Zeke has Worms!
 

Zeke, our orphaned buckling, read HELP, has got worms crawling in and out of his butt! Is it safe to give a week old kid de-wormer? Thank you in advance for all replies. Bye.

Dear Goat Freak,
a week old kid should *not* have worms. In addition to that, the only internal parasite visible to the naked eye are tapeworms. And I surely don't think a week-old kid could have tapeworms...?? Am I wrong, anybody know?? Only thing I can think of is maggots?? Though this is the wrong time of year for maggots around here. Where do you live?? Is his butt covered in poop?? Has he had scours?? You can give a week-old kid wormer, but I don't think I'd use anything stronger than safeguard..........I'm sorry I'm not of more help. :( What do these worms look like??

I have never had a week old kid get worms, that seems so young to have them. But I guess if they are going in and out that must be what it is. I can't imagine how he picked them up. If you are going to worm him I would use a somewhat milder wormer like safeguard, and not give him to much.

Did you de worm the doe when she kidded?If you didn't then go ahead and give a small dose of safegaurd.It is un common for a week old baby to be having a worm infestion so soon.Are your goats on a regular de worming program?What did the worm look like?

My dad says that they are maggots, he took a look. By the way, he DID have scours, and his mom didn't clean it off, I had to, so YES, his butt was covered in poo. Oh yeah, and i live in Florida, so we get maggots pretty much all year round, though more often in summer. Thank you all for your help. so now that I know that they are maggots, what do i do to get rid of them? Will they hurt his health any? Thank you once again for all of the help. Bye.

Ok, that is horrid, but it makes sense. I have had that with sick summer calves before. I would wipe his butt completely clean with warm water, dishsoap, and a washcloth. Just keep wiping gently till he smells good. If you get rid of whats attracting the flies too him(and get rid of the maggots that are there already)they will have no reason to lay more eggs and he should be fine if you keep him clean. Living in Florida I bet you would have more fly problems. They would have a hard time surviving the weather here right now. Its 20* outside and dropping........
Anyway, that is how I would clean him and wipe him several times a day since his mama can't. Sorry to hear you lost her.

Yes that does make alot more sense, I could not figure out how a week old kid could have worms.

Thanks guys, and YES, it is SO disgusting, I almost threw up when my mom told me.

His scours are NOT getting any better, what do i do to get rid of them? He seems to be allright other than that he has diareaha still. By the way, does anyone know how much milk a REALLY little buckling should have, by little he is only a little bigger than our 4 month old kitten. Thank you guys so much, you are SO helpful. Bye.

I had a chicken who got hit by a car and had a rear end injury which brought on maggots. I cleaned it off, as one poster mentioned with soap and water and then coated the area with Wonder Dust. I would imagine anything similar like Blue Koate or antiseptic powder would work too to keep the maggots at bay. I would want to get to the bottomof the scouring though. Was it ever established that this guy did get colostrum? It could simply be his system not handling the milk replacer. But could be more serious.

The Maggots Are Gone. His Problem Now Is He Has Scours. He Did Get Colostrum From His Mother, Because He Is 1 1/2 Weeks Old. I'm Just Not Sure What To Do About His Scours. I Know We Have Pills That We Give Our Calves If They Get The Scours, But We Never Had To Deal With Our Goats Until Now. Also He Is Not One Of Our Boer Goats He Is One Of Our Tiny Fellows That Is Not Much Bigger Than Our 4 Month Old Kitten He Doesn't Eat As Much As A Poster Recommended.they Said He Should Be Eating 8 Oz. 3-4 Times A Day. Please Help Goat Freaks Mommy Is'nt Getting Any Sleep . Oh By The Way I Am Goat Freaks Mom. Thanks For All The Help You Give Us.

I would definitely NOT give him milk replacer. It could definitely be the cause scours. Best thing is goats milk. Second best is whole cows milk. You could add some Ensure to the milk to give him an extra boost.

You maybe feeding him too much and this is causing the scours. Is he sickly looking? Try cutting back the oz a bit on the feedings, Might be all it is. Might want to also give him a little yogurt, or probias. Could be his little tummy is upset from the change to the milk or milk replacer.. If you do get something else for him to drink, make the change slowly or his little insides will be a wreck.

Sorry, but the only goat milk we had was frozen coustrum, and somebody said to NOT give them that, and he looks skinny. Kinda like a newborn, but he is 1 1/2 weeks old! Thank you for the advice, i will tell my mother, that is if she isn't snooping around here.

I agree that he should be fed goat's milk or even cow's milk rather than replacer. Replacer is nasty and has caused scours in most of the goats I have ever fed it to. I never use it anymore. I freeze goat milk and save to for orphan goats. I give something called Spectam scour halt to baby kids with scours. It is a product made for piglets and I got it from the feed store. I also give probios. Baby goats with the runs sometimes don't want to eat as much as a healthy baby. I would assume their tummies don't feel good. It's important to keep them hydrated. We use the electrolytes you mix with water and feed with a bottle. They are made for calves. If a baby has scours real bad, we sometimes feed the electrolytes instead of milk for a day. Hope your baby gets better.

Someone said before though, on another thread, that feeding baby goats electrolites only was a BAD idea, something about it being like water in their stomach, that it won't make cur or something of the sort that a baby goats stomach makes to coat the stomach, that a baby goat NEEDS. I will talk to my mom about it, but I will probly give him milk anyway. Bye.

If he were mine I would give him whole milk from the store and a tsp of kaopectate in each bottle(until diahrea clears).....then I'd get him some probiotics(yogurt will do into his bottle about a TBS)...
And then I'd be worried about Coccidosis taking hold so I would give him Di-methox....

Also some baby cereal mixed into the milk will boost vitamin levels.....

And yes I have used store milk on kids effectively.

Hello I am new to this site. I have read your story. I had a kid that I had to bottle feed also. When mine started to get the scours, I contacted the vet and he said to make the milk replacer weak. Do not kmake it as sstrong as the directions trell you to. I had to try two different ones before I found the one she did better on. The vet also said to get her some pedeilite (for infants) and that will give her the electrolites that she is passing. Use that to make the milk replacer. Also offer it to the baby every now and then just for a drink. My baby was cleared up in about 2 days.
As someone said you have to watch for Coccid. The bebies are more at risk then any. I treat mine the first five days they are born, it has really reduced my trouble with it.
Good Luck.
Sweet Goats
Lori

Thank you Sweet Goats.

By the way, I can't remember, and i am having trouble finding the posts, did somone say something about a medicine that is suppossed to be for pigs that helps get rid of the diareaha. Thank you all for all of your help. Bey.

I now have another thread, due to length of the other ones. The new thread is called "ANOTHER problem!". Just wanted to tell ya'll. Bye.

That anti-scouring formula is known as the pig pump. It's supposed to be highly effective but I can't speak for giving it to a kid this young. I would personally stick with the whole cow's milk. You don't want to keep switching as that can spell disaster for kids. Remember, kids this young eat small amounts very frequently. If possible I would try to get just a little into him several times a day. But I still feel you need to get to the source of the problem. Is it simply the milk that's disturbing his system or something more? Is there any way you can get him to a competent vet or at least get a fecal done? Is this kid active and are his gums pink?

His gums are a light pink, kinda like the color that baby girls come home wrapped in. Know what I mean, nothing like a hot pink, but still pink. He is a LOT more active,even more active than what he was with his mother, He is also taking the bottle just fine now, he is getting a bit more aggresive with it to, nothing to big, but he is starting to wack the bottle a bit when he is nursing. Also we don't have any goat vets around here, the closest one is VERY VERY far away. Thank you all for the help. Bye.