Cold kids with loose stools

[lijj]

This morning there was a light coating of snow on the ground, and it was a little chilly, but it's been chilly for a while. I went out to feed and my two 5 month old Nubian bucklings seemed cold. They were shivering and I noticed the one had loose stools. They ate their feed though. I gave them hay, and they ate that all up.

Then tonight when I fed, they both had loose stools. They didn't really eat their feed, and they weren't really eating the hay. They were still shivering. I don't know their temp because I don't have a thermometer (yes I know, I need to get one). I gave them Sulmet and some nutri-drench and vitamin b (they made a big enough deal about that).

They're inside the barn, so they aren't exposed to the elements. They should probably be wormed soon. Should I do anything else?

[topside1]

I'd take them off grain asap. Compare the nose temps with your healthy goats. If their nose is hot, imagine that they have a viral fever. Worm them. There are many possibilities causing them to shiver. Set up a heat lamp to provide some warmth. Keep in mind a poorly hung heat lamp may cause a fire. Hope for the best...

[hoofinitnorth]

Take their temp. and get them where they are warm, dry, and out of any drafts. Extra deep bedding is helpful as long as it is of a type they won't eat. Offer them plenty of fresh, warm water and I agree, no grain. Do you have any goat coats or large sweatshirts you could put on them? Sometimes that helps to jumpstart their internal heaters. Heat lamp is a good idea too but at 5 months they really shouldn't be needing it, especially if they are from your locale and are healthy and the weather isn't unusually cold.

What hay are they eating? They need hay to stay warm so if they aren't eating it, they will need another source of heat until you can get them back on their feed.

[lijj]

I felt their noses, they were the same as the does. This morning they seemed more lively and definitely wanted grain so I gave them a little bit of it so they would be quiet. But they did have diarrhea this morning. I keep putting more bedding down. They also seemed more eager to eat hay. They have warm water, and I put a little bit of molasses in it. I squirted some in their mouth with a syringe to make sure they knew it was yummy warm water.

I have goat coats, but they are kind of small and they hook underneath the belly, so they aren't really made for boys... I never have much luck with coats anyway, they always seem to fall off.

[topside1]

So you have determined the bucks don't have fevers. So now quit with the grain entirely, hay only for at least a week. In the meantime worm them, today would be best. I'm no expert but I'm sure they will recover.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Without a temp (which means you know it's not bacterial) all diarrhea becomes nutritional or parasites. So if you aren't going to take fecal material in to see what parasites you are dealing with, than do the refridgerator method. Worm orally with Ivermectin or cydectin. Put them on a sulfa orally for 5 days. And put out more hay, they really should never run out once it starts getting colder. The quality of pasture (unless seeded) is poor this time of year, and with poor quality grass hay they will need alot of it. Unless your 'grain' contains ammonium chloride or you are adding it yourself, is dangerous if given to bucks in quantities to make them get diarrhea. Molassas in the water is simply not needed, and can be causing the diarrhea.

Change is not good, their diet should be the same each and every day. Minerals out?

A big belly full of hay means a stoked fire in their rumen, they keep themselves warm. A shivering goat is a dead goat. Vicki

[Jillis]

And if you are ever worried about them being hypothermic (re: the shivering), don't feel their noses, put your finger deep in their mouth and/or ear. If it is cold inside there, you need to bring them in and warm them up.

[oceanmist]

get them off the grain, grain pulls the heat into their stomach and away from extremities and other internal organs... I would create some sort of cocoon for them in the barn, get heat surrounding them, like hang a heat light in the middle of a small pen that has solid walls on all sides.. no drafts, lots of good hay and maybe some green leafy material.

Oh and warm up their water a little bit to get some heat into them internally, warm water with electrolytes..

If you do heat up their barn pen remember to slowly introduce them to the outdoors... if you keep them in the warm barn for more than a day, you will need to reaclimate them to the outdoor temps

like Vicki said "shivering goats are DEAD goats"...

Misty