Baby goat dealing with worms/bloating/cold

[Freedom Acres]

Hello,

We have a 2 1/2 month old baby goat that was given to us from a reputable breeder a few weeks ago... Since we got him, he has contracted a cold (which we have tried treating naturally, but can't seem to get rid of), and has been suffering from bloating, which I believe is caused by worms. He was dewormed before he came to our farm, and we have been deworming him here with natural and chemical pellet dewormer from TSC. Would anyone know how we can help this little guy? And what kind of worm could cause the bloating? I feel so bad for him because his stomach just looks huge, especially at the end of the day.

Thank you!

 

[Stacykins]

Hello,

We have a 2 1/2 month old baby goat that was given to us from a reputable breeder a few weeks ago... Since we got him, he has contracted a cold (which we have tried treating naturally, but can't seem to get rid of), and has been suffering from bloating, which I believe is caused by worms. He was dewormed before he came to our farm, and we have been deworming him here with natural and chemical pellet dewormer from TSC. Would anyone know how we can help this little guy? And what kind of worm could cause the bloating? I feel so bad for him because his stomach just looks huge, especially at the end of the day.

Thank you!

Have you ever had goats before? Do you know what it looks like when a goat has a rumen full of hay and browse? It is large, but it is different from bloating. Bloat is an illness that will kill them without treatment, you can read about the different types here. If he looks large by the end of the day, it means that he has eaten all day and filled himself up with hay, browse, etc. He 'deflates' by the morning because he has spent the night ruminating, chewing his cud and digesting.

Have you had a veterinarian see him? Have you had a fecal test run? If not, do both. The pellet wormer will not actually work against a heavy worm load, it is pretty useless. Plus, for it to even work somewhat, he would need to eat it all and eat enough, according to his weight. If he under eats, you've just made all the worms in his gut resistant to that drug! Have the fecal look for coccidia numbers (this is very important) and for worms (number and types). Worms and coccidia are two different things and need different treatments.Coccidia is a killer of kids. All goats have coccidia in their digestive tract and stool, but a healthy adult immune system can keep numbers in check. Kids and sick adults cannot, so the protozoan (not worm) proliferates in their gut, damages the lining of the intestines, and causes them to be unable to absorb nutrients. This is why all kids should be on a preventative schedule of treatment for coccidia (once every three weeks, how long it takes the protozoan to grow from an oocyst to a mature, damaging adult) until they are six months old.

Call a veterinarian today. Catch a sample of stool today. Wait with him in a clean area, with gloves (or another plastic baggie over your hand), and a plastic baggie, and collect at least 1/4 cupish, more is better.

"All natural" stuff is useless unless an animal has a low load of everything. If herbals cured parasitism, we wouldn't need modern medicine nor would there be massive problems with parasites in third world countries.

Has he been given a preventative treatment for coccidia? If not, that does need to start immediately. The feed store should have corid, sulmet, or dimethox. Those are three easy to acquire medications that are used. It is given for five days in a row, dosed according to his weight (he must be weighed, underdosing is just as bad as overdosing, it leads to resistance). These drugs are coccidiastats, stops them from growing.Toltrazuril is harder to get, but can be given with one dose. It is a coccidiacide, it kills them.

 

[Freedom Acres]

We all know there are two ways of going about treating animals and humans--naturally and chemically, and it's good to study both sides with an open mind and take them into consideration. We have tried both and have prayerfully decided that in most situations (not all), the natural route is better for our bodies and it takes care of the problem just the same, if not better than drugs (an excellent example being garlic). And yes, if you don't give animals/humans a load of the all natural remedies, then it may not work (especially if they're not healthy), and I know how that is. I and my family understand that when you can't treat a problem naturally, you need to seek another way, which is why I am even posting a question. All of this is to say that we desire to take the road less traveled and go the natural way, and if we can see that it isn't working, then and only then do we turn toward a chemical approach.

I have not had goats a long time, but I am learning little by little how to treat them, thanks to people like you from BYC and others who are willing to help. Yes, I realize that their stomach/rumen gets "large" by the end of the day, but I believe we are dealing with something different. When we got him, he was on the thinner side, and although he has a big stomach (as if he is fat), he really hasn't gained weight anywhere else. I have other nanny goats and kids that have a well developed rumen and they are nice and "meaty" feeling.

I will take a fecal test today and see what we can find.

Thank you for your input.

Jeremiah 6:16

 

[Stacykins]

Glad to hear a fecal is going in. Is he actually being seen by the vet to rule out what his 'cold' is? Stressed goats easily come down with pneumonia, some call it 'shipping fever'. Takes a few days after getting to a new home for a snotty nose, cough, running eyes, etc. to develop. It isn't the breeder's fault, because the stress of a move can lower their immune defenses. Stress also causes a proliferation in worms due to the reduced ability to fight it. Which is why goats moving to a new place need to be dewormed (and not with wormwood, use an actual wormer).

Honestly, you need to use herbals for maintenance only, and not to treat actual problems. Try and use them before a goat has a massive worm load in the case of parasites, but switch to something that will actually work when that fails (which it will). There is some effect, but not much. If it was so darn effective, then there would be loads of class I and II evidence based medical research on the matter. Most of the 'evidence' on it is just some hippy in a garden saying that goldenseal cured their cancer or whatnot. For instance, nobody would get a cold in the winter if elderberry, mega doses of vitamin C, and echinacea were effective against the virus.

 

[Texas4T]

We all know there are two ways of going about treating animals and humans--naturally and chemically, and it's good to study both sides with an open mind and take them into consideration. We have tried both and have prayerfully decided that in most situations (not all), the natural route is better for our bodies and it takes care of the problem just the same, if not better than drugs (an excellent example being garlic). And yes, if you don't give animals/humans a load of the all natural remedies, then it may not work (especially if they're not healthy), and I know how that is. I and my family understand that when you can't treat a problem naturally, you need to seek another way, which is why I am even posting a question. All of this is to say that we desire to take the road less traveled and go the natural way, and if we can see that it isn't working, then and only then do we turn toward a chemical approach.

I have not had goats a long time, but I am learning little by little how to treat them, thanks to people like you from BYC and others who are willing to help. Yes, I realize that their stomach/rumen gets "large" by the end of the day, but I believe we are dealing with something different. When we got him, he was on the thinner side, and although he has a big stomach (as if he is fat), he really hasn't gained weight anywhere else. I have other nanny goats and kids that have a well developed rumen and they are nice and "meaty" feeling.

I will take a fecal test today and see what we can find.

Thank you for your input.

Jeremiah 6:16

I sent you a PM. (private message).

 

[H Diamond]

Hello,

We have a 2 1/2 month old baby goat that was given to us from a reputable breeder a few weeks ago...  Since we got him, he has contracted a cold (which we have tried treating naturally, but can't seem to get rid of), and has been suffering from bloating, which I believe is caused by worms.  He was dewormed before he came to our farm, and we have been deworming him here with natural and chemical pellet dewormer from TSC.  Would anyone know how we can help this little guy?  And what kind of worm could cause the bloating?  I feel so bad for him because his stomach just looks huge, especially at the end of the day.

Thank you!

Could you supply some more info? Temp of goat? What's he eating now, and what was he eating before coming to live with you? Symptoms of his "cold"? Weight? What's poop look like? If you can supply some of this info we might be able to help more.

 

[cassie]

His "cold" is probably pneumonia or some other respiratory infection and chances are herbs etc. are not going to fix it. What is his temperature and how is his breathing?