# Pellet Clumps



## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

I have done a search and am seeing conflicting responses...

Is it okay if poo is pellets clumped together rather than single pellets? Or is that a sign that something is wrong?


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

If your goat is otherwise normal in temp and eating well, I'd just give her some baking soda and keep an eye on her. It might just be how she poops and nothing wrong. Have you changed feeds? Color is a good indicator. If it's too green she's reacting to her hay. 
It's often said that anything other than separate, dark shiny pellets is abnormal. I don't necessarily agree with that. Just like people, individual goats will have variations in their poop. I have one whose pellets always look that way. Dry, but stuck together in clumps. She's never had a digestive issue otherwise and is 7 years old. I have another doe with a touchy gut who every second or third month gets a bout of diarrhea that lasts about 2 days. She's my biggest, strongest doe. When it happens I make sure she gets baking soda and probios, but since she's been like this since birth 6 years ago, I consider it sort of normal for her. Something she eats just disagrees with her and she has to get it out of her system.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Hehe, welcome to the goat world of normal vs abnormal.
Yes, some will have the clumped together pellets & others seperate. It IS an individual thing as Elchvito has ponted out.
If everything else is normal for that goat; eating drinking, head up alert etc then she is probably fine.


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

Every once and a while my girls wil have sorda clumped poop but it is in balls. I dont worry about it if it hust lasts a day or 2 usually gone within a day.

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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

My kids call them grenades ...usually when they get too much graze...they should adjust in time...add some coastal to their diet will help as well


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## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

happybleats said:


> My kids call them grenades ...usually when they get too much graze...they should adjust in time...add some coastal to their diet will help as well


I am having this issue again.

My 6 month old has been having clumpy, sometimes dog turd like poo for about a month.
Had a fecal run today and the vet said it was the lowest worm count he has ever had on a goat, which is good news.

What does "add coastal" mean??

Right now she has alfalfa/grass hay in a feeder at all times, a cup of (sweetfeed/alfalfa pellets/boss) mix in the morning and evening and free choice minerals and baking soda.
They have access to browse but rarely do.

I think she may be copper deficient because she has a bare spot on her nose and neck but my husband thinks that is from it rubbing on the fencing on their hay feeder. We have a lot of iron in our water so I ordered copasure for goats and sheep from Jeffers. Could copper deficiency cause clumpy poo?
I read a thread on another forum that said too much protein can cause this also? How do I figure out how much is too much for her?

Thanks for your help again!


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

buy a bale of costal hay and give em some costal hay every couple of nights


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I am just popping this in. I do not know if it is relevant but it got my attention. When I was in Yellowstone in June there was a pamphlet about animal poop. It showed deer and moose I think. Anyway, ruminants that poop a lot like goats. It was different in winter and summer. Made me wonder if I worry too much about my goat's poop. Maybe it is just part of a cycle?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Poop can tell us alot about whats going on with our goats...Most poop issues can be dietarty, 
New foods..Intoduce new foods slowly, back off and try again when they berry up
too much grain, cut back some
wet graze,feed hay 30-40 minutes before sending out to graze
rich graze, same thing feed hay 30-40 minutes before heading out to graze
If you have a case of ploppy poop or worse..usually giving hay only and backing off on the grain will straighten it out..which is what "Add coastal"" means, to add a but more dry grass..roughage..
Other causes of non berry poop is
worms..
Clean Fecals should always be retested...since your first sample came back basically clean..I would have another one done in a week to double check..worms drop eggs in cycles, always good to double check..
Also keep in mind, Worm eggs travel up the dew drops to the top of the grass blades..feeding hay 30-40 minutes befroe sending goats out to graze allows the sun to dry the dew and decreasing repopulating the gut with worms : ) 
Bacterial
Usually with more severe runs

Color tells a story as well..this link talks about a few more common poop issues
http://goat-link.com/content/view/50/92/#.UiAIpWSDQxc

Understanding what the goats poop is telling you is important..because the faster we act on whats going on the healtheir our goats will be : ) catch it soon.. treat it fast..
Best wishes


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

goatiegirl said:


> What does "add coastal" mean??
> 
> I read a thread on another forum that said too much protein can cause this also? How do I figure out how much is too much for her?


Coastal is type of grass hay. Grass hay is nature's remedy for stomach/digestive upset in ruminant animals. Yes, too much protein can cause clumpy poop and it can also cause outright diarrhea, too. When her poop gets clumpy, and nothing else has changed, back her off on the protein a bit. If it goes back to pellets, add a bit back. If it goes back to clumpy, you will know she is getting too much protein in her diet.


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