# GOAT ATE CHICKEN FEED WHAT DO I DO?



## Taylormfoster12 (Sep 24, 2018)

Hello. Today my goat nocked over the box of chicken feed and it spilled all over he started eating I don't know how much he ate but it doesn't seem that he ate alot. He's a 4 month boar goat. I've allready given him Tums gas x and baking soda. I've also pressed on his stummac to release any gas that was trapped within him.  If that doesn't work I don't know what else I would do. I really don't want him to suffer and die. Any ideas? Please answer quickly


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## BlessedWithGoats (Sep 24, 2018)

@goatgurl @OneFineAcre @babsbag @animalmom @Wehner Homestead


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## babsbag (Sep 24, 2018)

The goal here is to dilute, buffer, and move contents out. The grain will mess up the pH of the rumen and it will go acidic.  Chicken feed is grain. 

A goat's rumen is about 5 gallons and  to "fix" this you need to buffer the acidity caused by the grain overload and a little dose of baking soda or pepto isn't going to do it. You need to drench him with 1/2 cup of baking soda in 1 GALLON of water or electrolytes, make sure that there is no sugar of any kind in the electrolytes. You can probably do a little less since this is young goat and not an adult. Another option is a large bottle of pepto and the electrolytes everyday for 3-4 days.  Milk of magnesia instead of pepto will work too. Also treat with Pen G, Probiotics, and Banamine. Heffenweisen beer, flat and warm, is a great probiotic.


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## Wehner Homestead (Sep 25, 2018)

What @babsbag said. If you are unsure of how to do this, contact your vet or a local goat person for assistance.


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## Taylormfoster12 (Sep 25, 2018)

Alright so I left him over night with baking soda lots of water. I also like I said pressed on his stummac. This helped. This morning I saw his stummac not as bloated he seems to be in the right side. He is significantly better and acting normal. I will ever two weeks give him a tablet of gas x or Tums to make sure. He's acting normal but I'll make sure when I come back.


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## misfitmorgan (Sep 25, 2018)

Taylormfoster12 said:


> Alright so I left him over night with baking soda lots of water. I also like I said pressed on his stummac. This helped. This morning I saw his stummac not as bloated he seems to be in the right side. He is significantly better and acting normal. I will ever two weeks give him a tablet of gas x or Tums to make sure. He's acting normal but I'll make sure when I come back.



How big is the box of chicken feed? It sounds like he didnt get to much. If he is fine tomorrow I would say you're all good.


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## Taylormfoster12 (Sep 25, 2018)

Ok. So for those of you who don't know yet. Yesterday while I was gone my goat knocked over a box of chicken feed. Who knows how much he ate but it didn't seem alot. Last night I gave him a bowl of baking soda, lots of water, 2 Tums, and one gas-x. I also before we left him I pressed on his belly a couple times to let out any gas that was trapped. This morning he seems significantly better and is once again acting like he's always been. If you've had the same problem that I had try doing this of course I may not be as experienced as some people though. Also, my goat isn't the same goat as yours or anyone else. So I'm not sure how your goat will react to this. So before you do this do a little bit more research. On the right is my 4 month old trouble maker goat to the right and my 1 1/2 year old goat to the left. Please make sure any harmful things are away from your goats. They WILL eat anything. Hope this helped .


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## babsbag (Sep 25, 2018)

Glad that is he doing well. A lot depends on how much they eat. I had a goat help herself to some calf manna a few years ago and she was very very sick for almost a week and another friend lost 3 of his goats just a few months ago from eating chicken feed. The thing about just putting out baking soda is that it is quite possible that they won't touch it. Drenching them is the only way an owner can be certain that the goat is getting what they need.


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## misfitmorgan (Sep 26, 2018)

We have had our goats get into chicken feed, shell corn, grain, pig starter, and pig N sow. We lost 1 nigerian buck from it but other then that we have been lucky. Seems no matter where or how we store our feed something is getting into it.

In the barn,pigs gets loose and eat it......in a stall in the barn, goats broke the gate....in a stall in the barn in a wooden box, goats jumped the wall using a wheel barrow....outside the barn, goats jumped the fence........keep it in the garage, Ivy the notorious fence jumper helps herself and shows phoebe how to jump the fence. I'm starting to think we need a safe just to keep the feed safe.

I'm glad your goat turned out ok


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## babsbag (Sep 26, 2018)

For the goats I only feed in the dairy on the milk stand so they would have to open doors. The chicken feed is in a trash can in a very secure coop, goats have no access at all. No other livestock here so we are good. But before the extensive dairy remodel I used to have kids go through the pop door of the coop to access the feed. Had to put a separate fence around the coop with hot wire.


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## Taylormfoster12 (Sep 26, 2018)

misfitmorgan said:


> We have had our goats get into chicken feed, shell corn, grain, pig starter, and pig N sow. We lost 1 nigerian buck from it but other then that we have been lucky. Seems no matter where or how we store our feed something is getting into it.
> 
> In the barn,pigs gets loose and eat it......in a stall in the barn, goats broke the gate....in a stall in the barn in a wooden box, goats jumped the wall using a wheel barrow....outside the barn, goats jumped the fence........keep it in the garage, Ivy the notorious fence jumper helps herself and shows phoebe how to jump the fence. I'm starting to think we need a safe just to keep the feed safe.
> 
> I'm glad your goat turned out ok


 We just moved to another state from Texas and the house bought has 20 acres and a barn shelter and a barn. Before this I kept all my Feed in storage boxes in the barn but once he got in that food I moved it to a separate room in the barn it helped alot


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## MiniSilkys (Sep 26, 2018)

What kind of chicken feed was it? It will only kill them if it is egg layer or raw soybeans. Otherwise it will bloat him if he ate too much or give him a bad belly ache.


