# big stomach on my buckling



## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i have a eight month old buckling that has a big tummy---i have had the vet look at him and she said he sounded and looked fine. he does seem healthy. i've wormed him and treated for coccidious and when the vet was her i sent a fecal with and he does have strogydes (???spelling???). but i just feel uncomfortable about how wide he is, i will enclose a pic--if any one has an idea on why he is like that i would appreciate it. well i guess i cant figure out how to send a pic in this forum, any help with that? thanks Marilyn


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Marilyn, this really doesn't help you much but I'll toss this info at ya. I also have a young Boer buck (9months old) with quite a beer belly. My two bucks live together and they look like the odd couple. The Boer's big basketball gut has been annoying me for quite some time but now he seems to be growing into his bulge. I would'nt worry to much, I wish I had more to tell ya, maybe this condition is more common then we know of. My other buck is a Nubian (12 months old) tall, muscular and no gut....Tennessee John


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## Al. Countryboy (Oct 2, 2004)

Years ago I bought 3 does. Two of my does where long and slender and the other had a big fat belly which I did not care for. :nono: She always looks 5 months pregnant. I prefered the long slender deer like bodies. Later after began to learn more about what to look for in a dairy goat and had many nice comments from folks in the dairy goat world on how nice my fat bellied goat looked, I decided fat bellies must be looked at differently on goats than on folks.  You may just a very nice buck that will pass this trait on to his daughters.


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

what kind of goat are we talking about? Dairy, meat or mini?

Pygmies are suppose to have a belly while dairy breeds ARE NOT. Young kids tend to have more of a belly till they lengthen out. Worms will also cause a bigger belly.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

he is 7/8 boer and 1/8 nubian (i believe). he is in with my other buck that is 3/4 boer (he is a year and a half). yeah he does look pj-- around 10 months along. i've seen his sire but not his mom, didnt see that in him. i cant imagine he gets too much grain in with my other buck lol. well i will have to worm him again and see what happens. i did give him mineral oil to maybe get him going more. it really isnt attractive though. thanks for the help--i really like reading this site. i get alot of questions answered without having to ask. Marilyn


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i mean the belly isnt attractive. Marilyn


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

oh and for the picture thing. I use www.photobucket.com to host my pictures and then I paste the url (provided through photobucket) in the message. Then we can click on the link to see the picture. It is great for sharing with friends and family too. Plus you don't have to resize your pictures


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

thanks i'm gonna try that M......


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

they ask for a lot of information but be sure to uncheck the boxes stating you want them to send information to you. That way you don't get junk mail.


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## Reptyle (Jul 28, 2005)

Al. Countryboy said:


> I decided fat bellies must be looked at differently on goats than on folks.


Too bad I ain't a goat... :dance:


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

[/IMG] hope you get this--i really dont know what i'm doing. Marilyn


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

yup that is it! 

Yah he is bloated or wormy. The left side is his rumen so that is normal to see it bigger but yes even for a pygmy that doesn't look good.

Have you treated him for bloat?


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

no i havent--how do i do that? Marilyn


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

For bloat you can give him baking soda. The easiest way to do this is take some baking soda and add a little water till you can form it to a "ball" stuff this in his mouth. The sticky consistancy will make it stay in his mouth and he will have to swallow it and not spit it out.

The baking soda will help him burp and relieve the gasses that could be building up in his rumen.

It is worth a try anyway and will not hurt him if it isn't bloat.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

Strongids = parasites.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

The fecal showed that he has worms. What did you worm him with the first time, and did you do a follow-up worming 10 days later? You may need to use a different wormer, and make sure you do it twice, to catch late hatching worm eggs. Which reminds me, time to re-worm here, too!


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## AllWolf (Dec 27, 2005)

Of what I can tell looks like wormy not bloat. I had a pgymy a while back looked a little like that and I wormed her with Valbazen and now she looks like suppose to be. Just be careful to not give to much meds or you could run into other problems

Good Luck with your goat.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i just got done worming with valbzen today--will do the follow up (i didnt do that when i wormed him a few weeks ago). thanks for the advice--much appreciated> Marilyn


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

I have not used Valbzen before.........does it take care of strongyles? It is important that the wormer say that it kills that specific worm you are trying to get rid off.

