# Bloat in Young Goat



## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

One of my Nigerian Dwarf goats (she is 14 weeks old) gets bloat constantly... I have been feeding her 1/4 of a cup of grain once a day and she bloats like crazy. I wormed her, (twice with two different wormers) so that's not it. 

I have done the baking soda mixed with water and she burped and farted for a day and is the smallest I have ever seen her stomach.  At some points she looks pregnant.  How much baking soda is too much? 

Is there something wrong with her - is she not able to burp or is there something lacking in her diet? She is very active, LOVES to eat - she is only getting free choice hay (they get 1 flake of hay a day - lots gets wasted) and her 1/4 cup of grain every day.  Some days it is better, some days it is worse...

She is getting plenty of exercise...small amounts of green grass but - they don't eat it, fresh air, a buddy - another nigerian dwarf who is 6 weeks old...

The vet is coming out tomorrow to castrate and de-horn the calf, so I am going to have him look at her, but wanted to get others opinions... 

When we picked her up at 6 weeks she already had somewhat of a stomach... it just seems to get worse the older she is getting 

I'm going back out to the barn in a little while and will take some pictures of her then....


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## HankTheTank (Jun 11, 2012)

Does she get the grain all at once, or twice a day? I heard that if you give their whole days worth of grain all at once it can upset their rumen. Maybe if you split it into smaller feedings it would help.

 I have a ND that every time she eats, she gets an enormous hay belly, even with just a little bit of grass or hay....it seems to be a mini goat thing to get big very easily!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 11, 2012)

Make sure she has clean water. Does she have any browse? What else do you feed her? I an NOT a fan of straight grain, and I would suggest that you reduce it or take her of of it at least for a little while and see if she continues to get bloat.


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## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

I split it up into twice a day... have done the last few days with no grain at all... However, the problem is that the other baby is being bottle fed - for a few more days - and not having grain for her doesn't seem right... but the little piggy goat eats up everything all at once, so I can't put more than 1/4 cup in at a time...

They do have free choice minerals. The have access to some leaves, pricker bushes, etc. to browse on... 

What do I do for the younger goat when she's off the bottle...

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! I thought these two little goats would be a great addition to my little farm but I find I worry about them more than all the rest of the animals put together...


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## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

Yes, they have fresh water available 24 hours a day... I wash out their waterer every day and put fresh in it..


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## SheepGirl (Jun 11, 2012)

Are you sure it's bloat and not just a full rumen?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 11, 2012)

http://kinne.net/bloat.htm
http://www.luresext.edu/goats/training/herdhealthII.html#bloat
http://www.sheepandgoat.com/metabol.html

I don't know if these will help you but you might find something in there that can help.


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## ksalvagno (Jun 11, 2012)

When you say you wormed her, what did you worm her with and how much and how much does she weigh?

She may just have a good rumen going if there are no signs of distress.


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## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

She looks as pregnant as some of the goat pictures that were almost ready to pop babies... but she is only 14 weeks old.... not possible...right?

And she sound like a drum if you pat on her sides...


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## ksalvagno (Jun 11, 2012)

Do you have an intact male in with her? If you do, then there is a chance she is pregnant.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 11, 2012)

Even on the slight chance she's preggo (which I think is a VERY slight chance at that age), she would just barely be pregnant, not enough to change her belly size.  

I second what Sheepgirl asked. Are you sure she's bloated and it's not just that her rumen is full?   Is she eating really quickly?  One of my young bucks sucked in lots of air when he ate his grain.  If you could post pics that would be great.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 11, 2012)

All she has access to is some leaves?  any hay or pasture?  

has she ever been treated for coccidiosis?

Has she ever been vaccinated with CD&T?

is she still on a bottle?


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## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

Thanks for the links for the articles... I had found all but one of them when I was doing my research... 

I guess I'm glad that the vet is coming out tomorrow to take a look at her.

To my knowledge she has never been in with an intact male.. I only have the two baby does.  Is there any chance she could be pregnant at 14 weeks??? I thought that was impossible?


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## Lynn (Jun 11, 2012)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> All she has access to is some leaves?  any hay or pasture?
> 
> they have access to hay 24 hours a day, some grass..
> 
> ...


No. She was off the bottle before I got her.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 11, 2012)

Lynn said:
			
		

> 20kidsonhill said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I see she is getting plenty of hay.  missed that in your first post. Sorry
I would  not rule out coccidiosis.  It can cause bloat.  I also wouldn't rule out over eating disease, the vaccine isn't always affective.


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## Catahoula (Jun 11, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Are you sure it's bloat and not just a full rumen?


That's what I am thinking too. My two wethers look like they could be pregnant but we know better. 

Here is another post about bloating with a picture of a normal goat with full stomach
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6844


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## SassyKat6181 (Jun 11, 2012)

my two ng girls are 14 weeks also.  they split 3/4 cup of grain 2x a day.  they eat it very fast and their tummies get fat shortly after.  they have baking soda free choice in a double dish with their minerals.    they don't look so full the rest of the day though, just when they get their grain.  is she fat all day?  since you have the vet coming, why not have him take a look at her to ease your worries.


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## Lynn (Jun 12, 2012)

Vet gave the girls a clean bill of health, booster for Penni, shots for Violet.... said to feed Penni some yogurt to get her rumen functioning properly. Said not to worry. Does not think it is anything serious.  Whew.!!!


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## SDBoerGoats (Jun 12, 2012)

Good to hear. I just got on here today so didn't see the posts but was gonna say....I had a young Boer buckling that was doing the same thing. He was still with his mama. Well, he was a triplet and not getting enough milk to when he got to the hay manger, he would eat til his belly was huge. I did the same things, baking soda, probiotics, dewormed him, CD/T shot. Called the vet....Come to find out, it was just a big rumen from after he ate. I weaned him and he got to eat whenever he wanted, at first his stomach was huge all the time, but finally after a few weeks things settled down when he could eat when ever he wanted.


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## Lynn (Jun 16, 2012)

Thank you, everyone, for your words of encouragement. I now have a bowl of baking soda in her stall. She is using it. I have also been putting 1/2 a cup of yogurt in her stall twice a day and she is slurping it down!  Her sides look better. She is able to now jump with Violet!  So glad it was nothing serious...


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