scours

dunroven · #1 05/04/07, 03:16 PM

Hey all. I have 2 little doelings that I bought from someone. They are kind of thin, and have really only been eating hay at the place they came from as they were born in January, so no browse was available and they, of course have been weaned.

Anyway, they have scours now. We have been giving them some of the sweet 12 that we give our big goats during the winter when the browse isn't up yet.

What should I do to stop the scours on these little ones? They are very tiny and I reallythink they should be bigger. Previous owner said he had wormed them, and this scours is kind of a jelly like, really dull green color.

Thanks in advance.

BlueHeronFarm · #2 05/04/07, 03:29 PM

Did you just get them? They may just be adjusting to the new diet - don't give them too much to start. Probios won't hurt - and pepto is safe for scours. Doesn't sound like the scours are too bad yet...not liquid. Have they been wormed? Treated for cocci?

dunroven · #3 05/04/07, 04:21 PM

I got them just about 2 weeks ago. The scours are just developing as far as I can tell. We have kept them inside because the big goats are too powerful for them and just run them down like they are not even there. I am trying to wait until they get some size before putting them in with the others. He says they have been wormed, but I am thinking I might need to do that again. He didn't say anything about cocci. We have problems getting vets to check goats around here. They don't want to deal with them yet.

My husband is getting some gatorade. We don't have much for stores here either. I figured the gatorade would help with the electrolytes. I give that to my new chickens when i get them and they do great on that. Gave it to our baby calves (bottle fed) when we got them too. Works well. Anyway, I can get some Pepto on Sunday when we travel to another town for church. Thanks for the help on this. They really aren't real bad yet, which is why I wanted to ask, but I wonder with all this cold and heat and cold and heat, if maybe they aren't trying to take something rather than just the food.

I'm new enough at goats, really new with babies, so I just have to ask.

Thanks!

Alice In TX/MO · #4 05/04/07, 04:25 PM

What is Sweet 12? If it's sweet feed with molasses, that may not be a good idea.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #5 05/04/07, 06:05 PM

And honestly with sweet feed....my feed dealer gave me 5 bags of this new feed we have here, it is nice if you don't count the ton of mollassas in the bag. Every fly in my county is living in my barn right now! I rarely have more than a few flies even with the herd large, don't know how you deal with flies and sweet feed!

But it isn't the best diet.. Always keep kids on the same thing they were getting at the previous home. Put them back on just hay. Please don't now start feeding them more strange things, gatorade is nothing but some salt with sugar! Clean water, good clean hay that someone would feed to a nice horse, no a cow. Then worm them, put them on some cocci prevention, and then slowly add a few handfuls of perhaps a goat pellet.....moving to a better diet of grains as they get older and move towards milking or raising kids.

It's stressfull to move, even when moving from a bad situation..you have now made the situation worse by overdoing it. Everything in moderation especially change.

Is anyone close that you can simply just get a few cc's of Cydectin from them to worm with and get some sulfa? Then you will know any further scouring is simply from the diet change. Vicki

susanne · #6 05/04/07, 06:21 PM

how old are your little doelings?
if that were mine i would start treating them for coccidia and worm them with valbazen 1cc per ten pound. 2 or 3cc, depending on size fortified b-complex, probios or yogurt and back to only grass hay until the scours is gone.
i do not like to feed molasses as this is changing the ph in the rumen.
i can totally understand that all you want to do is put some meat on them, but this has to be done very slowly.

just saw they were born in january. i would definitely treat for cocci.

fishhead · #7 05/04/07, 07:27 PM

Do they have free access to baking soda to buffer the pH in the rumen?

dunroven · #8 05/04/07, 08:01 PM

I give Ivermectin to my goats. Don't want the worms to get resistant at this stage. I can worm them again and give some baking soda. I haven't done anything else for them yet, cause I was unsure what to do. I think I am going to go with the Pepto and cut back to the hay and let that be it for now. We'll see what happens with them. They are 3 months old right now.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your help! I'm sure I'll be back for more as well!

susanne · #9 05/04/07, 08:18 PM

dunroven at 3 month old they need cocci prevention. with the moving and now diarhea cocci can get a problem for the kids. if they are already small for their age they will never catch up.

dunroven · #10 05/04/07, 10:34 PM

I'm not sure they are small for their age. They just seem tiny to me. I think that's because they are beside the big goats though, so I'm probably just not used to seeing their size. I have only had one other goat that I saw at 3 months old and it has been long enough ago that I just can't remember what his size was.

I will treat them for this though. They are very energetic and don't seem to feel bad at all, but I'll do what I can on that front as well.

Thanks!

white eagle · #11 05/05/07, 07:27 AM

GL with your kids if you have already wormed them don't worm them again because getting to much meds in system isn't good. If they have only been eatting hay at the other place and you want to give them feed slowly and I mean slowly give them some do not give a lot all the sudden because it does mess up their rumen and can cause dirrea. Treat them for Cocci also.