My doe kidded 4 weeks ago, and the last couple of weeks her poop is very soft, and usually comes out in a big lump. I've also noticed that the stall is much smellier than usual (I'm assuming because of the poop). She was wormed (with 1% Ivermectin three weeks before kidding). Do I worm her again, and should I worm the baby as well?

I've also read that soft poop can be from too much protein in her diet. I am feeding her about a pound and a half of 16% dairy ration, along with a cup of black oil sunflower seeds and some horse mineral supplement (for each milking) and she usually cleans it all up. She gets a flake of alfalfa after each milking and she finishes that off as well. I always have grass hay available, but she doesn't really care for it anymore...she much prefers the alfalfa. Is this too much? Should I stop feeding the alfalfa and just stick to grass hay and 16% grain, or should I drop the grain back to 12-14% and let her munch the alfalfa (which she LOVES)?

-- Kris Erickson (pkjea@localaccess.com), April 03, 2002

Answers

Depending upon where you live the Ivermectin may be showing resistance. I don't use Ivermectin on my milkers because of the withdrawal time. Take a sample of the poop in to the vet and ask for a fecal floatation to be done, ask for them to use a McMasters slide, and ask for the kind of eggs and also for the numbers (eggs per gram). Also have them see how many cocci occysts she has in the sample, this can also cause loose poop. How much is the doe milking? Your definetly not feeding to much grain, unless she is a very poor milker, is the 16% ration all grain? Is it sticky with molassas? Does it contain a bicarbonate? Alfalfa doesn't have naturally occuring bicarb in it like grass hay, so she may have some rumen acidosis going on. How about putting some baking soda out and also dosing her 5grams of Probios, trying to get her rumen in better shape. Perhaps the worming caused a problem in her rumen, and now she is not chewing her cud as efficiently as possible. When we see dog poop or diarrhea in our does, I also put them on B vitamins until it clears, does can go into Thimain defficency (polio) without a good functioning rumen. If you aren't going to go to the vet for a fecal sample, than switch wormers, use a white one, like Valbazen Drench and use 8cc per 100 pounds, if you must use safeguard than at least tripple the dose. Your very best bet is to find someone local to your area for advice on worming, feeding and the problems you have in your area. If you live in the south than worm the kids, if you live up north, or you are in a dry lot, you probably won't have the worm burdens we have down here. I would have them on a cocci treatment though. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

Now, on top of the clumpy poop, she gave me about 1/4 cup of milk tonight! She's been giving one to one and a half quarts each milking up to now (and she's being milked by her kid, too). She barely touched her grain as well. I knew something was wrong when I went out to the barn to milk and she wasn't standing there screaming at me as usual. She's been rather subdued today. I thought it was because I put her and her kid in another stall last night while my other doe gave birth to twins. I put them all back together this afternoon, hoping that she would cheer up. I also ran a CMT test tonight on the milk I did get, and it tested positive. Now what? I will take a fecal sample in to the vet's office tomorrow to check for worms/coccidia, but what about the mastitis? She's not showing the classic "signs" (hard udder, hot, stringy milk).

-- Kris Erickson (pkjea@localaccess.com), April 04, 2002.

I agree with Vicky, have a fecal test done. With stinky, loose poop I would suspect cocci and/or worms. That will cause your doe to act more sluggish and go off feed. You could also take a milk sample to the vet at the same time if you suspect mastitis to see exactly what you are dealing with and the best treatment for it.

-- leslie (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), April 04, 2002.

Kris, don't diagnos mastitis yourself. Yes a really really jelled CMT may indicate masitits, but it can also diagnos a fever, something already in the paddle, contaminated CMT fluid, bad water, old fluid etc. When you take in the poop, take in some milk for a test also. With little or no milk, and the clumpy poop sounds like cocci to me. All goats carry cocci in their system all the time, unless you have them on a cocci med like Rumensin that sterilizes their system of all cocci. It takes a time of stress for the numbers to multiply to the point of harm in an adult goats. All it takes in a young goat is ingestion, and the poor immunity they naturally have. If she comes back with a positive fecal for cocci, say up in the thousands than I would not only treat her, but the whole herd. I would also suspect that your worming program isn't working, and also would look into your loose minerals. Eespecially if you are up north where you just came in from a freeze! The numbers of cocci should be down in pasture and pens right now not up. Goats in Nutritional stress can have higher worm burdens, which then cause stress induced cocci. If it is cocci or worms she should bounce back quickly. What do her gums and eyelids look like, also here is a site that you can read. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2178/menu.html

Click on "does my goat have worms" some excellent photos that show classic anemia. Good luck with the doe. vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 04, 2002.

I sent the poop in this morning to the vet (my daughter works there cleaning kennels) and they said they found no worm problem, but their was signs of cocci in the poop. I sent along a copy of Vicki's instructions about the type of test to run (to find out how many eggs/gram) but it doesn't sound to me like they did that. I also sent along a milk sample for them to test, but they said it would do no good testing it unless they sent home a sterile container first. They sent home six infusions of Dariclox (sodium cloxacillin) and said to infuse the bad side (only one side tested positive on the CMT) twice a day and give Penicillin twice a day as well (I already have that on hand). They said to treat the coccisiosis with Albon (which I guess I should treat the kids, too).

Should I separate the sick doe from the other doe and kids? Should the kid be allowed to nurse off the doe if she is being treated for mastitis? He is almost six weeks old now, and he is eating hay and grain (although I can't leave the grain in the stall all day, because the does gobble is all up). Will I need to bottle feed him? My other doe just freshened two days ago, so she's just got colostrum right now...how long before I could feed her milk to the older kid via bottle or can he just fend for himself?

My other doe is showing signs of clumpy poop today as well...should I just start dosing everyone with Albon? I know I need to wait until the 2 day olds are about 3 weeks old before giving it to them. Sorry about all the questions, but this is all so confusing! I was having so much fun milking my goat when all of a sudden all this started...thanks for all your help.

-- Kris Erickson (pkjea@localaccess.com), April 04, 2002.