Baby goat has runny loose poop

[Jody]

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?

He's acting normal as usual. No dehydration, still has appetite and is very playful as usual. I haven't taken temperature yet, again I forgot to pick up a thermometer. I have one, but battery is dead and I don't see any screws to take it apart to change battery.

An experienced goat owner, the seller whom sold me this goat, is coming to me on Monday. Hopefully things improve ASAP, and if not, hopefully Monday is not too late.

He was on the water/electrolytes/CorRid mix all day up until about 2hrs ago when I gave him milk as I did not want him to have a hungry belly and his crying told me that he was very hungry.

What's the average cost/charge for vet visit for this kind of thing, and the fecal test? Any time I ever called a vet and asked how much it would cost so I could bring enough cash, not one has ever told me the cost until afterwards, other than the standard $75 to $200 just to walk in the door.

 

[helmstead]

You SHOULD be able to take a fecal sample in and just pay the testing fee...which SHOULD be under $25.00. You will want to find a vet with an in-office lab for more immediate results - if they send it off you'll have to wait a day or more.

 

[Jody]

You SHOULD be able to take a fecal sample in and just pay the testing fee...which SHOULD be under $25.00. You will want to find a vet with an in-office lab for more immediate results - if they send it off you'll have to wait a day or more.

First thing in the morning I'll be on the phone to locate one that does in house testing.

 

[Roll farms]

I'd suspect E Coli vs. coccidia at this point...if he's 17 days old, that's awful quick for cocci to go rampant....possible, but e coli usually hits them younger.

Feeding the kid probios won't prevent an outbreak of cocci or e coli, but it didn't make it worse, either.

http://www.fefana.org/resources/documents/publications/total def probio.pdf

This is a very in-depth article, but it states on page 31 that even when fed 1000x the recommended dose of probiotics, animals had no ill effects. Most probiotic additives for animals have 'non-colonizing' bacteria, meaning they drift along, do their job, and get pooped out.

Probiotics are included in many goat and calf colostrum replacers and supplements....the companies who make it, wouldn't put it in there if it didn't serve a purpose.
JMHO...

I will continue to give it to kids, functioning rumens or not, who I feel need it. I don't give it daily, or regularly, but if they have a bout of ecoli or are just 'off'...I truly believe it helps.
Like I said, there's more to the digestive tract than just the rumen, and the entire thing is populated by beneficial fauna.

 

[Jody]

I'd suspect E Coli vs. coccidia at this point...if he's 17 days old, that's awful quick for cocci to go rampant....possible, but e coli usually hits them younger.

I'm gonna get a fecal test done. If it does end up E Coli, I know I can use Neomycin, but what else works just in case I can't find this in stock locally?

 

[Roll farms]

I personally have had good luck w/ Scour Halt.

I don't know where you are, but most farm supply stores carry both Scour Halt and Neomycin. I bought a bottle of Neomycin a few years ago but have never used it...the Scour Halt always works for me...and I like to start small, antibiotic-wise, hoping that if I ever do need to bring in a more powerful one, it will be effective for a while before I have to 'move up' again.

I put 2-3 pumps of scour halt down down their throats on an empty stomach (I wait an hr before I feed them) the first time, then I add 2 pumps to their morning and evening bottles for 3 days.

This is for full-sized kids, with a Nigi I'd probably go w/ 2 pumps.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Jody]

Well, I woke up, went out to the goat pen and now I can't find any poops to bring in for testing. I cleaned them all up before posting that I'd be getting a fecal test done. No poop stuck on his anus this morning either.

My wife and I were discussing our plan of action and now we believe it might be the water. His milk has been prepared with spring water until we ran out which is when this started. It started when we began feeding milk mixed with filtered well water. I get diareah myself if my wife inadvertently makes coffee with this water.

I'm supposed to shock disinfect the thing, but don't know how to open it, nor do I know how to calculate depth so I can do it appropriately. All I can say at this point about the water is that it is high in iron and sulfur. I say iron because it turns the drains and toilet red on porcelain, as well as the inside of the faucet filter.

I say sulfur because often there is a noticeable smell much like rotten eggs.

Now that I think about this more, there appears to be biological issues as well.

So, if there is a poop found to be brought in, preferably a fresh wet one on his anus, do I swab some with a q tip and put it in a baggy? How much do I need? I don't think it should be on that's on the ground cause it could alter test results, right?

I should be getting the water tested, but I recall calling well companies when I moved into this place last summer and the costs were astronomical for me at the time, plus I rent the property and the owner continually ignores my repeated complaints about it.

 

[helmstead]

Yeeps! You should be able to get the water tested for free or nearly free by your county extension office...that's where I'd call next.

Glad the kid seems to have cleared up. You don't need a very large sample at all for a fecal...one adult berry or one lil pile of kid mush will suffice. Think about that little fecal stick the vet uses on dogs and cats...

 

[Jody]

Called county extension, no water testing available.

During next feeding, baby did another runny poop. Used q tips and brought sample to vet. Results should be ready within the next 20mins. Prior to test, vet suggested milk replacer as a potential culprit if no biologicals are found in feces.

Milk replacement used is Blue Seal Kwik Mix calf milk replacer. I notice it lacks copper + selenium, necessary nutrients for goats. Although I still have 20lbs of this stuff, I'm going to get out and get manna pro kid milk replacer today.

 

[cmjust0]

Although I still have 20lbs of this stuff, I'm going to get out and get manna pro kid milk replacer today.

If you do that, switch him over to it slowly to avoid yet another digestive upset. That's the last thing you need right now..


Overall, given that he's still alive, alert, active, and playing, it's getting harder and harder for me to imagine this being a serious pathogenic bacteria..

Think about this.. Bacterial enteritis in goats is basically the equivalent of food poisoning in humans. If you're truly a victim of food poisoning, you get really sick in a systemic sort of way.. Fever, sweats, chills, etc.. You don't go on about your day as normal...you're laying on the couch with a bucket and a cool rag over your head at best, writhing in pain and literally about to die at worst.

If, however, you make a bad decision and eat a bagful of soft tacos with hot sauce...and get the squirts...you more or less just go on about your day thinking to yourself "Boy o' boy, I won't do that again anytime soon..." and in a little while, things go back to normal.

In my experience, that's sorta the difference between bacterial scours and dietary scours in goats.. When it's a serious pathogen, the goat looks like you'd look if you were food poisoned. If it's dietary, the goat may act a little tummy-achy and mildly depressed, but not sick sick.

As for coccidiosis...there hasn't been any true dysentary yet, as far as I can tell.. No "dirty water" poops or blood-streaked feces, blood clots, shreds of epithelium from the intestines.. So, if coccidiosis is the culprit, it would appear to be mild at worst.

Even with mild coccidiosis that shows some diarrhea, the kid will usually act somewhat sick and not want much to do with food. He may also be a wee bit anemic if it's coccidiosis, although I personally think straight-up dehydration is often mistaken for anemia..

But, again....given that he's more or less normal, but with soft poops...it's looking more and more like a dietary scour to me.

Still....if they find anything in the poo whatsoever, I'd do some SMZ-TMP just to be safe.



Now, I'm really hoping some other folks here will chime in on what I've just said to tell me either "You're crazy!" or "I was thinking the same thing"...or anything in between.

Anybody?