| Author | Message | ||
     Sandy Logan (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 216.153.74.25 Rating: N/A |
Hi Susan. So Glad to hear your pet goat is doing much better. I to have pet wethers and have had the unpleasent experiance of stones and blocked bladder's on several of them. Do keep him on the acidifier, and purchase ammonium cholride and add this to his daily diet. My last baby that had a blockage was 9 months old when he woke me up in the middle of the night screaming. He was my 3rd in 10 years to be blocked. I knew right away what the problem was. I had not started him and his twin brother on the ammonium cholride at the time due to they were still with their mom. I purchase ammonium cholride from my local co-op feed store and I buy it in 40 pound bags, they might have to speical order it, my store does, don't take no for a answer they can order it for you. I buy two 40 pound bags and that will last me probably 2.5 years. It will keep for years if you keep it in a dry place such as in the house, I do feed all my goats grain daily, but I limit the amount that I give them and I mix in about 1/2 cup of extra ammonium cholride in with 8 cups of grain. I feed that amount to 8 full grown goats once daily.I have 3 other lots with different numbers of goats housed in them and I feed them grain also. I have one lot that has only two does in that lot and they are the only one's that don't get the ammonium cholride, but if I have does and wether's together those do get the ammonium cholride, everyone. When you first start them on the ammonium cholride they probably aren't going to like it,in fact they probably will walk away from it and look at you like this ain't our dinner, give you that look you've got to be kidding, mine have gotten use to it over the years and don't mind it any more, small price to pay to help in keeping them healthy. It makes mine head straight to the water tough when they finish eating their grain which is also a good thing. The more fluids they take in the more it helps to dilute their urine which helps flush out any grains of sand that might have acculated in their bladders. I hate to say this but if wethers or breeding billy's are keep and are fed grain the odds of them delevelping a blockage is almost a sure thing if precauions aren't taking to help prevent them. All 3 of my pet wether's that had blockages had to have surgery, Note it's not cheap but all survied and 2 went ahead and lived and are still with me today, the last will be 3 on March 17th of this year .I did lose one due to a unlated illness. Urinary calculi is a very painfull and can be prevented in most cases. Again i'm so glad to read your post that your pet wether is responding to the treatment and I wish him continued good health. Sandy and Kids | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 412 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141  Rating: N/A |
Stones are nearly always caused by an improper diet, usually too high in grain. Do keep him on the acidifier, he doesn't have a few stones he is FULL of them, sometimes thousands like grains of sand and tiny pebbles nearly filling the bladder. Many people keep their male goats on daily low doses of Ammonium Chloride to help keep the urine acid, encourge him to drink lots of water to help keep the urine diluted. Feed plenty of good quality hay and a very small amount of grain if any. He should have access to a balanced loose mineral formulated especially for goats or beef cattle at all times. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Susan Watkins (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 69.19.14.34 Rating: N/A |
I wanted to update you and those that read along for information on their own goats. I went to the vet and he agreed with your urinary obstruction diagnosis. He gave me injectable steroids and an anti-spasmodic. He also had me sit my goat on his rump and knead his penis. There was a several popping/crunching sounds and some blood came out. He started to drizzle urine. I repeated the procedure again this morning and he is urinating now. It is slow, not forceful but a stream of urine is coming out now. The vet also gave me tablets to give him to acidify his urine and wants me to get him to drink alot of water now. He is eating hay again also. Would you please let me know how you treat this problem on a long term basis? I would like to avoid this and I am sure my goat would too. It was very painful for him - broke my heart watching him suffer. Thank you again for all your help - you have been a blessing. | ||
| Susan Watkins (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 69.19.14.32 Rating: N/A |
We will call the vet. Thanks for your all your help. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 403 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
Since he has not urinated you can assume he is completely blocked and needs a vet ASAP. At this time surgery or euthanasia are probably the only options. Please do not delay, this condition is very painful. It is possible his bladder has already burst and he is building up urine in his abdomen (this is called water belly and proably accounts for the distended abdomen)Medical treatment is only possible if he can still urinate some. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 69.19.14.32 Rating: N/A |
We gave Barney the oil and baking soda last night and this evening - followed your instructions above. I do not see any change. He is still standing with his back legs extended leaning forward like he is trying to urinate. His sides will spasm - actually forcing air like he is getting hit in the abdomen and he cries. His tail curls up and down also like he his straining. He still has no temp.100.2. His abdomen is still enlarged more on the left. He hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. I stayed out in the barn with him for about 50 minutes. I tried to see if his bladder was distended - it is hard to tell on him. He has alot of fiber - he's half angora.Plus he is not very cooperative right now. I did not see have a BM or urinate. Could he be constipated? I have only had goats for two years and am fairly inexperienced with them, I am a nurse though so I can follow along. What is the treatment for kidney stones? With humans it is narcotics and lots of fluids to flush the stones - probably not the same. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 400 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
You need to be sure he is standing on a slant with his front end higher than his back end. Rub deeply like kneading bread. Usually there is relief in 10 minutes or less if his problem really is bloat. But since he is burping he may not be truly bloats, it could be urinary calculi, this can cause the abdomen to be large, but it is usually in the lower abdomen. Or it could be enterotoxemia and the intestines and rumen are full of gas. The prognosis for surviving enterotoxemia is rather poor. The treatment is large doses of penicillin and large doses of CD antitoxin (this is not the vaccine but is the antidote to the toxins produced by the clostridial bacteria). Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Susan Watkins (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.82.9.89 Rating: N/A |
No, we have not seen him urinate. We stayed with him for about an hour and he didn't go. It is 12 degrees outside with a wind chill of -5 right now, even though he is in his barn - it's cold. I wonder if that is not effecting the themometer reading. We just got the oil and baking soda in him. His left side has noticably increased in size. I rubbed his left side while his head was up for about 5-7 minuntes - was this long enough? How soon should he show signs of relief if this is the cause? Thanks for your help. | ||
| Susan Watkins (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 66.82.9.89 Rating: N/A |
I have a 4 yr old wethered pygora. We noticed he was acting a little odd this morning. This evening he won't eat, his abdomen is a large like he just ate. He keeps burping and with each burp you expect him to throw up. His sides are twitching when he does this and he cries out. He is standing still with his back legs stretched out like he is going to urinate. We had his twin brother die last year with Listeriosis - we thought he had bloat at first but he did not burp or cry outlike this one is doing. I would appreciate some advice. I have PCN here and B-complex. I am going to give him some baking soda and see if it helps. He has no temp - it is 99.8. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 397 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
His temp is subnormal (this is as serious as a fever indicating shock), treat for bloat by giving about half a cup of vegetable oil (this does a much better job of breaking up the bubbles that trap the gas). After giving the oil, stand him in such a way that his head end is higher than his rear end and deeply massage the left side just in front of the hip to help mix in the oil and break up the bubbles. After the oil treatment follow it up with a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with water to help with the acidosis. Bloat can be a symptom of enterotoxemia too. An extended abdomen can also be from urinary calculi. Have you actually seen him urinate? Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic |