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Soft Sticky poops....

437 views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  MaggieJ 
#1 ·
Ive got a mother doe that I recently notices soft sticky, smelly poops. I dont think it could be the cecaltrophes as its not the grapes I normally find.

This afternoon I did move this doe and her litter into a new cage, could that be it?

Is this just a no pellet only hay situation or should I be more concernd?

She is still moving around and being normal. Nothing really has changed.

Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
I take it she is still nursing the kits? If so, she needs more than grass hay. Maybe some kitchen oatmeal - Quaker or the like - as well as hay. I've never known it to cause a problem.

Has anything changed in her diet? Sometimes we tend to feed more grain or something high energy when there is a cold snap. If you changed anything at all in her feed, that's where I would look for clues as to the cause.

Is she producing normal poops as well? If so, I wouldn't worry too much for the moment... just keep an eye on her and maybe try the oatmeal and hay for a couple of days.
 
#3 ·
Well as you know I went away for a few days there. Im wondering if she got somthing she wasnt supposed to?

Her kits are old enough now they could fend for themselved IF they needed to. They are almost 4 weeks....but they could still use mom.

Mom is a very good milker and dosnt need anything extra. Ive been giving her quaker oats since the kits were born. Ive recently taken it away because I think shes getting to much protien(Ladysown mentioned it to me) my hay has lots of leaves and stuff and my grandma fed alot of it, she also fed the normal pellets AND her normal supplement I give to my nursing does.

Ill keep a good eye on her.
 
#4 ·
Quaker oats are not that high in protein... about 12%. They are a very digestible food for momma and kits both and are unlikely to cause problems. Any pellets that I have seen are higher in protein than that... so by removing the oats you would be increasing the total proportion of protein in her diet, not decreasing it. I doubt very much that hay even in large quantities is the cause of the problem either. What is in the supplement you give all the does?
 
#5 ·
I gave Jesse the advice that I use with my does....anything odd in poops...remove everything but hay a day or so (depends if problem persists) if the kits are old enough that they are getting pellets too. 3.5 week old kits can survive on pellets with some supplementing from mom. Mom should be able to handle kits on lots of hay for a day or so. I've not had a problem with it, so that's what I advised him. It always clears up the problem for me, and since he feeds much that same as I do, I suggested he do the same. :)
 
#6 ·
I' not trying to argue with your advice, Ladysown, because you know what you are doing. But I get the feeling I am missing something here... It sounded to me as though the doe was now getting hay and pellets and an unspecified supplement but that oatmeal, fed until recently, had been dropped because the doe was thought to be getting too much protein. I was just trying to clarify things, because to me this did not add up.

A day or two on hay will likely clear up the soft poops, but I don't think I would want to feed a nursing doe on just that for very long, hence my suggestion about the oatmeal.
 
#7 ·
I usually supplement with the quaker oats and all my does really like it. If I have one that is having troubles or I know cannot handle much I throw in some BOSS. This doe dosnt need ANY supplement, I found that out for sure! She is the best milker in my herd.

Well, I kind of figured that she might have been getting to much. Shes an awesome milking doe therefor i think she wouldnt need it? Also she got really leafy hay well I was gone plus the 100% access to pellets.....

Could I be thinking wrong?? Im just looking at my alternatives...

Im not to worried that she cant handle it. But I wont have her off the hay for very long, only a couple of days....meaby less because they look? like there hardening.
 
#8 ·
If she's improving, chances are it was just some small imbalance... like maybe she ate a different mix one day, skipped her hay, something like that. I'd give her just hay this evening and then maybe hay with a small quantity of pellets tomorrow and see how she does.
 
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