Bloated belly after bottle feeding.

[BDaY]

Hey guys! I am now the proud first time owner of two adorable Nigerian dwarf goats. They just turned 5 weeks old and they're bottle fed. I've been hanging around 6-8 oz of goats milk at each feeding. The buckling is fine but my little doeling I'm noticing that her belly swells up even after a few oz. I'm worried it may be bloat and sure as heck don't want to lose one of my babies. She's acting fine though with no scours and is still running around like her brother. Neither of them even have the sticky poop that milk can cause there's just little dry pellets everywhere! Haha. Am I just being a paranoid new goat Mama? Or am I feeding them too much? I've found a million websites telling me how much to feed full size goats but not hardly any for my mini goats. Thank you!

 

[babsbag]

@Goat Whisperer is a good source for information on raising Nigis, hopefully she will answer soon.

Have they had their CDT vaccines? I would be thinking about a preventative for cocci, they are at "that age". Also, do you have hay and water out for them in addition to the bottles.

Also welcome to BYH, this is a great place to hang around and get to know us all. Lots of good information and good sound advice.

 

[BDaY]

Thank you! I do have hay and water for them just about 24/7. Haven't vaccinated yet was planning on that next week when they hit 6 weeks. Thought about cocci as well but all my local tractor supply has is Corid and I've read it's not very effective and the timeline for all these things I'm finding vary greatly on a bunch of websites. I've just about hit information overload! Lol.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. Hope you'll share some pics of your goats... we're all a bunch of pic addicts here. Lots of great active Goat folks here as well. Browse around as there's a wealth of info on the various threads that may be of help. If you have questions, don't hesitate to post them! Normally someone will be along directly to help. @OneFineAcre is another dedicated Nigie breeder. There IS a lot of info and much of it can be conflicting/confusing... Anyway, glad you joined us!

 

[BDaY]

I think I got these pictures right. Here's my new babies! Still haven't figured out names yet. The boy is the one with the white stripe and the girl is the one who's fur looks like a baby deer lol.

 

[BDaY]

Well I saw some pictures of a full belly that's not bloated and looks like hers so hopefully it's just normal and just looks weird to me. Now I'm worried my little boys rumen isn't working as well as hers! Gah new parenting! Haha!

 

[babsbag]

Cute kids. I don't have any due until Jan (I think) but March for sure. Your pictures make me want them sooner.

Now is the time to treat for cocci. The Corid should work as a preventative, the dose is given for 5 days every 21 days at 2.5cc per 10lbs. Here is a chart to make it easy.
http://www.goatmilkstuff.com/Coccidia-Goats.html

Of course Corid is off label for use in goats and is technically only allowed if your vet tells you to use it.

When I fed my bottle babies (Alpines and mini Alpines) I let them eat all they wanted and at 5 weeks it would be 3 times a day. They were taking about a 24 ounces a feeding. Little pigs in goat skin.

The most important thing to remember is "know your goats". Watch them...are they are always at the gate for feeding and suddenly they aren't? Are the standing alone? Are they laying down more than usual? The more you know what is normal for your goats the sooner you will know when something isn't. The other thing is find a good vet before you need one. And last but not least, keep a thermometer for the goats in the barn.

And HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

At their age and size, 8 oz of milk shouldn't be causing bloat. I think she is just full
You are doing a great job with! They look very healthy and their coats look fabulous!
Do you know their weight?

Be sure to give a follow up CDT 3-4 weeks after the first dose. Do you have a vet that can check their fecal for cocci and parasites?

You should start considering giving a small amount of quality feed to the kids. My ND's are all nibbling on feed by two weeks of age. They don't need much, but I feel they benefit from it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Are you planning on keeping the buck intact? If so, you might want to consider how you will separate them. I wouldn't wait much longer than 8-10 weeks before getting that buckling away from the doeling.

 

[BDaY]

Thanks guys! Woke up this morning and her belly was fine. I'm with you I think she's just full! I weighed them this morning and the boy is a whole 5 lbs and the girl is 6 lbs I still can't get over how tiny they are! I want to keep him intact so I can stud him out and I'm definitely going to separate them around 8 weeks since I read they can breed that early! He's polled and too pretty not to make babies! They're going to get their shots and their first deworming this weekend and I'm going to try and do my own fecals. I was a biology major and became pretty comfy with a microscope. Right now their famacha scores seem to be pretty good. Pretty pink mucous membranes! I'm a poor paramedic who's becoming a homesteading addict. I'm just worried I'll lose one of them! Not only because I'm already attatched but I can't afford to buy any replacements lol. You guys and this website are awesome!