Thin Goat

[noskiveez]

I have a young male (intact) Nigerian dwarf goat born 11/30/2010 that is thin. All of my other goats seem healthy (all vax'd, cd&t/Pasturella/Pinkeye and wormed because I don't know their history). This boy was bottle fed. Along his spine is very boney. I can easily grab around and under the spine bones. He eats well, drinks well, no runny poop. Gets his suppliments (Selenium, calcum, minerals, probiotics). He eats the best quality hay available here. They get a small amount of molasses grain and get some pellets. I keep the goat pen clean. I rake all poop out 3 to 4 times a week. I'm not sure what else I should be doing to help "beef" this goat up. His brother died of strange circumstances. I thought I figured it out but I'm not certain. (Either choked or bloated).

Any ideas?

 

[ksalvagno]

Have you had a fecal run on him? I would start there. You could also bump up his grain or add alfalfa pellets.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Since you don't know his history he could have had a heavy worm or coccidiosis load when he was little, and it can cause the stomach to be damaged.

If that isn't the case, it is pretty likely he is carrying a worm load.

There are 3 groups of wormers/parasite control:

coccidiosis is considered a parasite not a worm, but it will keep them very thin and needs to be treated with sulfa-dimethoxine or corid.

tapeworms need to be treated with white wormers like safegaurd or valbazene''


and other worms like round worms, barber pole worms can be treated with ivermectin and cydectin.

Having a fecal test done, will help keep you from guessing and wasting money on wormers you don't need.

Price around in your area, vets charge from 15 to 30 or more per test.

 

[freemotion]

You might find some ideas on this current discussion: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8921

 

[noskiveez]

I had a fecal done a short time ago when he was sick (had the runs really bad) and they checked for worms and said they found none. I imagine they checked for all kinds?? I got him when he was just a few days old. He looked pretty good. Its been since he got the runs that he's been this thin. I give alfalfa pellets but not every day. I don't think he's had a Coccidiosis issue. I've been treating with decox grains. I wormed with Safeguard. They said it would take care of all worms at the feed store. I should know better than listen to them at the feed store.

Should I worm for other types? I have a Ivermectin 1.87% paste. Its labeled for horses. I typically use it with chickens during mite season.

My instinct tells me worms.

 

[Roll farms]

Worm info

http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/parasites.html

Cocci info

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/coccidiosis.htm

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/coccidiosis06.html

 

[20kidsonhill]

I am thinking worms also. I am wondering about coccidiosis, that is normally the first thing that hits kids. I think if I were you I would worm him again, safegaurd is 3x the dose for sheep and can be given 3 days in a row, but if he is really weak you might want to give it day 1 and then day 3, then give probiotics.

You could also try ivermectin, I am not positive of the does for the 1.87%. Please check in on this more, but I beleive it is 3x the dose for horses. I use equimax horse wormer with a praziquintal in it every now and then for tapeworm loads and I give that at 3x the horse dose. Also giving probiotics.

Does he seem to have pale inner gums or lower eyelid?
Paleness would indicate a worm load, barber pole worms to be exact.


Was the scours black in color or a tan yellowish? blackish/greyish would be more likely worms, and tanish would more likely be cocci.

I would then do a round of coccidiosis treatment. cocci is treated for 5 days. more probiotics.

It sounds like you are doing a good job taking care of him. I am wondering what is up with the negative fecal?

They do take time to recover from a worm load, 2 to 3 months.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

If you're feeding him grain it's important to feed it together with alfalfa to balance the calciumhosphorous ratios in order to prevent urinary calculi. The alfalfa will go a long way in getting him in better condition if it's not parasite related and he's just in need of extra calories. At 5 months old he's still growing and may need more calories (and calcium) than what he's currently getting. I'd gradually bump up his grain ration and start adding alfalfa pellets every day with his grain.

 

[noskiveez]

I think his poop was both colors. I think it started black then changed to tanish/mustard colored.

I have Corid I can give. Should I dose him separately or give it to all of them? How much should they be given? Should I add it to their water like I would a chicken?

He is a bit pale in his eye lids and mouth.

ROLL FARMS - Thank you for the links. I've been reading them and it helps break down the understandong of how parasites work.

 

[20kidsonhill]

We use Corid at the rate of 2 ounces per 5 gallons of drinking water, but it has to be the only water source, and if they are on wet grass pasture or a lot of wet forage I would up the corid in the water or drench individually, I would especially drench the underweight goat.

technically the dosage for Corid is 1 ounce per 5 gallons of water, but I have always doubled it, atleast for the first couple days, Treat for 5 full days.

Orally the dosage is 1 oz of corid to 5 oz of water and drench with
a kid orally twice a day with 20 to 40 cc of mixture, an adult goat receiving 40cc of mixture.

I give them 1/2 to 1 cc per 10lbs straight, not diluted, twice a day if the kid is scouring bad, for 5 consecutive days. Sometimes I will also add spectam scour halt to the treatment and Kaopectin, if the scouring is really bad.

It has worked for me, but a lot of people on this forum us Sulfa-dimeth at the rate of 1 cc per 5lb day 1 and 1cc per 10# day 2 through 5.

I just had a farmer of 35 years purchase a couple kids from me, and they also use Corid and just love it. But it may be different depending on the area you live.



the paleness indicates a barber pole worm load, you may have gotten it under control and then he broke with cocci from the stress of having worms