I thought I would post a few small articles that have helped people in the past. This one is on how to treat bloat.
How to Treat Bloat
We have experienced goats getting bloat, and have treated them all successfully. This information is just from our experience - we are not vets or professionals. It is what has saved a few goats' lives.
When a goat is bloated, the left side will be hard, and the right side will feel "airy." The goat will be much wider/bigger looking than normal and will usually not want to walk or move around very much. Thus, bloated. Bloat is usually caused by goats either eating too much grain (that they are not used to) or getting out on new lush green pasture. Bloat is a very serious condition and needs to be treated immediately.
For treatment, there are a few ways to go.
- my first line of bloat treatment is to go to the Therabloat bottle or the like. There are many brands of bloat treatment for goats and cattle. The dosage is normally on the bottle.
- if I do not have the above, give about 1/2 cup of Oil (mineral, corn, etc), add a couple of big spoonfuls of Baking Soda to the Oil, and drench it down the goat's throat with a syringe (withOUT a needle). Do this slowly and carefully so you do not get it down the goat's windpipe.
- I always give C&D ANTITOXIN. This will not hurt the goat. It is a water soluble, and this if it is not needed in the gut, the goat will pee it out. This helps balance the rumen and calms things down. A lot of the time, after a goat has bloat, a few days later they will come down with Enterotoximia, and that is a very fast, life threatening situation also. If it is an adult goat, I give about 10 cc of C&D ANTITOXIN, sub-Q, a couple times until they recover. With a kid, I would give about 3-5 cc.
- along with bloat, some goats will also get diarrhea. You can let it run it's course, just make sure the goat is staying hydrated and offer then electrolytes a few times a day.
- if you know how to tube a goat, you can tube them and let the air out. Only do that if you know how to tube a goat, safely!
I hope this helps. Again, this is just our experience. We are not veterinarians or professionals.