# Goats got into the chicken feed! Diarrhea!



## valsey (May 21, 2006)

The goats got out and ate what was left in the chicken feed bag. Two of them have diarrhea now. What do I do? Any help is appreciated.


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## pinemead (Jan 18, 2003)

They'll probably be ok and the diarrhea will run it's course. You didn't say how much grain or how many goats. Watch for bloat or any other problems. Mine got out into the hay field and ate for several hours when they weren't use to it. The diarrhea lasted for a couple of days. Needless to say, don't give them any grain for a couple of days and hay only might be a good idea.

Other members, please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

pinemead said:


> You didn't say how much grain or how many goats. Watch for bloat or any other problems. Needless to say, don't give them any grain for a couple of days and hay only might be a good idea.
> 
> Other members, please correct me if I'm wrong.


There are 5 adult goats. I don't know how much grain was left in the bag - I remember it being pretty low - maybe 5-10 lbs?

Hay only? No pasture? I can give them baking soda...anything else I can do to preemptively?

What signs do I need to watch for (bloat)?


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## pinemead (Jan 18, 2003)

Signs of bloat -
distension of the left side, breathes hard, grinds its teeth, pain, sometimes salivates profusely, and stops eating.

If it is noticed early enough, the goat can be given two tablespoons of baking soda in a cup of warm water with a needleless syringe. Be sure to keep the goat's head level with the ground while giving fluids.

If the bloat is the foaming type (foam coming from the goat's mouth) give w/2 cup peanut, corn, or mineral oil. Results in about one hour.

Either type - dry or foaming can cause death if not treated. If you see symptoms and the above doesn't help within a very short period of time, you'd better call the vet.

You can give the baking soda (I have it free choice for mine all the time and they love it) even before you see any symptoms, just be careful not to get it into the lungs. You might want to put it out for them to eat. It's like Tums for us.

Best of luck and don't panic yet.


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

pinemead said:


> You can give the baking soda (I have it free choice for mine all the time and they love it) even before you see any symptoms, just be careful not to get it into the lungs. You might want to put it out for them to eat. It's like Tums for us.
> 
> Best of luck and don't panic yet.


Thanks for the info. How could you tell I'm the panicky type?

I used to keep baking soda out free choice - they loved it. But I read that it counter acts the ammonium chloride (for UC) - which I almost lost my wether to - we can't go through THAT again. I also think they would choose that over their minerals. I will put it out for them now, though.


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## desertshi (Jul 23, 2008)

My holstein cow died from this!! That and a combo of my then vets stupidity....but watch very carefully for bloat. I would definantly take preventative measures for the bloat factor with baking soda. For the diarhea you can give them plain yogurt or probios to help out with that...good luck to ya! Worry, but don't over worry! Just be vigilant to see how they fair!


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

desertshi said:


> I would definantly take preventative measures for the bloat factor with baking soda. For the diarhea you can give them plain yogurt or probios to help out with that...good luck to ya! Worry, but don't over worry! Just be vigilant to see how they fair!


Probios - great idea...totally slipped my mind.

I don't suppose I need to be too concerned about the goats that don't have the diarrhea...do you?


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

Pretreat for bloat by tubing oil--we had 7 goats get into the room where 8lbs of their lactation pellets and 1lb of animal crackers were kept. We had no way of knowing who ate what nor how much. We treated all aggressively and still had 2 very sick milkers and a third that seemed fine but died the next day.

We tubed then with oil, gave baking soda, CD antitoxin, antibiotics and benadryl for the histimine reaction...I had read about it, one of them actually had her eyes swollen shut.

To be blunt--this is not a wait and see situation. It killed one, nearly killed two others at our place and we lost the remainder of the production of one of the doe's lactation. It cost a lot of money and a lot of heartache. One had to be trocharized as all else failed at the vet. We saw clinical signs in 3 does. Even if the three were the only ones who got the grain, you are talking as little as 3 lbs each killing and making very sick. NONE of ours had diarhhea until they were tubed oil. The one that died looked GREAT, we treated her just like the rest but I assumed she hadnt gotten any. The next morning she went down screaming and died in well under an hour.


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

for help Check out...http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php/topic,26.0.html


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

Qvrfullmidwife said:


> for help Check out...http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php/topic,26.0.html


Thanks for the link - good info.

I just don't want to overreact and start dosing unnecessarily. I just checked the goats - one still has diarrhea, but she's showing no signs of bloat and is chewing her cud, laying around being lazy like the others.

Perhaps a dose of pepto bismol and some probios would help, but it's been almost 7 hours since they got into the feed and there seems to be no emergency. Would you agree?


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## Laverne (May 25, 2008)

I even read here on HT that oil treatment can interfere with B-1 production and can lead to thiamine deficiency with goat polio. So fortified B's or B-1 may be necessary. Wow, one thing can lead to another.


