# Thin goat,storing cud in cheek



## michelle32 (Oct 23, 2011)

I am really hoping someone can shed some light on this issue becuase my vet and I are stumped. I have a male pygmy goat that is ~ 10 years old ? (I got him as an adult in 2003). The past two months he has really been loosing weight. I sent a fecal in and it came back negative. I doubled his food, tripled his food, added Equine Senior and Empower (high fat top dress feed) and locked him in a pen to east alone (on the off chance that competition for food was an issue). He lost more weight. Then I noticed wads of cud in his pen, as if he brings it up, but then spits it out. I had my equine dentist and vet look at him again, and they filed his teeth and said the teeth were sharp but there was no sign of an abcess or sore tooth. Other than the weight loss, my vet cant find anything wrong with him. He has also been storing hard balls of cud in his cheek. I have given him a dose of Probios and Vitamins. For the past week I have been removing the ball of cud, and as of last night I started giving him a mash (thought the cud would be less fiberous and not be able to pack into the cheek...?) and some Banamine in case he has TMJ. It got very cold yesterday, so I put a blanket on him during the day and let him sleep in the garage (in a crate) during the night so he would stay warm... since he is so thin. My vet doesnt think he has CL abcesses, Jones or CAEV but we have not done a blood test. My vet is leaning towards sore cheek from sharp teeth or TMJ. He thought Banamine, soft food and possibly a course of Draxin (just incase the gum has a localized infection somewhere) might do the trick. He thinks my goat might now be in the habit of storing the cud (even though teh teeth are no longer sharp) and is not sure how to break the habit. Sorry this post is so long...just trying to get all the facts down. (Please forgive all the typo's as well). I dont breed goats, I just have two as pets and they mean the workd to me. Im so worried about him


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## Frosty1 (Jul 12, 2011)

I don't have any ideas on this one...  All I can say is I hope he gets better soon!


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Your boy is getting pretty old. I don't know how long a wether will likely live, and I don't have any goats that old yet. But I hope you figure out how to get food into him. I wonder if you could try Chaffhaye maybe. Maybe the mash will help too. Don't know if it is common for goats to get TMJ diseases, I had never heard of that until this post. I sure hope he gets better for you.

Jan


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

With clear fecals and no other apparent reason for the weight loss...is it possible that he may be lacking in a mineral?
Some goats show different symptoms when theres an insufficiency with mineral absorption. Is there a chance that he may have an issue with an obstruction? Any odd feeling lumps along his throat?

I have an 11 1/2 year old pygmy/nigerian doe thats too fat, a few weeks ago I noticed that she was having problems bringing up her cud, she was going through the motions but nothing was happening...scared me a bit til she went and got a drink and then was able to bring it up...I'm thinking there may have been an obstruction that was cleared when she drank.


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## michelle32 (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for replying. Yeah...my vet tried to tell me in the gentlest way possible that my goat is really old.  He loves his mash (just fed him) and althogh he is still storing cud, I havent seen any wads on the floor of his crate. Im going to loose a finger one of these days trying to get the cud out of the cheek though. :shocked: Maybe with this mash he is going to keep some of it down...? I just gave him some more probios as well...figured it cant hurt. He is very energetic and happy and doesnt seem to be in any pain. Even when he eats, his jaw moves normally and with out any obvious discomfort and he eats with gusto. My vet checked for any lumps, bumps, blocks etc and didnt find anything, but that was just an external exam. Another vet (I've been working with two) thought it couldn't hurt to add some minerals and a salt block. Sigh. Im just sick with worry.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I know I read somewhere that "losing" cud is a symptom of a disease or a mineral deficiency. If only I could remember where. :hair: I will try to find it!

Edit - Try this - It wasn't this but it may help. :shrug: 
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_a_goat_lose_her_cud


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Keep up with the mash, check into Chaffhaye, and love him up every day. You are doing good. Good Minerals are always good.

Jan


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

I found a website that explains some of what you have said. Hope he gets better soon! ray: 
*Throwing of the cud*
We recently had a young doeling throwing her cud. It looked to us as if she were vomiting. But upon closer inspection we saw she was actually bringing up her cud and throwing it away. 
Diagnosis; sour stomach.
The vet ordered 5 cc Mylanta due to her weight of 45 pounds, once per day til she began to cud normally. She also ordered 3 cc probios orally to re-start rumin action. 
This condition is called acidosis, and is life-threatening. You must waste NO time when dealing with this!


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Is the rumen functioning normal? Did the vet hear normal rumen sounds? 

A few days of Fortified B Complex shots may help also if the rumen is off.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

If he hasn't had a steady supply of a good loose mineral, he very well could be deficient.

Also...10 years isn't "that" old.....a mini goat can live as long as 18 with the right care and love, so I think that your guy still has some years left once this issue is fixed.


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## michelle32 (Oct 23, 2011)

Any recommendations for a good loose mineral? I live in a really rural place, so I will have to order it unless its really really common and our feed store carries it. So, I may as well get the best one out there. Im worried that all this grain will gie him a urinary problem....should I add something (apple cider vinegar?) to his water to acidify his urine?

Update-although he still keeps cud in his cheek, I cant find any loose "cud" lumps in the crate or near the crate. The wad in his cheek is only a fifth or less of what I have been feeding him, so I have to assume the rest is staying inside him (being digested properly)...? As usual, he is really lively and happy. He LOVES being in the house and races ahead of me to get to the garage at night. I think he wants to be a house dog LOL! At least its warm (but not too warm) in the garage so my thought is that he wont loose any more weight keeping warm at night. (Our days are in the high 40's and up.) I will still try the mylanta....anything that could help him...along with more Probios and bi-weekly Vitamin Paste. I told my vet all about this forum and he was also really appreciative of the good advice on here.


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