive treatment for scours....care to enlighten us?

 

[elevan]

In all the threads here I am surprised to never see Gelatin mentioned when one encounters scours.

Well, I don't recall seeing you suggest using it anywhere...?
I've never heard of it as a supportive treatment for scours....care to enlighten us?

Well, me either. Come on, tell use what you know

 

[goatsintheopen]

SO... I'm back from the Vets and they did a fecal and found nothing...checked for Coccida and everything but again, didn't see anything. They gave me some SMZ and told me to watch her for a week and if she didn't clear up then to bring her back in. When I took May out to the parking lot to put her in her carrier..she passed ONE raspberry! LOL It was one, but solid..I was happy to see that. Got her home, gave her the pill...she was NOT HAPPY about that..we had a small battle of the wills for a minute, but she finally swallowed it..

She's had scours before when she was younger but it was due to an overgrowth of Clostridium (don't know if that is spelled correctly) She's 7 months old and She's up to date on all her vaccinations..sooo hmm wondering if she may have ate a bad leaf or something.