Baby goat has runny loose poop

[helmstead]

Please stop withholding milk! Water should not be fed to baby goats in bottles! I recommended electrolyte PASTE to you via PM for a reason...

All you are doing is setting him up for another digestive upset. And the Corid should be a straight drench, not mixed into anything. It tastes like CRAP and will make the kid not want the bottle at all.

Bottle feed this kid like normal...don't mix things into his bottle milk, DOSE them.

Good luck.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

There are different types of probiotics for different animals. Probios is generally used in animals ruminants (and horses, who are hind-gut fermenters) to help stimulate the rumen. I see no reason to feed probios to baby goats who aren't even ruminating. I think by adding all sorts of things to milk, we're asking for trouble. I'm not saying this is the case here, but I generally feel like we shouldn't fix it unless it's broken. To each his/her own though.

Please stop withholding milk! Water should not be fed to baby goats in bottles! I recommended electrolyte PASTE to you via PM for a reason...

All you are doing is setting him up for another digestive upset. And the Corid should be a straight drench, not mixed into anything. It tastes like CRAP and will make the kid not want the bottle at all.

Bottle feed this kid like normal...don't mix things into his bottle milk, DOSE them.

Good luck.

Why do you say not to feed water by bottles? Is it specifically a goat thing? It's common practice to feed some type of electrolyte to calves via a water bottle and withhold milk until scouring stops.

Yesterday my 12 day old doeling had a slight case of scours. She refused her morning bottle, I fed electrolyte/water bottle in the afternoon, and she was totally fine. Now she's back to her regular bottle schedule.

Many electrolyte solutions say to withhold milk while feeding, so I'm curious to hear why you advise the above.

 

[cmjust0]

Alright.. I'm gonna say my piece and jump off.

Stop everything you're doing with this kid and let it be for a day. Let it eat hay if it wants, and put down a dish of warm water. Don't bottle feed it anything.

If the poop is just squishy and isn't coming in profuse bouts of squirting dirty or blood-tinged water or anything like that, don't worry too much over electrolytes...it's not going to dehydrate from squishy poo.

If the poo doesn't begin to firm up once milk's withheld for a while, or if it begins to get worse...then start looking into medications.

If it firms up, super. Offer half a bottle of whatever it was getting before the scour...as in, without the ProBios. Then just work it back up to where you need to be in terms of frequency and volume of feedings.

That's my advice. Take it for what it cost ya.

 

[Jody]

Please stop withholding milk! Water should not be fed to baby goats in bottles! I recommended electrolyte PASTE to you via PM for a reason...

All you are doing is setting him up for another digestive upset. And the Corid should be a straight drench, not mixed into anything. It tastes like CRAP and will make the kid not want the bottle at all.

Bottle feed this kid like normal...don't mix things into his bottle milk, DOSE them.

Good luck.

Sorry, but I did not get any Pm from you, two, how do you suggest I give him CorRid without mixing it into anything? Should I shove the powder down his throat undiluted? The directions on the package state to mix it with water... As for him not wanting the bottle, he's been suckling the water/electrolytes/CorRid mix all day today without issue.

If I do not withhold milk, then how do I ascertain if it's too much/rich milk, or bacterial/viral?

Nonetheless, the dilemma continues.. he still has runny poops, now however, they're worse and he has not had any milk today.. So, how do I ascertain whether it's coccidia, e coli or other?

 

[Jody]

Alright.. I'm gonna say my piece and jump off.

Stop everything you're doing with this kid and let it be for a day. Let it eat hay if it wants, and put down a dish of warm water. Don't bottle feed it anything.

If the poop is just squishy and isn't coming in profuse bouts of squirting dirty or blood-tinged water or anything like that, don't worry too much over electrolytes...it's not going to dehydrate from squishy poo.

If the poo doesn't begin to firm up once milk's withheld for a while, or if it begins to get worse...then start looking into medications.

If it firms up, super. Offer half a bottle of whatever it was getting before the scour...as in, without the ProBios. Then just work it back up to where you need to be in terms of frequency and volume of feedings.

That's my advice. Take it for what it cost ya.

So far, all has been yellow.. looks like normal color, but more runny than before

 

[ksalvagno]

It is probably time to either involve an extremely knowledgeable goat farmer or a vet. My preference would be a vet. While we all try very hard to help people over the internet, sometimes we just can't diagnose things when we aren't physically looking at the problem. As far as knowing what is the cause of the diarrhea, until you take a fecal sample in to a vet and have it checked, there is no way to know. At this point my feeling is that a fecal should be done and a vet checking this kid and go from there. It is amazing how fast babies can go from being ok to dead. I'm not trying to scare you but I have seen it happen in alpacas and I know it happens in goats too.

