Help! Goat's Belly feels like a Balloon....

[TXmom]

The belly on one of my wethers is very large and round and feels like a balloon. Can push it in a little but feels like it's full of air. Is this Bloat? Should I feed him Olive Oil?

I'm new to goats and just feel very unsure...I don't want to do the wrong thing.....

He is laying down right now (not in any obvious discomfort), but I've seen him eating all morning (pellets and weeds and blackberry vines, etc)

Background info:

I got my 2 boer cross wethers last week from a different city 2 hours away with slightly different climate/vegetation.
4 months old now
Banded at approx 8 weeks old

Eating: free choice hay, brush, weeds, grass, Goat Pellets (given to me by previous ownder, about 1 cup/day)

I have lots of different weeds and brush, I don't know what it all is, could possibly have something toxic in there...

They got out of their pen yesterday and were running around near the ditch and road...

 

[TXmom]

He's walking around now and still nibbling on grass and weeds, but he seriously looks HUGE...maybe twice as wide as he was yesterday. And he still definitely feels like a balloon.

Should I just go ahead and give him the olive oil...just to be on the safe side? Will it hurt him if I give him oil and he doesn't need it?

 

[countrygirl23]

mix 3 tablespoons of bakin soda 8oz of water mix it up real good get drencher and put it down his throat and yes its bloat

 

[key west chick]

Could just be a full ruman. My nigis look like they have swallowed a basketball after they have been eating all day.

 

[cassie]

If a goat has bloat, the rumen will feel hard and the animal will be in distress. That said, if you have a goat with bloat give GasX, not oil. The GasX works a lot faster and it is much safer. Easier to give, too. If you get some oil in the lungs, easy to do with a struggling critter, you will cause a mechanical pneumonia and the animal will die in about five days. In other words, you will have cured the bloat and killed the goat.

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:

 

[TXmom]

So....maybe I'm just being paranoid and he's just very full. He really doesn't seem to be in distress. He's not crying or acting sick in any way. He just looks huge, and when I touch his left side, it feels like there's air. I can press it in like it's a 3/4 filled balloon. He lets me touch him and pet him...doesn't act like touching him hurts. He's walking around and even running a little bit.

I tried to get him to drink the baking soda water and he refused...I didn't force too much because like I said, he doesn't seem to be in distress. I will watch him very carefully and if he does seem to be having problems, I will try the GasX.

By the way, they do have a mineral feeder with 2 "bowls"...in the left side I put baking soda and the right side I put loose goat minerals. So they do always have access to baking soda.

 

[Dorothy1324]

it sounds to me like he is just really full my nigi's eat all day on brush and what not and then look like that at night. You may want to just put out a container of Baking soda as a regular and they will eat it as needed it helps keep the acid in the rumen under control mine eat it regularly.

 

[ilroost]

if all else fails make a paste ball out of the baking soda and put it in his mouth he has no choice but to eat it then.Also watch to make sure he is peeing might have stones,add a little acv to the water

 

[mekasmom]

I would definitely give him some baking soda. You can also pat his belly (left side) to encourage burping. It won't hurt him. Once fullness crosses the line to bloat, and they go down, it is very difficult to overcome. You might also consider stopping food for the night, and make sure to keep him on his feet.