Baby Goats and Constipation

We have been raising goats for many, many years.  Over the years, when we first started out,  I had lost a baby goat every few years to a mysterious illness.  It happened a few times on babies that I had left with their moms and also a few bottle babies. 

These babies would seem bouncy and happy and healthy and want to nurse but would all of a sudden just stop eating or not finishing their bottles.  No diarrhea or un-thriftiness (at first).   Their tummies would still be full of undigested milk from their last feeding, that was many hours ago.  You could actually, usually, pick them up and hear the milk sloshing in their gut.  This has happened at many different ages to us over the years.(a handful of times)   The first times this happened…I could not get the babies to start back to eating nor the milk to digest in their tummies and within two days or so the babies would die.  It was frustrating for sure to see them slowly loose strength and waste away. 

Then about seven years ago I stumbled upon a statement, on a goat form, and got a hint to what was going on.  The article suggested constipation.  I had researched and researched and had never found any articles on what it could be.  It was never mentioned in any of my goat books and the vets I had consulted with had no clue.(I had paid a vet to try to save them the first couple of times this happened)  Could it really have been that simple to save the babies I had lost?  I felt terrible.  That very same year we had a baby stop nursing and the milk not digest from the previous nursing.  I took a large (needleless) syringe and filled it with warm water.  I gently put about a half an ounce of warm water up the poor babies bottom.  By the time the next nursing time came along.  Walla, all the milk in its tummy had been digested and it was so eager to eat and downed its whole bottle.  This has worked every time now over the last many years. (sometimes they need two treatments)

The reason why I am bringing this up and what has brought this to mind is that Calfy, our 6 week old bottle fed doe, that is out of Bluebell started not finishing her bottle a few days ago.  She acted like she wanted to eat but would not latch back on and finish.   I let it go for two feedings.  She just didn’t want to finish and was not eating with gusto.  She was bouncy, playing and still nibbling around at food but not eating really well.  No loose stool.  She was the right age for coccidia but again, no loose stool. I thought about deworming her but don’t like to deworm till 8 weeks if at all possible.   I prayed about it.  She is older than any other baby I have ever had go thru this.  But decided it would not hurt to try and see if that fixed it.   By golly by the next feeding she was back to her normal piggy self, downing her bottle in record time.  :)

I just thought I would share this because I lost a few babies to this over the years when I first started out with goats.  It is ashame to loose any.  Especially if there is an easy fix like this.   I had no idea and many people don’t know about this.  I have had many calls from people that I have told this exact info to and it was just what they needed to help their baby goat.

Blessings and happy farming,

susan