Is this a horse wormer paste or something else?


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

good question--it says it kills stomach worms and intestinal worms isnt that what stongydes are??? or am i mistaken???? valbazen is a broad spectrum dewormer. it is labeled for use in cattle and sheep, i was told to use double strength of the cattle dosage, by my vet after the last fecal i had done showed strongydes. Marilyn


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

Yah I was asking because goats normally need a double or triple dosage then other animals. They obsorb it differently - or something like that.

If it was recomended by your vet then I think that is the best to use. I am not up on all the wormers for specific worms. I haven't had a problem to cause me to dig deep into it. I guess that is good and bad.

I do know that Safeguard is used specifically for strongyles - but if the wormer you have works and is more of a broad spectrum wormer that is probably better.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Yes, he looks a bit wormy. A wormy belly looks different than a healthy rumen. But actually all ruminants should have a good sized gut, especially milking does. The more capacity in the rumen, the more she can eat, the more milk she produces...its all good as long as its not a wormy stunted look. Those does that have almost no bulge to their sides actually have an underdeveloped rumen.
The best way to build a good rumen is browse and/or hay while they are growing.
Wonder if I can get some pictures of some big-barreled healthy does while milking this morning..... :nerd:  
There is a definate difference in the looks of a big healthy rumen and a wormy gut.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Valbazen and Safeguard are fine for worming kids, but you really ought to move to cydectin.

He doesn't look wormy to me, he is very fleshy, and wide, you could rest a dinner plate over his rump, a very good thing. Goats have four stomachs (rumen, retuculum,abomassum and massum) sp , goats who eat alot of roughage have very large stomachs in that tiny body. When goats also eat alot of grain with that roughage it can push the abomassum (one of the stomachs) out of alignment, and actually when bad, you can see this in alot of older boer doers) even through the wall of the stomach, so it is laying out all flabby...a displaced abomassum. The abomassum will displace after carrying alot of kids, or if the body cavity is filled with alot of internal fat.

I would switch to a better wormer, but your buck is structurally...well over the back, excellent, and in wonderful flesh for a buck in rut this time of year. Vicki


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i would be interested in seeing the pics of your does Emily---i always seem to worry when their stomachs get big. goats are so different from horses (which i grew up with), i guess i have to change my whole way of looking at an animal. Herc does get all the hay he can eat---not too much grain. if there was something wrong with his stomach---as far as it getting stretched out too much would the vet be able to hear that when she was listening to it??? would he be in pain if you pushed on his stomach??? i was going to call the vet today to see how many worms were in his stool, but i got to busy at work--will have to call tommorrow. if he is real wormy would his eyelids still be red? thanks for all the advice.


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## PygmyLover (Oct 12, 2006)

What concerns me is that he is round but his hips are sunk in - that is a wormy belly from what I have read.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

He's in rut. All his energy is going towards pleasing the women. He'll look 'different' this time of year...


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Looking again, he is in good flesh as Vicki pointed out, so if he has worms, its probably not a bad case. Also if he is on hay, bucks tend to get what is called a *hay belly* and they just look bigger. Once they get out on pasture and browse again, they generally lose that. His hair looks a little frazzled, so being me, I'd probably worm him just to be on the safe side. Does he have loose minerals?? But if he seems happy and healthy, I wouldn't worry too much.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

mare said:


> i would be interested in seeing the pics of your does Emily---i always seem to worry when their stomachs get big. goats are so different from horses (which i grew up with), i guess i have to change my whole way of looking at an animal. Herc does get all the hay he can eat---not too much grain. if there was something wrong with his stomach---as far as it getting stretched out too much would the vet be able to hear that when she was listening to it??? would he be in pain if you pushed on his stomach??? i was going to call the vet today to see how many worms were in his stool, but i got to busy at work--will have to call tommorrow. if he is real wormy would his eyelids still be red? thanks for all the advice.


Ah, he is on hay. If his lower eyelids are deep red and he is chewing cud and looking perky, I would guess you are looking at a young bucks "hay belly". Thats ok.
If the vet couldn't hear anything when she listened to his stomach, that is when its time to get worried. As long as its gurgling happily away in there, its probably a healthy tummy.  
I got pictures of some big barreled milkers, but my camera is not allowing me to download them......


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