Bloat in Young Goat

[Lynn]

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....

 

[HankTheTank]

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!

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

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.

 

[Lynn]

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...

 

[Lynn]

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

 

[SheepGirl]

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

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

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.

 

[ksalvagno]

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.

 

[Lynn]

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...

 

[ksalvagno]

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