Goat with kidney stones?

[Alicia G]

Iv'e had my goat for a year now. He is a 3/4 nubian buck, neutered. He has been urinating dark, almost a brown/red color. I called a few goat owners/experts and I was told its most likely kidney stones and there wasn't much I could do about it. I really would hate to lose him, he's such a nice fellow.... Any tips?
btw, we are getting his urine tested by a vet
Thanks,
Alicia

 

[redtailgal]

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1272

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6670

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1539

I urge you to read the information in the above links. Your wether is in serious danger, and you need to act quickly.

If you have any questions, please ask!

 

[Alicia G]

Thank you for the information! Can someone please explain what it is I need to do exactly? I have spent my life around horses, but know nothing of goats So I really need it broken down for me as I can be a bit simple minded at times >.< I would like to mention that he is NOT given feed (only as a rare treat) and has been out on fresh grass for a good month or so, also eating lots of tree buds/branches.

Thanks,
Alicia

 

[redtailgal]

I've never been through this personally, but give me a few minutes to do a search and I'll see what I can find for treatment options.

 

[Goatherd]

If he's not been receiving grain, I would hesitate to assume it's a kidney stone or urinary calcification. He is urinating and that is a good sign. A stone would cause him to strain and produce very little, if any, urine.
The dark colored urine may just be a very concentrated urine possibly due to a smaller intake of water than what he should have or a result of what he's been eating.

One way to prevent stones from forming is using a product called ammonium chloride. Wethered males should have this as a staple in their diet. It helps to keep the acidity of the urine in check which can become a problem for wethers.

If he's not acting out of sorts, I would just make sure he is drinking well and has water available at all times.

 

[redtailgal]

This thread has an excellent post with treatment suggestions, some of them may be more than your goat needs right now.

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10181

It's also been suggested to drench with Cranberry juice or "Fresh Fruit" (this is NOT just a piece of fruit, this is a product in a package used to prolong the freshness of fruit, I find it in the grocery store with food storage bags, canning equipment, or at times in the produce section).

Also add some apple cider to his water......keep his water cold and fresh and encourage him to drink alot. Putting out a salt block may help make him thirsty.

You'll need the help of a vet, if possible, esp with you being new to goats, so it's good that you've already contacted one.

Also, feeding a good quality grain is fine so long as it has AC in the ingredients, and a GOOD loose mineral with AC is essential to preventing urinary problems in the future.

If this progresses to a full blown blockage (indicated by poor or dribbling urine stream) his chances of surviving are slim. Your best bet is to jump on this hard and fast.

(and go back to your first post, click edit and change the thread title to read: URGENT: Possible UC

 

[Alicia G]

Thank you again for all the help. He has been peeing what seems to be regularly, and he as doing some pretty sad noises this evening I will be checking into everything I can.
Alicia

 

[elevan]

Even though he is not fed grain you should still consider urinary calculi because those tree branches / buds and grass will be higher in phosphorus than calcium which is what causes U.C.

Now, I didn't say that to freak out those who don't grain their goats but you need to know that items that they eat that are high in phosphorus (or oxilates) will cause urinary calculi and this includes browse. Know your pasture! This is why we feed alfalfa pellets free choice here to counter balance the Cah ratio back to 2:1 as we know that we have high oxilate and high phosphorus browse and not a lot of high calcium browse at certain times of the year. We're working on correcting that but for now we supplement.



eta: I would also give him either a shot of banamine or some liquid ibuprofen for pain / inflammation.

 

[babsbag]

Even though he is not fed grain you should still consider urinary calculi because those tree branches / buds and grass will be higher in phosphorus than calcium which is what causes U.C.

Now, I didn't say that to freak out those who don't grain their goats but you need to know that items that they eat that are high in phosphorus (or oxilates) will cause urinary calculi and this includes browse. Know your pasture! This is why we feed alfalfa pellets free choice here to counter balance the Cah ratio back to 2:1 as we know that we have high oxilate and high phosphorus browse and not a lot of high calcium browse at certain times of the year. We're working on correcting that but for now we supplement.



eta: I would also give him either a shot of banamine or some liquid ibuprofen for pain / inflammation.

I agree. I don't want to scare the original poster into thinking she has something she doesn't, but I had a wether put down a few weeks ago because of UC and he hadn't had grain in years. What he was eating was primarily wheat and grass hay and very little alfalfa. I mistakenly thought that the alfalfa and grain was the problem, but after he got sick I did some reading and discovered that wheat hay is 1:2, exactally opposite of what I should have been giving him. I should have been giving him alfalfa hay or pellets as well. I felt really bad as I should have been on top of this, it was my fault.

As elevan say...know your pasture, or in my case, your hay.

 

[Alicia G]

I took my goat to the vet this morning, he told me that he didn't think it was kidney stones. He did a once over and felt his bladder was empty and there was no sign of stones or swelling. Temp was normal as well and Mervin (the goat) was trying to head butt the vet the whole time indicated to him my goat wasn't as bad as we thought. The vet told me that he didn't think there was much to worry about and he thought maybe it was just something he ate. Apparently there is a plant that grows around here that is known to upset there stomachs (vomiting, the runs, bloating the works) something he referred to as 'lamb kill'? He was eating this morning and he pee'd a steady stream of yellow urine (not red/brown like before) and then ran up to me and head butted me in the stomach >.< Iv'e left him and his pony friend in their stall in hopes to get what ever it is out of his system
Please send good thoughts Mervin will be ok, I love him so much

Thought I would show some pictures of my goofy boy.

Mervin and his buddy indigo

Apparently Mervin likes my camera XD

How can you not love that face?