# finaly finding stuff about bloating



## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

onder: I have researched a lot about how to prevent and treat goats from bloating in the last hour. My dad wont let me try anything until my AST approves of something. blah. I have less then a week now and I have to wait till Monday to start something. I am going to rub his sides for now I guess because I cant get in trouble for doing that. I am just going to print up a bunch of options and see which he will let me try.... :hair: :GAAH:


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

is your goat bloating now? you need to get some baking soda in him immediately if he is


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

yeah you cant just wait around with bloat.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

i know... my goat last year would always bloat right before a show but he fallowed me everywhere so i never worried about him really because he was always bouncing off the walls, but this on is younger ans still follows me but stays bloated because he was getting hay from the lambs pin next to him. i moved pins and its gotten better since. do u know of anything else i can do that my dad cant get mad at me for. at least for today :whatgoat:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I agree, I wouldn't wait around. And baking soda isn't going to hurt him and it's not a medication, so why need approval for that? It's just....baking soda. This is something most women or men who cook or bake keep in their kitchen anyway. 

We haven't had problems with bloat, but I've given it to my goats before, especially when one of my does had scours.

We had a ton of rain in May and more in June, and it is causing a world of chaos for cattle farmers, they are losing cattle to bloat, and the state even declared a state of emergency for cattle farmers. While the goats aren't having a big issue like the cattle, I'd still think that bloat in goats is just as serious as it is in cattle, and needs to be treated right away.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

it sounds like your goat has 'hay belly' not bloat. when they're bloated they're in extreme pain, when they have a hay belly, their full of...hay.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

At first thats what I thought but when I asked my AST he said it was bloat... idk this is my second goat. I spent years wanting and researching goats but its still different when u have one in front of you. I still have a lot to learn. if it is a hay belly what is the quickest way to get rid of it. I have been running him everyday and he doesn't get hay or grass at all. Is there anything else i can do. he has the ability to be grand champion if I can get rid of the belly a little and fill him out in a couple places.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

this is cookie he is a sweet boy i love him to death


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

a goat needs hay or grass for his proper development. Hay/browse is the main diet for goats

Has this goat been wormed? what does his eyelids look like?


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

i worm him on the first of every month. he was getting grass but being next to a lamb where he got hay from under the fence i never fed it to him. i moved pins so i new what he was eating. at times i think he might have gotten lamb food wich is another reason i moved him. because of the belly i was told to take him off of grass and hay for a week before every show. i have been told that i shouldn't give him hay but once or twice a week. is this true? i still let him play in the grass most of the time and he gets that. :?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

goats should have hay at least twice a day if there is no other browse available. If he is eating a good amount of grass then he is getting some roughage which is important.

What do his eyelids look like?


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## GoatGirlMO (Aug 13, 2010)

I show market wethers as well... we feed hay. In short, ruminants must have long fiber to keep their digestive tract working. We feed at least a handful of good quality grass hay twice a day to each of our market wethers. To prevent a hay belly on show day, we skip the morning hay offering.

If his system isn't working right, then things get off kelter and he can certainly bloat due to that. If he were mine, I'd go back to a bit of hay everyday. Restricting hay in an animal that needs long fiber is just going to cause problems. 

Some just have big bellies, and nothing is going to change it. If you think he is bloating, you need to get something basic down him ASAP.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

i wont see him again till tomorrow night caus school starts in the morning so my dad will feed then ill go up to the barn and feed in the evening and check.....





I will try giving him a little everyday. thanks


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Am I wrong to believe he should have hay/browse more so than grain? It sounds like he needs hay and not so much grain. But I have to agree, he might just have a belly and nothing is going to change that.


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## GoatGirlMO (Aug 13, 2010)

HS, show wethers are fed differently than other goats. They are fed less grass/hay/browse/forage to allow a larger intake of the accelerated feed. This allows them to grow a little quicker. 
The trick is figuring out the right balance of forage and grain for each goat. All goats need hay or browse, you just don't want those show wethers tanking up on it.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

i have figured that out and he was looking supper nice on the little hay i had him on but then they started feeding the lamb oat hay and he was getting a lot of that. i moved him last week and he loosing like no belly. i have til friday morning to get rid of as much as possible. how can i do that besides just running and walking him. he is also quick to over heat because our low in this part of texas right now is 90.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

if its true hay belly he will loose it in a day. If its not hay belly then it will stick around.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

HoosierShadow said:


> Am I wrong to believe he should have hay/browse more so than grain? It sounds like he needs hay and not so much grain. But I have to agree, he might just have a belly and nothing is going to change that.


he needs grain though to. i show him so he needs the protein in the feed along with probius and other things that are in it to help him grow and build muscle. Its kinda of like the difference in a working/show horse and a pasture horse.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

to me it sounds like is he goring on hay because he doesnt get enough of it on a daily basis. 

I understand that everyone says you need to give loads of grain to a market goat -- this just fattens them up and doesnt actually give them muscle which is more of what they need.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

StaceyRoop said:


> to me it sounds like is he goring on hay because he doesnt get enough of it on a daily basis.
> 
> I understand that everyone says you need to give loads of grain to a market goat -- this just fattens them up and doesnt actually give them muscle which is more of what they need.


i dont give him much grain though he gets half a medium sized scoop twice a day and he was getting a handful of hay till he started eating everything else then he just got the grass he would eat while he was playing.


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## MiGoat (Apr 21, 2010)

Too much grain will make a goat sick. Hay never makes them sick.(unless it's moldy hay) Doesn't matter what kind of goat you have they are ruminants and need the long fiber for their rumens to work properly.


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## lizzyslittlegoatfarm (Jan 20, 2013)

That's not true. If a goat doesn't get 1 slab of hay a day and they go from getting hay every day to 1-3 times a week it will set off the immune system. You can actully make it off track when you do that. I have dairy goats and if I miss 1 day of feeding in the morning they get all wierd and then they have to be dewormed and you'll have to do a whole bunch of other stuff even if it's not a diary goat.


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