 

[cmjust0]

Today, 2 times I noticed loose runny poops.. not quite a liquid, but more like a super squishy gel. It was yellow, whereas before his poops were a bit more orange and more firm.
...
I'm trying to keep him hydrated with fluids. I gave him water with electrolytes, but he won't drink much.. That was this morning.. he had maybe around 2 ounces..
...
Tonight I tried getting him to take more, but he won't suckle.. got maybe a couple squirts from the nipple.
..
The poops fall off and are not quite the mess as seen in some photos found online, but they're gel like and concern me.

Anyway, starting today I am withholding milk and giving him just water with electrolytes and CorRid. During 2nd feeding of this today, his stool appears to be thickening. It's not diareah like, more like a soft squishy paste and is schoolbus yellow

As for him not wanting the bottle, he's been suckling the water/electrolytes/CorRid mix all day today without issue.
...
Nonetheless, the dilemma continues.. he still has runny poops, now however, they're worse and he has not had any milk today.. So, how do I ascertain whether it's coccidia, e coli or other?

So far, all has been yellow.. looks like normal color, but more runny than before

Ok, so lemme see if I got this straight...

The goat's poop was normal up until yesterday morning, when you noticed two loose, runny poops that were sorta like gel and would "fall off," indicating some level of firmness... He wasn't as messy as some pictures you see, so I'm guessing this wasn't a "scour down the back of the legs" situation..

The differences in regimen were that you mixed probios into the milk, and he'd just spent his first night outside.

When you saw what was going on yesterday morning, you mixed up some water/electrolyte/CoRid, but he didn't want to take it. He got just a little of the mixture, but he did drink milk yesterday.

Starting today, you took him off milk and offered only the water/electrolyte/CoRid mixture, which he took more readily. After his 2nd feeding of the water/electrolyte/CoRid mixture today, his poo started looking a little more firm and he was taking the mixture readily.

Now the poops are getting runnier, though, and he hasn't had any milk today. Poop is now runny and yellow.


Is that right?

 

[helmstead]

Jody I replied to your PM yesterday...wish I had saved it, too...dang.

Sounds like it's time for vet + fecal + SMZ TMP. Good luck with him and keep us posted.

 

[cmjust0]

Yeah...at this point, if he's had a scour since yesterday morning and it seems to be getting worse despite being held off milk, I'd probably be looking toward the medicine cabinet myself.

I agree with Helmstead, too....SMZ-TMP would be a good choice here. The SMZ portion (Sulfamethoxazole) is effective against coccidia, while the TMP portion (Trimethoprim) is effective against bacteria like e.coli. Since we don't really know for sure what's going on, it's probably best to use something that goes after both.

How is he acting through all this.. Is he depressed, grinding teeth, kicking at his belly, etc...or is he more or less normal, but with runny poop?

Have you checked his temperature, by any chance?

 

[Jody]

Today, 2 times I noticed loose runny poops.. not quite a liquid, but more like a super squishy gel. It was yellow, whereas before his poops were a bit more orange and more firm.
...
I'm trying to keep him hydrated with fluids. I gave him water with electrolytes, but he won't drink much.. That was this morning.. he had maybe around 2 ounces..
...
Tonight I tried getting him to take more, but he won't suckle.. got maybe a couple squirts from the nipple.
..
The poops fall off and are not quite the mess as seen in some photos found online, but they're gel like and concern me.

Anyway, starting today I am withholding milk and giving him just water with electrolytes and CorRid. During 2nd feeding of this today, his stool appears to be thickening. It's not diareah like, more like a soft squishy paste and is schoolbus yellow

As for him not wanting the bottle, he's been suckling the water/electrolytes/CorRid mix all day today without issue.
...
Nonetheless, the dilemma continues.. he still has runny poops, now however, they're worse and he has not had any milk today.. So, how do I ascertain whether it's coccidia, e coli or other?

So far, all has been yellow.. looks like normal color, but more runny than before

Ok, so lemme see if I got this straight...

The goat's poop was normal up until yesterday morning, when you noticed two loose, runny poops that were sorta like gel and would "fall off," indicating some level of firmness... He wasn't as messy as some pictures you see, so I'm guessing this wasn't a "scour down the back of the legs" situation..

The differences in regimen were that you mixed probios into the milk, and he'd just spent his first night outside.

When you saw what was going on yesterday morning, you mixed up some water/electrolyte/CoRid, but he didn't want to take it. He got just a little of the mixture, but he did drink milk yesterday.

Starting today, you took him off milk and offered only the water/electrolyte/CoRid mixture, which he took more readily. After his 2nd feeding of the water/electrolyte/CoRid mixture today, his poo started looking a little more firm and he was taking the mixture readily.

Now the poops are getting runnier, though, and he hasn't had any milk today. Poop is now runny and yellow.


Is that right?

Correct.