PANIC?!? Goats ate Chicken Feed!

[Squirrelgirl88]

OMG i just walked in to find one of my five month old Nigerian Dwarf goats standing on top of the Chicken nesting boxes and the feeder broken on the floor - EMPTY. I was gone all day, so no idea when this happened, but last night it had 3 lbs of feed in it and I'm sure the two goats ate every pellet that was left. DO I PANIC?

OK - I guess I'm already panicing, but is it warrented? They are acting fine. No clue why I'm freaking out.

Suggestions?

 

[ksalvagno]

I would just keep a close eye on them. If you see any bloating or being lethargic, then you will want to take action. As long as they are acting normal, then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

OMG i just walked in to find one of my five month old Nigerian Dwarf goats standing on top of the Chicken nesting boxes and the feeder broken on the floor - EMPTY. I was gone all day, so no idea when this happened, but last night it had 3 lbs of feed in it and I'm sure the two goats ate every pellet that was left. DO I PANIC?

OK - I guess I'm already panicing, but is it warrented? They are acting fine. No clue why I'm freaking out.

Suggestions?

Okay, first, I understand the panicing.... and to some degree it is warranted. Make sure to set out a dish of baking soda for them to eat as much as they like over night to combat any bloating. Let them have PLENTY of water too. Kind of like combatting colic in a horse, you want to get the problematic food passed as quickly as possible. Just keep an eye on them for obvious signs of bloat: loud bleating, WIDE bellies, and not a lot of moving around. If you see these signs: Make sure the goat is standing up, get its front legs up on a cinder block or step or up hill from their rear legs, start deep firm massages on the left(rumen) side. The objective is to get the animal to belch and relieve gas pressure.

Jess of Healthy Herds suggests having Cherry flavored Gas-X on hand, and feed the animal 1 pill. Cherry is better, cause most goats LOVE cherry flavor.

 

[20kidsonhill]

luckily it was a limited amount and not a 50lb bag sitting out. They will proably be fine. Mineral oil is the best thing for getting bloat under control with a tablespoon or 2 of baking soda every couple hours. I would do the mineral oil and mix a little corn syrup or mollasses with the baking soda with a little water to drench. Exercise is good for them. I would give them grass hay and lots of water for the night and tomorrow and keep a close eye on them. If they start to act like they aren't feeling well then I would do the mineral oil and baking soda.

If they scour let them scour for atleast a day. They need to get it out of their system.

Check their tempurature if they continue to scour after 24 hours, A low tempurture means they need more fluids and overall support and a high tempurature would mean they need antibiotics and bacterial scour medicine.

But mostly I think they will just be fine.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

I must say, that I gave baking soda mixed with molasses and water to a doe with bloat, and it turned her mild bloat into full on frothy bloat that killed her inside of 12 hrs.

Do a counter top experiment by mixing baking soda, molasses and then add water to it... it will foam right over.

Better safe than sorry, to just offer a bowl of baking soda and plenty of water, or just make a baking soda & water slurry and drenching them with it, leaving the molasses out of the equation. I don't want anyone losing their goats, especially by unknowingly making it worse.

Mineral oil is a good emergency treatment for bloat too, but if you have the baking soda or the cherry Gas-X, just give them one of those.

 

[Squirrelgirl88]

What I would like to do is spank their cute little butts! They are fine. Eating hay, begging for more food, BRATS. I had DH remove the front perch from the nesting boxes. She was using that as a spring board. I watched her do it. She backed up three paces, looked at the shelf, ducked down and sprang right up on top of the boxes. She was soooooo proud of herself.

I have baking soda out for them, and water. They were eating hay and burping stinky burps in my face when I put them in for the night. They do look a little like an over inflated beach ball, but I think they'll be ok.

Thank you all for the quick response. I will get the Gas X to have on hand - just in case.