# diarrhea cures?



## cbou407 (Nov 11, 2009)

what does everyone use to get rid of diarrhea. i have my my two young boer bucks about 5 months old who just started with it. but i do know the reason, i beleiev its cause i put and extra feed dressing on top on their regular feed and i guess i gave them to much or it was to rich for them. any ideas how to stop this?? thanks in advance


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

for diarrhea thats caused by to much food you remove the grain from their diet and you can give 6cc of pepto to help firm up their stools. Once back to berries slowly reintroduce the grain.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree.... 

If there is no improvement... in a couple of days... I recommend... getting a fecal done for worms and cocci....


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## Squires (Sep 14, 2010)

Ruminants (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) often get diarrhea when their food changes. In particular if they go out on rich pasture or forage (leaves, weeds, trees, whatever). Sudden change in the amount of grain they eat would also explain it.

I don't worry so much about diarrhea or belching -- they both mean that the animal is getting rid of whatever upset their stomach. Sort of a good sign. :angelgoat: 

I worry more about bloating, which can mean the balance of good bacteria in their rumen and gut are upset,  and this could lead to enterotoxemia (bloat, sudden death), or follow up some days later with goat polio (thiamine deficiency because of imbalanced bacteria) or a gut and stomach that totally stop working. And yet, I have had ruminants over-eat corn and look uncomfortable, puff up in a bloaty sort of way, stop eating, have diarrhea, belch for a while, and then be just fine.

Keep an eye on it -- it is something unusual. It happens -- we want to give something to our critters and we forget or accidentally shake out a bit too much rich food. Just watch and be ready to call the vet.

With younger animals it can mean that they finally caught coccidia and need some treatment, or they have worms that are doing a job on their gut-lining. Those things need treatment. If one of those bugs or parasites gets comfortable in the gut lining, it can permanently damage it and the goat may be unthrifty for the rest of its life. Give it a day or two for the diarrhea to clear up when they are back on their normal food -- and if it doesn't, talk with your vet.

Don't rush to give antibiotics, which can kill off good as well as bad bacteria. ONLY if there is already an identified epidemic of a bug that causes these symptoms and perhaps after discussing it with your vet or some really experienced local goat people.

An old-time farmer once told me that so long as they are walking around, they are fine -- it is when they refuse to get up that things get worse. SO, if you think they are laying down too much, you can put a collar or halter on them and walk them, and occasionally stop them and elevate their front end -- let them stand on a step or box or something. This helps them adjust their gut and let out some gas and diarrhea.

I read an article (somewhere on the ADGA site) that Frosty Martin, a famous Nubian sire who is found in many Nubian pedigrees if you go back a few generations, had a sensitive stomach and often would get bloat. When he was a kid he had bloat and they started driving him to the vet and the movement from being driven was enough to fix the bloat but not the diarrhea -- was just as well that the vet looked at him and found he also had coccidia. So -- there could be multiple problems all at once. But for his entire life his owners frequently spent some time driving him around town so that he could belch out his excess gas.

Frosty Martin also had a genetic marker for a defective enzyme -- if he wasn't on a diet high in Vitamin A, he got digestive problems. Nowadays, that's not a big problem, but when goats were simple and ate brown hay, it could be a problem for some goats. onder: 

So, keep an eye on them. It never hurts to worm young critters -- even a small worm load can slow their growth. Something like Safeguard or Ivomectin at twice or three times the dose that is prescribed for sheep would be best (goats metabolize wormers different than sheep or other livestock). 

Have you given them their CD/T vaccinations yet? Those are a very good idea -- because the biggest cause of death in small ruminants is "overeating disease" -- what the Australians call "pulpy kidney disease" -- enterotoxemia from a common every day bacteria (Perfringes type C or D, thus the vaccine is called CD but you also want to vaccinate against tetanus, so CD/T is a basic vaccine you can start with).

Hope that helps. Best Wishes -- and may your goats poop dry poops again, and soon! :laugh: :stars:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Squires said:


> I don't worry so much about diarrhea or belching -- they both mean that the animal is getting rid of whatever upset their stomach. Sort of a good sign. :


I disagree a bit with this statement. Diarrhea should always be a concern and taken seriously. Even in adult goats.


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## GoldenSeal (Sep 14, 2010)

I personally use slippery elm..


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## Squires (Sep 14, 2010)

StaceyRoop said:


> Squires said:
> 
> 
> > I don't worry so much about diarrhea or belching -- they both mean that the animal is getting rid of whatever upset their stomach. Sort of a good sign. :
> ...


I guess I do WORRY about it, but if all else seems OK and the goat is still walking around chewing cud, I watch and wait. I'm also concerned about over-medicating and upsetting the balance of the stomach -- which can turn a small upset into a big upset. :sigh:

I worry MORE if the animal won't get up, or grinds its teeth (a sign of pain), stops chewing cud or generally looks bad. My animals sometimes get diarrhea from going out on spring pasture -- or eating the first silage of the winter. From experience with these animals under my conditions, I know now that they will clear up within 12 hours without a problem. Other diarrhea, out of the ordinary, worries me. :kidred:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I totally understand what you mean -- I pin pointed out that statement because there are lot of people on this board that just read or are newbies to the goat world and I didnt want them to get the wrong impression about scouring in adults or kids. 

I have to think about more then you and into how others maybe reading it. 

you obviously have a handle on what has worked and you know your goats -- thats the most important part. But until thats learned it is always good to be "concerned" about any abnormalities and treat them as serious (even if you arent actually treating but just watching for a couple hours).


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