Orange Pee

remotealaska · #1 03/08/13, 12:23 PM

OK, I have an odd question but after the loss of my doe I am watching my buck like a hawk. He has a dark orange pee. I thought it was blood the first time I saw it but it's dark orange and seems to get darker as it sits. It's not every time he pees sometimes it looks normal but A LOT of it is this weird orange. What could be causing this and should I be worried? Other than that he is his normal sweet and silly self. After we lost the doe I started bringing him from the barn down into the yard by the house so that he could be closer to us and play with the kids so he's not lonely until we can get him a new friend. Any info on this weird pee would be appreciated.

mammabooh · #2 03/08/13, 12:26 PM

Is he drinking lots of water? It almost sounds like he's dehydrated.

remotealaska · #3 03/08/13, 12:40 PM

He is drinking and he pees A LOT!

mammabooh · #4 03/08/13, 01:19 PM

I just did a google search, and the only things I could come up with other than dehydration were copper toxicity and maybe orange-colored mineral mixes. Either of those a possibility?

wintrrwolf · #5 03/08/13, 01:22 PM

Generally when the urine is dark orange it means it is concentrated by not getting enough water.
What you are saying is he is drinking fine and is pee'ing a lot.
I would add some apple cider vinegar to water and make sure he is well supplied with lots of water.

Cyngbaeld · #6 03/08/13, 02:52 PM

Has he been grazing bracken fern?

where I want to · #7 03/08/13, 03:01 PM

Sometimes pee, when it is on concrete, look orange. Also can happen with giving lots of vitamin B. Or blood in urine. Otherwise dehydration which is nothing to fool with in a buck.

Minelson · #8 03/08/13, 04:00 PM

Horses have orange pee in the snow all the time. I was told it's normal and not to worry about it. I have also heard that alfalfa can cause it. My horses have had it for the past 7 years and they remain healthy and happy

remotealaska · #9 03/08/13, 04:22 PM

He has free feed hay and I give him a little grain a day. With it still very snow covered hear his browse is pretty limited to trees. Spruce, willow, aspen and birch. Maybe a little red top grass sticking out of the snow and rose bushes. He also has free choice baking soda in a pan and a mineral block. The kids give him treats like apple cores, banana peals, orange peels, peanuts etc.... a hand full here and there. He has a 5 gal bucket of water in the barn and I keep a dog bowl with warm water by the back door to the house for him which is were he drinks the most and I refresh it with warm water throughout the day. I'll try to add a little apple cider vinegar. What would I do for copper toxicity and how we he get that? The water that he gets right now is melted snow. We keep a 55 gal plastic trash barrel behind the wood stove for snow melt water for all the critters.

Cyngbaeld · #10 03/08/13, 05:14 PM

Not likely to be copper toxicity. Goats tolerate really large quantities of it.

Cyngbaeld · #11 03/08/13, 05:17 PM

OK, I found this. Seems to be fairly common.
http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/f19/brown-urine-27003/

punchiepal · #12 03/08/13, 05:56 PM

Seeds in fruit should not be fed to livestock. ie cherry pits, peach seeds, apple seeds, etc. cyanide.
http://www.gardenguides.com/126071-f...poisonous.html

Backfourty,MI. · #13 03/08/13, 09:58 PM

First time I saw really orange almost a reddish color pee I was worried sick but come to find out it was wild rabbits. The rabbit pelts & goat berries also look similar so I didn't think anything of it until my dh told me. That was almost 7 years ago.

Any chance it's rabbits?

Minelson · #14 03/09/13, 07:35 AM

I found this...I know it's horses but there is just more horse info out there.
http://www.glequinewellness.com/faqs_urine.html

remotealaska · #15 03/11/13, 05:10 PM

Thank You All. His pee is still dark orange. I know it's coming from him but that's interesting about the rabbits. He's still acting totally normal though eating drinking etc... I guess if we are going to keep giving him apple cores I need to make sure that the seeds are out. He loves apple cores and has probably consumed a fair number of seeds. Though being remote apples are not something we have on hand very often or any fresh fruit for that matter. That's a luxury we enjoy right after a supply run or if we can bribe someone to pick us some up when they go in for their supplies. lol , that's life in the bush. I would tend I guess to lean toward the horse article because I have also noticed that it gets darker in color the longer it sits. What looked bright pumpkin orange at first by the next day that same spot looks a dark reddish orange brown.

emanuelcs34 · #16 03/11/13, 05:26 PM

This has happened to my buck twice...usually after a increase in protein. once he gets used to it or we decrease the protein it goes back to normal.

remotealaska · #17 03/12/13, 12:41 PM

I noticed this morning that it's not as bright and he has spent the last 3 days in the pen around the barn since the temps have dropped back down to the -15* mark. I wonder if one of the trees that he's munching in the big yard is contributing. Other than that he looks fantastic happy and healthy. He's shedding his undercoat and he is looking sleek and handsome. We are supposed to be bringing home a new doe on Friday so we are excited. I hope they get along I am told that she is a little pushy and my buck Guy is pretty mellow.

o&itw · #18 03/12/13, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by punchiepal

Seeds in fruit should not be fed to livestock. ie cherry pits, peach seeds, apple seeds, etc. cyanide.
http://www.gardenguides.com/126071-f...poisonous.html

No reason to dispute this, but the difference between an almond (Prunus amygdalus) and a peach pit (Prunus persica) is almost negligible.

When a person hears "something cyanide" the almost always think of the very deadly cyanide gas. However, cyanides and cyanates are found everywhere including the ink of your ball-point pen and the natural coloring of many fruits and vegetables.

There are plenty of very poison plants, but sometimes the degree is insignificant. It would probably be better for an animal to eat a peck of peach pits than one or two Rhododendron leaves. For instance, almost all plants contain some oxalic acid but any of them with enough to really cause problems are almost inedible (e.g. raw Indian turnips). An animal eating a few apple seeds or cherry pits is not going to have any problem unless you feed it daily for a long period.

I am guessing that if the animal is getting enough water, that the color is most likely due to minerals or beta-carotene.... something you will notice in your own urine if you take most multiple vitamins.