Kids weaning and loose poop

[Meaghan]

So, we just got the girls weaned about a week ago when they turned three months old. Today I noticed they are getting loose poops, and I'm not sure what to do about it. The poops are dark and runny, but not completely liquid. They are not smelly, either.

They are eating a small amount of grain per day along with free choice Chaffhaye, regular coastal hay, and leaves either brought inside or the ones they get into while we have them outside supervised. They haven't been out as much since Cloud passed, but we are working on getting a couple LGDs so that they can go out safely.

I noticed that everyone except Sapphire is looking quite large, but they aren't taunt and I can palpate their stomaches easily. I'm thinking of giving them some baking soda when I get home.

I don't think it's Coccidia, but they haven't been treated for it since they were 1 month old so I'm really not sure. If it is likely to be Coccidia what is the best treatment for it?

Any other thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I do think it is coccidia and you should use a sulfa medication like DiMethox. I have our local farm store keep it on hand in powdered form or you can order it. They need treatment fast though so if you need to order it, you might just call a vet and ask for Albon so you get it into them sooner. Our TSC does not carry sulfa meds, just Corid which is not effective.

 

[Meaghan]

Well I checked out our TSC and feed store, neither had DiMethox or Albon, only Corid. I bought Corrid just in case.

I called our vet but I know his wife recently had a baby, about a month ago, so I'm not sure he will respond today or even tomorrow, he hasn't been working much. There aren't any other goat vets in the area except for the vet school, and that's far too expensive because they will want to see each goat before giving meds. :/

Not sure what to do at this point. We can order some online but even with overnighting meds here it likely won't get here until Saturday at the earliest, maybe not even until Monday. Thoughts?

 

[Pearce Pastures]

There are several issues with using Corid. It works okay at keeping cocci at bay, but with an infestation, it isn't going to cut it. Plus, it is a thiamine antagonist and because it cause the body to slow the production of real thiamine, goats can develop polioencephalomalacia.

Order the med online and if your vet responds, maybe he can get you a small dose to get you by until it arrives.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Also, you might try some cat/dog vets. They use Albon too and *might* help.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Have you tried Southern States? They usually have it here in NC anyway.
http://www.southernstates.com/Store...storelocator&Num=10&SearchAddress=Archer,+FL+

Can you get a fecal done today? That would be best.

Anything new in their diet?

It is sounding like Cocci, but a lot of things can cause scours.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

x2 on what Pearce said anout the Corid

 

[Meaghan]

@Goat Whisperer: Thank you for that link, the close feed store has DiMethox! I always forget that Archer has a feed store, we use the one in Gainesville because it's much larger and carries the food we wanted to use. What they have is a gallon container of it, according to the lady on the phone. Is this what I'm looking for?

The only new food is the Chaffhaye really. They didn't really show any interest in it when they were on the bottle, so they ate very little of the bag before it started going sour (it's fermented), so we gave the bag to the neighbor for his goat. When we weaned them, we opened another bag and they have been eating a 2 gallon bucket of it per day between the 5 of them. We upped their grain a bit to about 3 cups for the 5 of them since weaning, but they were eating that prior to weaning too.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I don't know the dosage, I think @Pearce Pastures might.

No idea if this is right or not but thought I would post
From Fias Co Farm-

Treatment Recommendations "Traditional Chemical Method"

PREVENTION TREATMENT (before you see signs of disease):

Treat ALL kids, whether they show signs or not, at 3, 6, 9 weeks of age.
We do not recommend using a feed that contains a coccidiostat: there is no way that you can be sure how much medicine the kid is receiving. If he is underdosed, the coccidia will just build resistance (which is not good). If the kid is overdosed, you are overmedicating, and we don't feel that is good either. Dosing each individual kid, by weight, is the most accurate way to treat him.

Use either one of the chemical drugs listed below.



TREATMENT (after you see signs of disease)

If the kid is effected, don't waste time- treat them ASAP. Use either one of the chemical drugs listed below.

I also recommend adding Immune Support Tincture to the medicine. Not only may it help the kids' systems fight the disease, it also make the medicine taste better.

If any or our kids under 10 months gets runny diarrhea, we treat him for Coccidiosis/Worms as stated above.

NOTE: If you do not see improvement with whatever chemical treatment you are using in three days (you should see an improvement sooner than this), what you are using is not helping, and is not going to work, and you may consider switching to something else.



My first "chemical" choice for prevention is:

Sulfadimethoxine
Brand Names:

• Albon Concentrated Solution 12.5%
• Albon Soluble Powder 107 gm pkg
• Di-Methoox Concentrated Solution 12.5%
• Di-Methoox Soluble Powder 107 gm pkg

• Concentrated Solution 12.5% - Straight from the bottle; do not mix with water. Administer/Drench directly into mouth
• Soluble Powder mixed as follows: dissolve one package (107 gms) in three cups of water. Keep refrigerated. Administer/Drench directly into mouth

Dose:

Give Orally - Administer straight into the mouth using a syringe (remove the needle). Do not just add it to the kid's water because you will not know if he receives the correct dose. Do not add it to his milk because the milk effects the potency of the drug.

Five day treatment- you must treat the full five days. (we have begun experimenting with only treating three days for the prevention treatment.)
Day one: 1 ml per 5 pounds- given orally.
Days 2-5: 1 ml per 10 pounds- given orally.

Note: We sweeten the drench with a little Stevia; our kids no longer stand around gagging after their treatment and some even seem to like it. (a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down...)

My second "chemical" choice is:

Sodium Sulfamethazine brands:

Sulmet Drinking Water Solution 12.5%
Straight from the bottle; do not mix with water.

Dose:

Give Orally - Administer straight into the mouth using a syringe (remove the needle). Do not just add it to the kid's water because you will not know if he receives the correct dose. Do not add it to his milk because the milk effects the potency of the drug.

Five day treatment- you must treat the full five days.
Day one: 1 ml per 5 pounds- given orally.
Days 2-5: 1 ml per 10 pounds- given orally.

Note: I would sweeten this drench a little Stevia to make it a bit more pleasant to take for the kids (a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down...)

For more info:
https://fiascofarm.com/goats/coccidiosis.htm

 

[Meaghan]

Thank you for that info!

@ Pearce Pastures: Does that dosing sound right?

Also, is it better to under or overdose? Last time we weighed them (about 5 weeks ago), they were 30, 27, 26, 19, and 12.5lbs. I know that they have all gained weight, but I am really unsure how much. Ruby may be up to 40lbs, but the others I only have my best guess which would be 35, 35, 25-30 (Sapphire got wormy and fell behind on the weight gaining), and 20.