Cause of Bloat in Goats

[tonifersangel]

My mom has Goats, not me. And over the years her goats have caught bloat suddenly and died. Most recently a kid of her first litter born caught it, and now his sister is lonely. Why do goats get this and how can it be prevented?

[CTChin]

I'll look it up in my books but I believe the main reason is over eating anything other than hay. Greedily eating too much grain, fancy weeds, wet leaves....anything like that will cause bloat. If not treated quickly most will die. Start treatment by walking the goat and massaging the bloated side. There is also stuff from your vet you can feed to the goat to help relieve the bloating. Also keep regular ole' Arm and Hammer baking soda available all the time in a dish...especially during hot weather. The goats will lick it as needed.

[Eli]

What is bloating, is it like colic in horses?

[RondaNC]

Hi sorry to hear about the goats getting the bloat,
i have a great dane who i care for who caught the bloat,it is when the stomach does a flip flop almost and turns upside down,in his case it had turned all the way around inside.
He had aten real fast and drank real fast and then i let him outside to use the bathroom,he started horse playing and when i waklked outside his stomache was growing real big,we rushed him to the PEts emergency room and after alot of money and time he surrvived it.
He was real lucky,now he is always monitored and is not alowed to go out side 3 hours after eating and drinking and his food is slowly gave to him so he wont be a piggy,he got bloat when he was like 5 years old he is now 9yrs old.
I dont know if this would be related to goats but if so,maybe best bet would to monitor how thier eating and thier routine afterwards,if they pig out make them stay still for a few hours to make sure the stomache dosnt move to much.Bloats real wierd animals could be fine one second and the next very ill.
Hope this helps

[tonifersangel]

It's hard to monitor goats. . .they eat anything. I mean there's no telling what they eat that could cause bloat, and you can't watch them 24/7. I went out there to show my friend a goat yesterday and she tried to eat me!

[CTChin]

I keep my goats confined in a large fenced in area with lots of toys ( I have 4 pygmys). This way I can keep track of what weeds and browse they are eating because I bring most of it to them (large branches etc.) I feed them lots of hay and give them limited grain. Bloat is a terrible way to die and I wouldn't want to see any of them go through it

[tonifersangel]

well first off my mom takes care of the goats, not me. I know nothing about them. I was just trying to find some help for my mom. Their fence is by a wooded area so there is no way to stop them from eating the weeds or tree bark. . short of burning it all down and my mom has way too much to do that, with my step-dad being disabled and all.

[CTChin]

Did you see my post above about keeping a bowl of baking soda available all the time? Baking soda is available very cheap at any grocery store.

"Feeds" that ferment rapidly in the goats rumen increase it's acidity and can lead to illness and bloat. Baking soda is an alkaline substance and will help keep the acid in it's rumen (part of it's stomach) within the proper range. They especially need it in hot, humid weather.

[tonifersangel]

Thank you. I will tell my mother about it in the morning ^-^