New kid with diarrhea

Daisy Mae

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
17
Reaction score
15
Points
31
Hello
I’m so sad that one of our new kids has had diarrhea twice in the two weeks that we have had her. She is 9 weeks old and on the small side. The previous owner said that with her large herd she didn’t keep a good eye on her and she wasn’t getting as much milk as her siblings. She even had some dry diarrhea on her hind legs when I got her- the owner said that she had accidentally fed her too much and didn’t have time to clean her. This was a red flag, but I was picking up our first 2 goats that day from different farms several hours from home.
I gave her probiotics the first time she had diarrhea (it was the second day we had them) and it cleared up rather quickly. Now she has it again and I’ve given probiotics again for one day and there is no change. It’s so hard to keep her clean and I’m worried about our other kid who is happy and very healthy. She still has energy and doesn’t seem that “off”.
I reached out to the previous owner and she gave me some advice and suggested that she may have caught something from the other kid. She didn’t- the other kid is super healthy and from a great farm. Or that it was because it rained recently.
I didn’t see much of her previous farm because of social distancing, etc. I just feel like I got a very sweet goat that wasn’t taken care of. We live in the middle of nowhere and I can’t get any Coccidiosis treatment for a week. Does anyone have any advice? I’m overwhelmed. Sorry for the long post! Thank you in advance for any help!
 

Daisy Mae

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
17
Reaction score
15
Points
31
She is still on a bottle. We transitioned to whole cow milk about 7 days ago- we did it gradually and did not notice a change in her. She gets a very little amount of nutrena goat feed with a little black oil sunflower seeds, we have an alfalfa mix hay out free choice, lose mineral, and clean water. We have taken them on little walks around our property daily and we mostly have pine and oak. We removed any poisonous plants. We do have some lupin, but from what I’ve read it doesn’t really affect goats. Not sure (?) she had nibbled some and it didn’t change her poop. We do have a plum tree, but I didn’t see her eat any of it. Her diarrhea seemed to be getting a little better yesterday, but it is still not anywhere near normal. It started out definitely brown and it’s now a lighter brown. Do you know if Coccidiosis is super green? Is it easy to tell the green color? Her diarrhea doesn’t smell super bad. Sorry about all the poop info! Thank you
 

Daisy Mae

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
17
Reaction score
15
Points
31
The previous owner bottle feeds until 15 weeks. We were going to possibly try to gradually wean her a little earlier, but we haven’t wanted to start yet because of the diarrhea. She gets 3 bottles a day, 7 ounces. She’s a mini Nubian.
 

chickens really

Herd Master
Joined
May 8, 2017
Messages
1,864
Reaction score
5,453
Points
363
Location
The Funny Farm
I was told at 8 weeks they can be fully weaned. Try only feeding her only the starter feed twice a day with unlimited access to hay. Don't let her out to graze till her stomach settles. A teaspoon of baking soda mixed with her feed every few days and maybe she needs a drink of electrolytes?
 

Daisy Mae

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
17
Reaction score
15
Points
31
Update: She has Coccidiosis and round worms. We started the medication from our vet yesterday. We are treating our other kid too, who’s fecal showed Coccidiosis too. Thankfully it was caught very early with her.
I’m so bummed, but I’ve read that it is common. I do think that she has had it for awhile and the previous owner perhaps thought that she was small because she wasn’t getting enough milk from her mom or her diarrhea was from eventually over feeding her. I am a newbie, but it does seem like everyone should do preventative treatment on kids. I could be wrong.
Here is my new question...
How do we clean our pen to hopefully eliminate a high Coccidiosis count? Our vet said bleach. Is that safe?
We clean the goat house daily and clean up poop, but he said to bleach everything.
Thank you for any advice!
 

chickens really

Herd Master
Joined
May 8, 2017
Messages
1,864
Reaction score
5,453
Points
363
Location
The Funny Farm
Thank you!
Would we even bleach the ground in the pen? Diluted and let stand then rinse?
I would and then let it fully dry before letting the kids back out.
You can wash the feed and water container the same. If the house is really kept clean I wouldn't worry too much about that unless you feel it's needed. Coccidiosis thrives in wet damp areas.
 

Daisy Mae

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Messages
17
Reaction score
15
Points
31
I would and then let it fully dry before letting the kids back out.
You can wash the feed and water container the same. If the house is really kept clean I wouldn't worry too much about that unless you feel it's needed. Coccidiosis thrives in wet damp areas.

Thank you!
We have given 1 of the 5 treatments. Should we do bleach today or wait a few days for the treatment to kick in? You’re my goat hero! Thanks again!
 
Top