Young goat straining, found a worm

[Brandi Krisatis]

I decided to call the on call vet tonight since there hasn't been any changes. I did notice when hes standing he dribbles urine. He had me feel his urine by the penis to see if it was grainy. It was. He said there is most likely a blockage in the urinary tract. He said to call the office first thing in the morning to get him checked out. The on call vet said they can try to do a catheter, which it doesn't always work because of the way the urinary tract is, it's a S curve. If the catheter doesn't work, I could have him taken to Michigan State to have surgery to basically have him urinate like a female. The last option in uthinization. I am so sad right now. I hope they can fix him tomorrow.

Is this as bad as it sounds? I'll m glad the vet didn't beat around the bush about the possible outcomes. But I don't want to loose this little guy and I don't have money for a major surgery.

 

[greybeard]

Is this as bad as it sounds? I'll m glad the vet didn't beat around the bush about the possible outcomes. But I don't want to loose this little guy and I don't have money for a major surgery.

it 'can' be pretty bad, but too, there is always a risk in any mammal with a urinary blockage, of bladder rupture if the problem isn't addressed.

If you wish to read further about the problem, possible procedures, and associated risks, you can open the following link:
http://www.aasrp.org/resources/VanMetre_urolith_surgery_04.pdf

 

[Southern by choice]

I decided to call the on call vet tonight since there hasn't been any changes. I did notice when hes standing he dribbles urine. He had me feel his urine by the penis to see if it was grainy. It was. He said there is most likely a blockage in the urinary tract. He said to call the office first thing in the morning to get him checked out. The on call vet said they can try to do a catheter, which it doesn't always work because of the way the urinary tract is, it's a S curve. If the catheter doesn't work, I could have him taken to Michigan State to have surgery to basically have him urinate like a female. The last option in uthinization. I am so sad right now. I hope they can fix him tomorrow.

Is this as bad as it sounds? I'll m glad the vet didn't beat around the bush about the possible outcomes. But I don't want to loose this little guy and I don't have money for a major surgery.

This is urinary Calculi- not sure if you read the link already that I mentioned. Often they snip the pizzle. http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/SP/MG/Documents/SLIDES/Urinary calculi.pdf

 

[Brandi Krisatis]

I did read up on it. Thank you. He did have have blockage. The vet could not get the catheter in nearly as far as she wanted so she couldn't flush the urethra. She did empty the bladder using a syringe and needle. When she did an ultra sound it showed he had about a 1/4 inch of sediment around the bladder wall.
Shes giving us ammonium chloride to mix with jello that will break up that sediment hopefully and he will pee it out. But if he still has a blockage none of that will help. We could take him to MSU for surgery.

As of today, I have not seen him urinate. But his bedding was damp from the night. He currently has no bedding for about 5 hours and he has not urinated yet. He was straining but nothing is coming out.
I think we will be making the hour and a half trip to Michigan State for the surgery. It's called a cystostomy.
The vet said it was probably caused from his diet. So no grain ever again for him. Has anyone had this surgery done with luck?

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Tell vet you cannot pass a catheter on a male goat!!!!!!!
There are two very sharp curves in urethra that make S shaped process..

Feeding grain in and of itself did not cause blockage. I have had bucks and wethers eating grain well into teens without blockages. If overall calcium to phosphorus ratio gets out of whack or animal quits drinking enough water you get blockages. The loose mineral mix is what balances ration 2:1. Lots of things can impact water consumption: sore teeth, .water .dirty, bad tasteing, too warm, too cold.

 

[Southern by choice]

I agree with @Donna R. Raybon and as the article points out it has to do with the calcium phosphorus ratio.
We tend to have 10-15 bucks here at all times and one wether. All our bucks get feed, always have, always will. BUT their feed does have ammonium chloride. NO baking soda! Fresh water at all times. A cobalt block (which our bucks rarely use) mostly for the salt.
We make sure their diet is a minimum of 2:1 up to a range of about 4:1. We give alfalfa mixed with orchard hay. We can't always get that mix so then we just give orchard or field hay.
Please don't feed BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) it screams with extremely high levels of phosphorus.