# Really bloated goat



## Goat Freak

We have a male pygmy goat that is bloated on the sides, not the bottom of his stomach so I know that it is not urinary calculi. I read on some site that baking soda would make it go down, is that true. I need to know if the baking soda gets rid of the bloating for good, how much to give him, and if it is safe. Also I would like to know what is wrong with him. Please any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Bye.
:angel: Goat Freak :angel:


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## natybear

Give as much as you can get down him. Better yet, bet some cud from a non bloated goat and get some of that good rumen bacteria in his tummy. His is not functioning properly and the bacteria balance is off. Get cud, its the best. Also if you get some mineral oil that can sometimes help too. Good Luck!!!


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## Jen H

To treat bloat:

- drench him with vegetable oil. A couple tablespoons will do it.

- prop his front feet up on a hay bale or something.

- give him a deep belly massage. 

You have to get that rumen moving manually to get the oil mixed around before the gas will start coming out on it's own. Eventually his gut will go from feeling like a beach ball to feeling more like a water balloon with a squirrel inside it, and he'll be burping on his own. Then all the trapped gas can make it's way out.

Baking soda does help to prevent them from bloating. I just leave a bowl out for them to take free choice as they need it. Some probios or a cud will help keep his rumen properly balanced. Bloat can just mean they got into grass that was too wet, had a sudden feed change, or they got loose and ate an entire grapevine all by themselves. Some goats bloat more often than others, just like some people get gas problems more than others do.


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## bumpus

.
Here is good artical on bloat and how to treat it.


http://www.goatworld.com/articles/bloat/bloat.shtml


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## dale anne

Howdy....I agree with everything Jen had to say but may I suggest a few other things...
1- get you a bottle or two of bloat ease to have on hand at all times!...a stomach tube[this can be used to thread down throat and evacuate air from the stomach but ya really know how to do this or shown by someone that does before trying it on your own]
2-a 16 gauge needle on hand-this is an invasive procedure but works when nothing else will....need some who knows the goat anatomy and a bit of tuffnees...I wont get into how to do it on here in case someone wants to try it with out knowledge of a goat....if you need to do this can also ask a cattle farmer to help....This is a last resort!
3-water is the best thing to help with bloat
..now a question...a big belly can also be a sign of worms...have you wormed the goats?...signs of bloat are...look from the back end of the goat one side will look alot larger then the other....The goat maynot be able to pass gas or stool.....a goat passes a stool about every 20-30 minutes...the goat will go down and be unable to get up on own.....breathing will be labored[when the ruman expands with bloat it presses on the lungs not allowing them to expand..sufficating the goat]...walk the goat around,positive bacteria,water,and mineral oil..if you dont have bloat ease
two different kinds of bloat..dry bloat and frothy bloat...with frothy bloat you will see all the same signs of dry bloat but will also see what looks like foam coming out of the goats mouth..frothy bloat is the worse!.....hope I gave you a lil info to help you in the future in case this happens again.....dale anne


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## Goat Freak

Hi yes they have been wormed, and actually my family has been making fun of him saying he needs to fart, without knowing that a goat may need to do just that. Also the bloating looks pretty even, and I don't know how to get cud from a goat. Thanks for the advice though.


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## Starsmom

I have a little buckling, about 3 months old. He has the same problem, when he eats he looks like he swallowed a watermelon sideways. I tried many different things and finally just determined that it is his way. His daddy did the exact same thing. He gorges himself and just expands quickly. Once he lays down and ruminates, he decreases in size. Then he gets up and does it all over again.


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## Jen H

Getting cud from a goat is as easy and hard as scooping some cud out of a goat that's chewing away on one. You open their mouth and take some.

I just buy probios at the feedstore and keep that around. Much easier. You can also use yogurt that has active cultures in it in a pinch.


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## Mrs_stuart

Goat Freak,
As too part of the original question, Baking Soda,
Baking soda should be available to your goats at all times so that they can get too it whenever they want. We have a little bucket out all the time and they eat it when ever they want it and in the quantity they want. Sometimes it seems likes weeks and nothing and then one day, it will be all gone, it just depends. It is something they need and it will not hurt them.

Belinda


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## Goat Freak

Thank you so much everybody, Baking soda can't hurt cows though can it, cause until the fence man builds the goats a new pen they have to stay in with the cows although they don't seem to bother each other. Thanks for all the help, Bye.


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## TexCountryWoman

The baking soda won't hurt the cows. The way i get baking soda down goats if i feel they need a little extra RIGHT NOW is that i mix it with table salt. It seems to make it more appealing. My goats are eating mineral salt (for goats) in good amounts right now because of the heat i guess. So when my pen of doelings and wethers looked too puffy to me, they really went after the baking soda/salt mix better than plain baking soda. They started burping immediately.

Bloat is very serious. When i was a newbie, I lost a number of goats to bloat. The only one i saved was one I tubed AND jabbed a pocket knife into the rumen to expel gas. I then had to do a run of IM antibiotics to heal the pocket knife wound that had saved the goats life. Old time ranchers still save cows that way, poking open the rumen with a knife. My vet fussed at me for using "old timey methods" but it did save my goat. Don't do it if you don't know where to poke. Sometimes it may be the last resort. Tubing a goat is not that hard. When you are in the WRONG place, the lungs that is, the goat will cough non-stop and can't breathe right. Of course, I learned on people first back in the day as an RN. So my goats were lucky!....Diane


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## MoBarger

Someone told me recently they cured a bloat problem by confining the goat in a stall and tying some baling twine from the ceiling or wall. The goat chewed and chewed the twine, creating tons of saliva and working her gut, and she got over it. 
I am not saying that is the answer, but something to look into.


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## dancinggoatgirl

If I have a bloated animal (whitch I've had a couple times due to the boys getting into the grain cans) I give them lots of Pepto Bismal and Mineral Oil (though Veggy Oil would be my 2nd choice if I don't have mineral). I also give him a CD&T shot just in case. Another thing that woun't hurt is Probios
After I give all the Meds I have some one hold the goat and I push in on his stomach down by his front legs and (still pushing in) pull up toward his hips. 
Keep at this untill he lets out some of that gas. 
I had a case were my Nigerian Buck got into corn..... My nighbor gave him a shot (I can't remember the name of it) after 2 days that I couldn't get him relived.. After the shot he did better.
After you've un-bloated him give him a ALL hay or grass diet for a week or so. NO grain. 
L


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## Goat Freak

Thank you all so much, I'm going to try that right away. Bye.


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