scours in kids, is the nightmare over?

[spanishchick]

Hi, these are my first goats so I'm really nervous. I know a lot about chickens but goats are a totally different story. But I'm learning.
Anyhow, I was told the kids were 5 weeks but they were about 1 or 2 now they're about 4 weeks.....best estimate.
Three days ago they had bad scours. They're stomachs were full but not solid.
I prepared and have dimethox. I ordered it after I got them.
I am in an urban area, to give you an idea I had a vet consut me on chickens. Anyhow, took them off milk for 12 hours day 1. Started on dimethox and home made electrolyt mix.
I mixed baking soda and salt in sweetened water.
I rewormed the goats having huge doubts about how they were kept. They're kiko-nubians.
Day 2, no improvement on the scours. Stomachs were very no longer so big.
Kept treatment up but gave milk at night with yogurt mixed. 1 spoon per 2 cups.
Day 3, scours gone.
Kept treatement up, antibiotic with they're regular milk, yogurt and 15 ounces of electrolyt.
They are still clean tonight. They also grazed today and were super hungry.
Am I out of deep water?
I should add I rubbed their stomach often.

 

[elevan]

DiMethox is a 5 day treatment so make sure that you follow through with it or it will be worthless - it is for coccidia.

What de-wormer did you use? Some you will have to repeat.

What antibiotic did you give? Why did you give it?

Continue giving some sort of probiotic treatment (ie: yogurt or probios) for a few days as it will help replenish good gut flora.

 

[spanishchick]

I thought dimethox was an antibiotic. Am I wrong?
The dewormer is safeguard fenbendazole for goats. I believe I'm supposed to treat again in 3 weeks. Plz advice.
I will continue the dimethox for 2 more days with yogurt and electrolyt because they don't drink unless its with a bottle yet.
I treated for cocci because although I believe it was a diet issue (overfeeding), I read preventive is better. And with scours I was really worried.

 

[alsea1]

You need to do the preventive dimethox for five full days.
As eleven stated if you do not then the cocci just get tougher.

 

[spanishchick]

I wouldn't dream of not completing it.

 

[elevan]

DiMethox is an antibiotic agent, yes. I was confused by your choice in wording. Definitely continue the 5 day course. If you want to continue to use as a preventative then redo every 21 days - 5 days each time.

I would redo the safeguard / fenbendazole in 10 - 14 days personally.

 

[spanishchick]

I just went to check them this morning and they are pooping solid. I think the yogurt helped normalize their tummies with the dimethox treatment.
I think I will continue preventative treatment. Although I think the issue was too much milk and I believe they got into the chick starter feed. I have them seperated with a barrier which I open slightly so the chicks can get out during the day and they knocked it over and I found them in their space. I've secured it better this time. Especially with these two rainy days, they are not going out as much. Normally they hang outside in the corrals until I graze them.
They don't like their hay or pellets but everyone seems to love the starter feed which won't hurt the chickens but bad for the goats. The chicken feed is hung and goat proof. They don't like it anyways.
Since they do reside together (16 chickens) although sleep seperately I would think the amount of Cocci would be higher than normal even under clean conditions. I'm always cleaning it but it is a dirt floor. (Which I think is better).
I have to get another disinfectant besides lime which I have to till into the dirt and then throw bedding. Lime doesn't help with things like the boards they sleep on which the little chicks love because I can't put it on the boards, it will burn them.
Any advice on a disinfectant before I do a other jeffers order?
On a side note my husbands dad is a cattle rancher and also raised goats, horses, mules etc etc.
He thinks that goats are not as vulnerable as I make them out to be.I'm very picky now, even on how much they graze on green grasses. I live right on a stop for migratory birds. Thousands of them. (More cross infection risk) I think he didn't really do the dirty work his dad did although he knows how to care for them. He doenst do the chicken doctring either. Maybe I read too much and only can rely on what I read and advice here. Even the feed store doesn't have a good knowledge or supply on goat stuff.
Is it me reading stories of death or are they as vulnerable as I read? I would think kikos are more resistant.
I think I gave a good description of living conditions.
Any advice on hay would be appreciated. They so far won't touch it (timothy).

 

[elevan]

The cocci for chickens and for goats are 2 entirely different types - they don't cross species. So no worries about that.

Goats are actually fairly hardy. The problem is that folks have consistently been improperly using antibiotics and de-wormers creating resistant strains of bacteria and parasites. Kikos are indeed a more resistant breed as far as internal parasites go.

If your goats are eating browse, they probably won't touch to much hay right now.

 

[spanishchick]

Thanks Elevan. Well good, I have felt like a mother of twins the past few days.
I think the hay feels weird to them at this age, although they like tree bark, pine and bamboo which we have a ton of. Really like bamboo and pine. We gathered some pesticide free etc bermuda grass and cut it, it is totally dry and they will munch on that.
I'll read the section on feeding. There are three days a week that I can't let them graze very long during the day because I work.

 

[elevan]

Pine is a very well loved foodstuff for goats both the needles and the bark...they'll kill a tree in no time. Spring tree bark is especially soft and delicious (to goats that is).

How old is your hay? The longer it sits the more nutrients it loses and the drier it becomes and the less a goat wants to eat it. Also if it has any kind of mold goats generally won't touch it.