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## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

Let the scours run it course and if you need it get bloat release not oil as oil kills the good flora in the rumin. I would give a dose of bloat release to be safe or human or baby gas-x that they sell at Wal-mart. Dont use Pepto ...not good for the tummy either they have to get rid of the chicken feed and pepto will stop that. Also in a pinch you can get Aquarian charcoal and crush it and give to them as a drench. It will absorb and toxic substance. This is what I would do.


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

Chaty said:


> Let the scours run it course and if you need it get bloat release not oil as oil kills the good flora in the rumin. I would give a dose of bloat release to be safe or human or baby gas-x that they sell at Wal-mart. Dont use Pepto ...not good for the tummy either they have to get rid of the chicken feed and pepto will stop that. Also in a pinch you can get Aquarian charcoal and crush it and give to them as a drench. It will absorb and toxic substance. This is what I would do.


I have gas-x, can you tell me how much to use? Should I also give charcoal?


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## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

Gas-x should be given by weight on label. That is how I do it and I keep activated charcoal on hand all the time as you never know what they can get into. If they dont need it dont do it.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Oil is given to help flush the grain on out. Grain can settle in the bottom of the rumen and stop things up, shutting the rumen down. Yes give oil, and charcoal wouldn't hurt either. 

Pasture is fine, grass hay is fine. But just give that for a while, and give probiotics.


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## Idahoe (Feb 4, 2006)

I'm going to add my horror story in hopes of scaring people into really securing their chicken feed/scratch. I had just emptied a fifty pound sack of scratch into a garbage can and somehow five goats got into it, they unlatched a gate and I didn't discover it until I went to throw scratch to get the chickens in. They probably ate 25 pounds between them, maybe more. I knew it wasn't good for them, and I was mainly mad for the loss of the scratch. I had NO idea what was going to happen . . .

I didn't think much about it until the next morning when I went to the goat pen and the smell of diarrhea hit me. I still kept low key about it, got on the board here and another and by the responses I realized I had downplayed a total emergency 

Three of the goats had just kidded the week before, two had not kidded yet. That night, my best freshened doe died, orphaning her twins. The next night, another died in absolute agony until the neighbor put her down, orphaning two more kids. The third freshened doe, with twins, survived because I begged for expired IV fluids, punctured her rumen to empty it, and tubed her, but she never recovered her health or her milk, so that made six kids I was suddenly having to feed. The two pregnant does were so pregnant they didn't eat as much, and survived and were fine. One foundered but I gave her a bunch of Benadryl and luckily (as if I could use that word in this tragedy) she recovered from that, too.

I had no vet willing to help me out. It was an absolute nightmare, and such a WASTE. A terrible waste, and so preventable.

My goats feed (and chicken feed when I get them again next month) will be in the garage behind a doorknob, I doubt they can get THAT open. I'll never forget.

Wishing the best for your girls. No grain until they have regular poop berries. I gave lots of vitamin B complex as well as the probiotics, baking soda, et all.


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

Idahoe--our break in occurred when an alpine learned how to open a round doorknob.

I understand the concerns about oil killing the good flora. But dead goats dont need good flora so I decided to make sure that they stayed alive and worry about the flora (or need to treat for goat polio) later.


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

Thanks you all for your insight and information. I'm going out to check on things now and will post shortly. I think it's just a passing bout of diarrhea, but all this is great info. Thanks again


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

And it does not have to be chicken feed. In our case it was the exact same lactation pellets that they got every day, twice a day already, just more than they were used to.

Valsey I hope your goats are OK, do you have an update?


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

Qvrfullmidwife said:


> Valsey I hope your goats are OK, do you have an update?


Yes - thanks for asking. Everyone seems to be doing well. Chewing cuds, eating hay. Lucy - the one with the diarrhea appears to be fine and her poop is firming up - clumps of berries now. So I guess we've made it through this crisis. On to the sick chicken, now...


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Glad they are ok.

I had a doe get very sick just from getting more whole oats than she was used to, and not alll that much more either. It was a mess, but she is ok now.


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## valsey (May 21, 2006)

southerngurl said:


> Glad they are ok.
> 
> I had a doe get very sick just from getting more whole oats than she was used to, and not alll that much more either.


I'm finding that goats don't seem to be as hardy as you would think. At least not mine!


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

In some ways they are, but in some ways they sure aren't!


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## Starsmom (Nov 7, 2004)

I bought an old horse trailer and use that to store my grain in. It gets closed up when done feeding and no one (except the chickens that are free ranging) can get into it, that includes the horses and goats.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I keep all 50lb feed sacks in the house. I fill up several empty rolled oat containers and keep those in an old dishwasher that latches in a separate enclosed room in the barn. Yes it's a bit more work, but I have seen too many illnesses and deaths from critters getting into the feed. Plus keeping the feed in the climate controlled house keeps it fresher longer and rodent free 

ETA...I do only have 3 goats, 2 horses, 6 chickens and 5 cats that live outdoors...


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