Heres another goat diarrhea problem to solve! HELP!

[pridegoethb4thefall]

Heres the story- I brought home a 1 yr old doe and her 3 week old baby 1 week ago. She was on alfalfa, forage, and lactating goat feed at her old home. She was wormed 1 week before I got her, as well as vaccinated.

I kept her on alfalfa hay, 1 flake a day 2x's a day, and 3 cups of feed a day, but only handfuls of grass till we get the fence up around pasture.

Yesterday we gave her about 2 loose cups of raw spinach (storebought) and 1 head of romaine lettuce. That was on top of her hay and grain.

Today she has really watery green diarrhea, all over the place. She is still eating her food and drinking water, but she looks really skinny on her sides along her back (skinnyer than yesterday) She still has plenty of milk. Baby has no symptoms andis still nursing fine.

Any ideas on how to help the diarrhea stop, and how to get weight on her while she nursing?

 

[ksalvagno]

I would get some pepto into her. I would also get some Probios into her. It sounds like the spinach and lettuce didn't agree with her.

What do you mean by skinny? Was she skinny when she came to your farm? Do you mean that she is underweight?

I would give her unlimited alfalfa hay. Also give her a good loose goat mineral.

Hopefully someone else will jump in here too.

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

I have NO idea what Probios is at this point- I am brand new to goats. I did research, but obviously not enough.

Do you mean human Pepto-Bismal? How much do I give her, she weighs about 100 pounds.

I mean she looks skinnier as far as the belly goes where the hips are and along the spine going up from the tail towards her neck. She's not emaciated or anyhting, but I can see a difference in her circumference around her back end along the spine.

I give her alot of alfalfa, but it seems kinda full of stems, and she doesnt seem to care for them, she leaves ALOT of the stems behind in favor of the leafy part.

If this diarhea clears up by morning, what is a healthy food to give her that will help put on weight and keep her milk production up?

 

[Roll farms]

Dietary changes, especially anything bright green, need to be made gradually... offer a few leaves of lettuce, 1/4 cup of spinach....

Probios is a brand of rumen stimulating 'good' bacteria that comes in either paste or powder form. Generally the paste comes in 3 sizes, horse, cow, or a huge drench gun size....all are the same stuff.
With one or two goats around, I'd buy the smaller, horse size tube, a little goes a long way....I haven't seen a feed store yet that doesn't have it on hand.

In a pinch, plain cultured yogurt will do the same thing but it's a bit messier.

I've never given a goat human pepto, so I can't tell you how much. I keep a livestock version on hand (Kaolin) but rarely need it.

Free choice browse will help put weight on her...good leafy browse, not just grass in the pasture...but again, don't overdo it. A couple branches from a maple or mulberry tree at a time if she can't get out to them.

You could get a good grass hay and give her that (1/2 flake of grass, 1/2 flake of alfalfa) to help 'bulk up' her rumen. The alfalfa has more 'calories' and protein, but the grass will provide the bulk fiber she's not getting from stemmy alfalfa, since she won't eat the stems.

I like to offer lactating does that are under weight or just fresh a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Calf Manna w/ their grain.

At 3 weeks into her lactation, her body is still recovering from giving birth and learning to make milk, our does usually don't stop losing condition / gaining weight until around 6 weeks post kidding unless I offer them calf manna.