# Goat with Scours



## BarnyardBlast (May 8, 2016)

We have Nigerian Dwarf goats. I have an almost three year old doe who had quadruplets about 7 weeks ago. Two of them are still nursing. Yesterday morning, we noticed that she was having a great deal of diarrhea and looked a bit gaunt around the back end. She isn't having loose stools, she's having large puddles. She doesn't look weak or in distress, but she isn't eating any of her feed. She will eat both alfalfa and hay. I always feed the goats a cookie, and she ate that as well. I'm fairly certain that she's still drinking. She's moving around, but didn't want to move too much. Today is the same. 

She will come walking over to the gate when she sees any of us around and from the front end, she looks just fine. The back end tells a different story with the staining from tail to legs. 

I've read through the threads associated with scouring. I'm about to go back over there to check on her and see if I can get her to drink some water with molasses in it. I can't remember the name of the medicine, but I do have some to treat scours in goats. 

The only thing that could have stressed her recently was that I had a friend come over to band the boy goats and she also had to re-burn one of the horns on one of the kids this past Thursday. Otherwise, everything is the same. 

What do I do with the kids? Should I pull them from her and put them elsewhere? Or would that stress her even more? The two that are still nursing can probably drink from the water container just fine, but how do I keep them from trying to nurse? If I medicate, is the milk okay for them to drink if/when she is better? 

Thanks - she's my favorite and I'm worried. We don't have a vet who treats goats where I live.


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## Southern by choice (May 8, 2016)

More than likely she has a high worm load. Scouring is an indicator of that.
When a goat is pregnant the hormones cause a parasitic bloom, as the parasites are utilizing those hormones to reproduce rapidly.
Generally 3-6 weeks after a doe kids their paristic load will be at it's highest. The fact that she is also nursing and producing milk also taxes the system.

Many goat producers will give a dewormer ( safe-gard or ivermectin) 30 days before kidding so that these things don't happen.

I suggest tomorrow am you get a fecal somewhere and find out her count... and deworm her asap. Providing the fecal shows parasite bloom.

Her dag score I am sure is pretty bad and probably her FAMACHA as well.
Dehydration can cause eyelids to look somewhat pinker... so be care ful and don't just go by FAMACHA. 

If using Safegaurd you MUST use a minimum of a 3 day course.

http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/understanding-famacha-fecal-analysis.56/

Since you do not have a vet you may want to consider learning to run your own fecals... more on this in the following article- there are 2 parts to the article.


http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/the-mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis.55/
http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis-part2.57/


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## BarnyardBlast (May 8, 2016)

Thank you so much! My husband had been working with the goats for a while and he wasn't sure when she became pregnant. (We have a better system now - I track with a calendar when the doe is placed with the buck). I didn't want to worm her before kidding because I wasn't sure when she was due. 

We do have a vet, but he's very blunt about not knowing much about goats. He had told us that if we had any emergencies with our goats, then we should hope that it didn't happen on the week-end... I'll call him tomorrow and also read how to do our own fecals. 

I'm going ahead and pulling the kids from her so they will quit trying to nurse while she's dehydrated. 

Thanks again....


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## Southern by choice (May 8, 2016)

You are welcome.
Keep in mind if you pull the kids keep an eye on her udder. The last thing you want is an engorged udder and with her resistance down possible mastitis.
Maybe separate then over night let them nurse in the am... they again afternoon, then bedtime... her body will start reducing in production.

Sefeguard is a good option for 3-5 days... it works differently and the worms will detach a little slower. If her count is very high ( which my guess it probably is) you don't want the parasites to detach too quickly and cause her to have internal bleeding. The barberpole is a blood sucker... so if they detach too quicjk those little holes bleed.
I would based on what vet sees...  follow after that with ivermectin if that is what He/She recommends.


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## Fullhousefarm (May 9, 2016)

I just helped the buyer of my Nigerian Dwarf who had quads 6 weeks ago (with two nursing) with scours issues too.
Southern By Choice gave great advice. Having quads can be extra taxing on a doe. Thankfully we didn't have birthing issues at all, but I actually kept her a week longer than I was planning after she kidded to make sure she was putting weight on and not having parasite issues.


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## BarnyardBlast (May 9, 2016)

Thank you both! She still wasn't well this morning and the littlest kid (the only doe) developed diarrhea. Our vet ran a fecal and said that they had worms. He gave me medicine for all of our goats. They are still moving around a good bit, eating hay and grass, and drinking a little. They won't eat any of the feed. I'm hoping that tomorrow things are much better.


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## Southern by choice (May 9, 2016)

What did your vet give you? Did they tell you what kind of parasites?
Better they not eat the feed right now, just hay. When a goat scours cutting out the feed is best. I would recommend mixing some probiotics with water and putting it in a syringe and try to get it in her.


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## BarnyardBlast (May 9, 2016)

He gave the adults Ivermectin (injectable to be given orally). I'm not sure what he gave the kids, but he said it was something different. I did ask if we should start with something not as strong, but he said that it wasn't necessary.

I didn't have Safeguard here at the house and Tractor Supply was out. I've ordered it, but even overnight shipping doesn't put it here until tomorrow. 

I asked about what type of worms and he said they all looked the same under the microscope and he was going to treat for all of them. (He looked at me like I was a bit crazy when I asked.) 

I had been mixing probios with her feed once the diarrhea started, but she's not eating. I do have some electrolytes that I can mix for her. She's still urinating, but not a lot. She still has a lot of energy, but I worry about dehydration. The littlest kid also has diarrhea, but she's also full of energy. I'll go ahead and just pull their feed for a bit. They are eating a good bit of graze and hay. 

I'm hopeful they will both be better in the morning.

I wasn't trying to disregard your advice, by the way. I simply didn't have what I needed. I've ordered (and had it shipped overnight to be here tomorrow) what I need for next time. I appreciate all of your suggestions. Keep them coming.


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