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## Simpleterrier (Sep 26, 2018)

I use to feed chicken feed to my dairy goats when I ran out of goat feed never had a problem. That's kinda interesting why does it make them sick


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## MiniSilkys (Sep 27, 2018)

It only makes them sick if they are not used to eating it. Just as when you have to monitor they on lush spring pasture that they have not ate over the winter. You have to start out slowly. I feed my chickens, ducks and goats the same feed. Goat feed, sweet feed, corn, 13-way scratch, oats, rice, alfalfa-oat pellets, and sometimes pig feed all in a mix. Never had a problem and get plenty of eggs. I have 6 pygmy goats and 35 chickens.


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## Taylormfoster12 (Sep 30, 2018)

Simpleterrier said:


> I use to feed chicken feed to my dairy goats when I ran out of goat feed never had a problem. That's kinda interesting why does it make them sick


Well goats and chicken feed are like dogs and chocolate. It could make them sick and they could possibly die. There has been instances where someone's goat has literally died screaming in pain because of the pressure of the bloatedness. Idk if this is true but I'd rather treat it right away than just give them a night or two to see how they feel.


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## misfitmorgan (Oct 1, 2018)

If there is a bloat problem from to much feed or the wrong feed you generally know within a couple hours no need to wait a day or two to see if there is going to be a problem or not. If they are up and active your probly fine, if 24hrs goes by and they look all normal there is no need to treat more and treating them more with antacid that they dont need could actually cause problems with their digestion so becarful with the gas-x and such.


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## Stephine (Oct 3, 2018)

misfitmorgan said:


> We have had our goats get into chicken feed, shell corn, grain, pig starter, and pig N sow. We lost 1 nigerian buck from it but other then that we have been lucky. Seems no matter where or how we store our feed something is getting into it.
> 
> In the barn,pigs gets loose and eat it......in a stall in the barn, goats broke the gate....in a stall in the barn in a wooden box, goats jumped the wall using a wheel barrow....outside the barn, goats jumped the fence........keep it in the garage, Ivy the notorious fence jumper helps herself and shows phoebe how to jump the fence. I'm starting to think we need a safe just to keep the feed safe.
> 
> I'm glad your goat turned out ok


There are feed storage boxes (often marketed to horse owners) that lock. I would get one of those - not even goats can open a combination lock!


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## Hipshot (Oct 3, 2018)

Don' know what to think . Want to laugh but this isn't funny. My animal person who is also my wife says .Use a very large needle  and insert in in the stomach to relieve the pressure .  I keep mineral oil on hand for critters that get belly  aches .I am also pretty good at tube feeding .Since most all feeds are made with plant products . And more animal protein than they  want to own up to . At least when I feed a whole grain I know what I'm feeding . They can hide all kinds of things in pellets .Depending on what part of the world you live in , animal feed could be almost anything .Someone recently told me corn will cause kidney stones in billy goats and wethers . I Would like to know why , they could not give me  a answer. Is there a medical answer to this question ? I know people who feed whole shell  corn to their goats with no problems . I also knew people that fed pelleted rice by products to their goats  and everything else . With no problems .I found it to be an excellent feed for older horses with bad teeth .But really any feed that is finely ground and pelleted is better for older animals . Check ingredients in your feeds. could be the little goat just ate to much. 


 This Dr. is giving a seminar some tine this month . They say she is really good .Going to try to register   tomorrow . Cost $175.00 only can send one of us DW most likely


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## MiniSilkys (Oct 3, 2018)

Hipshot said:


> Someone recently told me corn will cause kidney stones in billy goats and wethers . I Would like to know why , they could not give me a answer. Is there a medical answer to this question ?


Yes corn can do it as well as other feed such as cereal grains and even pelleted feed. It is especially common in wethers. There are three major types of urinary calculi. They come from too much calcium, phosphate, or silica. There is a way to keep from it though.

Always make sure to let buck get to 3 months of age before castrating. Castrating too early does not allow the urethra to fully develop.
The calcium: phosphorus ratio in feed should be 2:1. 

Alfalfa and legume hay are high in calcium, try not to feed them too often. 

Make sure they get plenty of water especially in winter when water keep freezing. 

Give plenty salt. 

Add Ammonium chloride to make up 1% of dry matter in diet. This reduce pH of urine. 

Avoid molasses use sugar instead.


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## Mini Horses (Oct 4, 2018)

It's a balancing act but BOSS, pumpkin seeds, oats, etc. contain higher phosphorus and can be feed to help balance calcium in legumes.    Yes, you can puncture for gas relief but, ONLY in a specific place...and use a large sterile needle or device made for this.  Best if done by vet or someone trained in where/how as the procedure can allow bacteria into the body cavity and into the rumen.    It is a "last-ditch" effort which generally is used only in severe situations.


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