Posted by Nat on April 09, 2001 at 16:02:19:
In Reply to: urinary stones in pygmy goat posted by sandy on April 08, 2001 at 21:19:22:
What has been the little guy's diet? Too much kindness with grain many times is the cause of Urinary stones, also I've heard of Alfalfa hay leading to it also (due to the high Ca+ levels). Like Gary said, you can treat this with Ammonium Chloride - which changes the pH of the urine to help break up the tiny crystals that form and cause blockages. Also, if he was on a grain diet you may want to either cut his ration down, and topdress with ammonium chloride, or feed a medicated lamb finisher that has it in there.
All my bucks and wethers are on medicated lamb finisher, or else have it added to their feed. (just remember that the lamb finisher is lower in copper then what goats need so you need to supplement them with goat/cattle minerals).
Keep an eye on your little guy, and make sure his bucket is full. The faster you can diagnose the problem, the greater chance of recovery.
(p.s. if you go to the archives, I believe there are many old posts dealing with this topic!)
please keep us posted on how he's doing!
-Nat's Little Bit Farm