First time dealing with scours. What do I give him?

[TXMissy]

Hello ya'll,

My young wether, Huck, has scours. He is 6 months old. I am not sure how much he weighs. When I fed them this morning, I noticed he had it on his hind end and leg and I saw a few spots on his on the ground. It appears to be a greenish color..greenish/brown maybe and there is no smell. He is acting somewhat normal. He ate the pellets this morning and is walking around with his mom. I check on him a few minutes ago and he was lying down in the grass. Went I went outside he came running to me. He does not seem to be bloated. I checked his gums though I am not sure what color they are supposed to be but to me, they seemed pale. I know there is difference of opinion whether or not you can tell parasite load by gums. I about to go to the store and get feed and such. What do I need to get for him? I have a probiotic paste, and antibiotics. I have deworming pellets, do those work as well as paste? or should I get paste? I have read some article/posts on here but didn't come across anything that I found helpful. Please any advice on exactly what to give him, how much and how often is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[farmerjan]

I just got home and don't know if you have already made a trip. I would get a paste wormer and follow the directions. If they are on pasture it could be some of all the grass consumption... and if no way to do a fecal, worming would be a "better safe than sorry" deal in my book. That is what we would do with the lambs. I would reworm again in a week if there are no special instructions....

 

[Mini Horses]

Agree.

 

[TXMissy]

I just got home and don't know if you have already made a trip. I would get a paste wormer and follow the directions. If they are on pasture it could be some of all the grass consumption... and if no way to do a fecal, worming would be a "better safe than sorry" deal in my book. That is what we would do with the lambs. I would reworm again in a week if there are no special instructions....

Thank you. I gave him some probiotics and I gave him some dewormer paste. I am not sure if I gave him enough or too much. He seems to be eating okay and acting normally. thank you for the help.

 

[Mini Horses]

MOST dewormers have a huge margin of error -- Quest is exception!! -- just don't give too little. You want to kill them, not stun them -- per my vet.

 

[farmerjan]

If he is not acting sick, don't give the probiotics until 48 hours after the wormer. You are working against yourself that way. Don't give the gut tract a boost until the wormer has a chance to work. No sense in wasting money. If he was acting sick, I would say to give probiotics for a couple days or according to label... then hit with wormer, then a couple days later, probiotics again.
You are doing good to notice and want to attack the problem right away.

 

[TXMissy]

MOST dewormers have a huge margin of error -- Quest is exception!! -- just don't give too little. You want to kill them, not stun them -- per my vet.

MOST dewormers have a huge margin of error -- Quest is exception!! -- just don't give too little. You want to kill them, not stun them -- per my vet.

Thank you. Do you know how to properly dose? I got a horse dewormer, Safegaurd, and I read that you can use these on goats and to times the goats weight by 3 and that is how much you give them per the paste tube. However, Huck is not that heavy and is probably only 30 to 40 lbs. I am not sure the amount I gave him was enough. It goes from 0 -then a notch - then 250. I have it to him at the first unmarked notch between the 0 and the 250. Should I give him more? Also, do you know, on average, how long it takes to clear up before I should be concerned or get a vet involved? He is acting normal and eating. Thank you for your help.

 

[TXMissy]

If he is not acting sick, don't give the probiotics until 48 hours after the wormer. You are working against yourself that way. Don't give the gut tract a boost until the wormer has a chance to work. No sense in wasting money. If he was acting sick, I would say to give probiotics for a couple days or according to label... then hit with wormer, then a couple days later, probiotics again.
You are doing good to notice and want to attack the problem right away.

dang, okay... well should I dose him again with the dewormer then?

 

[farmerjan]

No, don't dose again right away. Let things go for a few days at least. You can't keep "confusing" the gut tract without actually giving him a "tummyache"...
Sounds like the "unmarked notch" was for about 125 lbs... so about right if the instructions say goat weight x3. What does it say about a second dose? If he is acting fine, don't worry about the probiotics. I think a 2nd follow up dose of wormer would be in order and then let things alone. If you have a vet that deals with the different "large animals" or farm animals, then ask if they do fecal counts for worms. If so, then after you do the second dose of worming, wait maybe a week or 2 and take a sample in and get it checked.
Then you can make some more informed choices at that point.

 

[TXMissy]

No, don't dose again right away. Let things go for a few days at least. You can't keep "confusing" the gut tract without actually giving him a "tummyache"...
Sounds like the "unmarked notch" was for about 125 lbs... so about right if the instructions say goat weight x3. What does it say about a second dose? If he is acting fine, don't worry about the probiotics. I think a 2nd follow up dose of wormer would be in order and then let things alone. If you have a vet that deals with the different "large animals" or farm animals, then ask if they do fecal counts for worms. If so, then after you do the second dose of worming, wait maybe a week or 2 and take a sample in and get it checked.
Then you can make some more informed choices at that point.

Thank you so much for your help. So far, he is acting normal, just has diarrhea. I do not see anything about giving a second dose on the box. I will give him 5 days from the day I gave it to him, which was yesterday, and then give him another dose if needed. Does that seem like enough time in between or should I give it a week? I did give him the probiotics probably an hour or so before I gave him the Safeguard because I had no idea what to do. Ther are a couple vets in the area that see large animals. I will see about doing a fecal after the 2nd dose like you suggested. I really appreciate your help.