# Soft foods for goats?



## chels24 (Mar 13, 2011)

My goat was attacked by dogs Friday night (see post in diseases) and he is having a really hard time chewing. I've seen him eating a little grain, maybe a handful, and I'm really worried about him. He won't touch the hay at all, but did eat a couple leaves. He seems like he wants to eat and he's drinking, but that it hurts too much. So does anyone have any ideas about what I could feed him? Right now I'm drawing a blank.


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## ksalvagno (Mar 13, 2011)

What kind of feed do you have? If it is pellets, what about soaking them so they are softer. Another thing would be shredded beet pulp that you could moisten. Maybe even cut the hay so it is in shorter pieces.

I sure hope he pulls through for you. That was just awful.


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## Ariel301 (Mar 13, 2011)

Get some alfalfa horse pellets (or alfalfa/grass mix if you prefer and your feed store has it) for him and soak them in water. You could soften pelleted grain in with it too        if you want.


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## chels24 (Mar 13, 2011)

I have alfalfa pellets mixed in the grain, so I will try soaking them and seeing if that works.


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## elevan (Mar 13, 2011)

I agree with the above posts.

I sure hope he feels better quickly.


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## chels24 (Mar 14, 2011)

I tried giving him alfalfa and grain softened, but he still cant eat it. He will walk over and smell it and try to get it in his mouth, but he just cant chew. I'm going to call the vet as soon as they open and see if she has any suggestions or if they is anything she can do to help him. I feel so bad for him and I'm really worried his body is shutting down.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 14, 2011)

I would consider drenching him.  

Nutridrench has lots of calories and vitamins.

Maybe some other people have some drenching recipees, that can help him get  calories.

Yogurt and some warm water.

I know you can give a doe with pregnancy toxemia a combination of corn oil, mollasies and corn syrup as a drench for calories. 

here is a list I pulled off of a pregnancy toxemia list for increasing energy to a goat by drenching.

"""High Energy Supplements: 
Propylene Glycol 
Nutri-drench 
Dextrose 
TKM Solution 
Magic (1 part Molasses, 2 parts Kayro, 1 part Corn Oil) 
Glucose IV 


TKM Solution 
3- 500ml bottles Dextrose 
3- 500ml bottles of Amino Acid Solution (not concentrate) 
1 - 500ml bottle Calcium Glutenate 23% 
(This can be mixed up ahead of time & stored in a cool dry place) 
The goat also needs to receive the following - they need to be added when 
you get ready to administer the dose: 
Fortified B Complex - 5ml daily 
Thiamine - daily 
Vitamin C & E Supplements - daily 
Probiotics - I give a double calf dose every time I treat. If this doesn't 
stimulate their appetite, add 1 teaspoon of baking soda daily (add after you 
have mixed everything together!) 
I prefer the Loveland Industries Calf Pak for probiotics. When choosing 
probiotics make sure you purchase one that contains viable (live) 
probiotics.Be careful in handling probiotics; don't leave out in extreme 
heat or cold. The refrigerator is a good place to store them. For the 
Vitamins I have had a lot of success using Capra Products Capra-Tech 100 to 
provide the C & E, and the Capra Cool for the thiamin & additional 
probiotics. This seems like a remarkable amount of probiotics, but you are 
fighting a metabolic disorder that is on going. You will not cure it, but 
you can add support to enable the doe to live through pregnancy and 
hopefully deliver live kids. We give 20-60cc magic twice daily at first 
signs of toxemia. If the doe is completely off feed or becoming lethargic we 
give a loading dose of 4-8oz. of the TK Solution. It is then repeated every 
hour (2-4oz.) until the doe is standing, drinking, and urinating. We have 
also found it helpful to give an equal amount of water (drench if necessary) 
at every treatment. Once these does quit moving, they don't get up and 
drink, as they should.""" 



Maybe some of this can help, It should be available at your local feed or TSC. I would just pick one or two things, like the Magic drench, and some vit. B injectables, and probiotics.  But I put it all on here for you to pick and choose.

Have you consider giving him asperin?


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 14, 2011)

Another idea:

We have given our show goats vanilla or strawberry flavored ensure as a top dress on the feed. Perhaps you could just drench him with it. I  would add a couple teaspoons of baking soda to it, to make sure it doesn't upset his stomach


I have also read about show people using Enfamil baby formula as a drench to help the goats energy while traveling.


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## mossyStone (Mar 14, 2011)

I can't offer any more than what has been offered, Just wanted you to know i am thinking about your little guy and hoping for the best for him


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## freemotion (Mar 14, 2011)

Can you drench him with a slurry of alfalfa pellets and probios, maybe?  Just to get something into his rumen?


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## chels24 (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I called the vet and she told me the soaked grain was a great idea and maybe try some yogurt. I'm going to put some electrolytes in his water and try some of the other suggestions given. I gave him another shot of the pain medicine a little bit ago, so hopefully he'll be more eager to eat when it doesn't hurt so bad. She told me I can only give him the shot every two days, but maybe I can give him some aspirin in between.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 14, 2011)

I have read if the animal doesn't have scours becareful about giving them too much electrolytes, because their system wont need all the potassium.  I think one time wont hurt, but they are referring to long term treatment over several days and suggested a dextrose to be a better choice.


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## Roll farms (Mar 14, 2011)

I had a doe w/ tetanus once who couldn't eat.  

I chopped (and I mean chopped) some alfalfa cubes into tiny pieces, and soaked that and oats in molasses water overnight.  I cut the tip off a big 60cc syringe and would squirt the slurry down her throat 4-5 times a day, 3 syringes full.

The vet had told me I needed to keep *some* form of roughage in her to help keep her rumen going.  They just won't survive long-term on a purely liquid diet.


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## chandasue (Mar 14, 2011)

This is like zero nutrition but what about apple instant oatmeal (or a homemade version) just to get him to eat something? You could make it soupy and drench it. Edit: you could add nutridrench to it if he eats it and might make the alfalfa pellets more appealing when it smells like apples...


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## chels24 (Mar 14, 2011)

Finally! I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I have some alfalfa hay also. When you pull it apart or shake it the little leaves or whatever they are fall off. He can easily use his tongue to pick them up and he's been eating them. He's also been wandering around the yard now and drinking lots of water. 
I did think earlier about pureeing some grain or even some apples (my goats LOVE apples) but I never even thought about oatmeal.


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## Hillbilly (Mar 18, 2011)

Haven't looked in for a while and just seen this thread, how is he doing? hope he's OK


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## chels24 (Mar 18, 2011)

He is doing a lot better. He's eating and drinking and the wounds look like they are healing really well.


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