It’s hard to deal with a sick goat- you are worried and you aren’t sure what to do to make the animal feel better. Your goats can’t tell you what’s wrong and you have to rely on what their actions and bodies are telling you.
The number one illness I get asked about isn’t actually an illness, but a symptom.
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Scours. (And if you don’t already know, scours is simply another name for diarrhea in animals.)
A lot of times people get misinformation on treating scours in goats. I have heard many old timers give the advice of giving Kao-Pectin as the only treatment, and while this can help dry up the scours and help prevent dehydration, it is not a cure and will not treat any underlying conditions.
So what causes scours in goats and how do you treat them?
Pick up a copy of my Busy Homesteader’s Goat Management Binder to help you keep track of all the most important tasks, records, and information all in one place. Includes to-do lists, checklists, dosage guides, and more to keep track of prevention, medications, breedings- and everything else!
What Causes Scours in Goats?
It’s not a simple answer, but here are some of the most common causes of scours in goats.
Parasites. If I see an adult goat with scours I will usually check for anemia or other signs of parasites. I will also go ahead and worm her just in case.
I start with a big dose of herbs and if that doesn’t work after a day or 2 I’ll go for the chemical dewormers like Prohbit or Ivomec. (Here’s how to dose and give Ivermectin to goats.) Also check out my article on Preventing Worms with Herbs including a simple dosage ball recipe.
Related Reading: How to Diagnose and Treat Anemia in Goats
Coccidiosis: If you have a younger goat kid who seems to have sudden onset of scours, Coccidia is usually the culprit. Unless I see signs of another cause, I will treat with Sulmet or Di-Methox (these are now only available by prescription only.)
Coccidiosis in goats can cause a lot of problems so you want to catch it early and treat it so that the goat isn’t affected long term.
Learn more about diagnosing and treating coccidiosis.
Changes in Diet: Often times scours in goats are not caused by a major illness, but simply eating too much of a new thing. Maybe you just upped their grain or moved them to a new green pasture. This can temporarily mess up a goat’s rumen and cause a bout of scours.
If the symptoms comes on after an escape you might want to look at possible plant toxicity.
If accompanied by other painful symptoms you might be looking at a more severe condition such as Acidosis which will require additional treatment or Enterotoxemia.
Related Reading: Why Your Goat Needs B Vitamins
Stress: Things like moving, kidding, or other stressors can also cause a brief bout of scours in goats. In this case keeping the goat calm and giving some electrolytes is the best course of action.
Just keep an eye on her to see if things progress and become more serious or if other symptoms emerge.
Those are of course, not all the causes, and in my Busy Homesteader’s Management Binder I have a symptom checker flow sheet that can help give you a place to start when trying to diagnose and treat a variety of common illnesses.
Don’t forget to keep any goat with scours hydrated! Make she has access to fresh water and whip up some electroytes at least once a day to help even more. After treatment, give a dose of Probios to help get the rumen healthy again, and just keep an eye on the goat for a few days to make sure she’s back to pellets and acting herself.
I would love to learn more about all this, I have 2 now 3 goats, my doe just had 2 kids but one didn’t make it, I put them in another barn cause our buck can be aggressive at feeding time, the day after the separation, my buck was laying down in the barn, has bad diarrhea and won’t eat at all, he’s been shaking and just not being himself, a lil help would be great. Thank you
It’s hard to diagnose a problem without more information. Have you checked into anemia? worms?
I have a set of 3 week old bottle baby alpines. One had a recent onset of scours. He is still acting normal and still very excited to eat. He’s not lethargic or anything different. His last two feedings, I have replaced his milk with and electrolyte supplement. Any other advice?
Does SafeGuard wormer require 2nd dose in 10 days?
Hi I have a 2 week old doeling whose mom couldn’t nurse due yo severe mastitis. Out of ignorance we let her nurse from a bowl in a syanding position over a 3 day period which I’ve now learned can damage the rumen. She’s developed a swollen tummy and won’t eat x 3 days. Today has diarrhea. Ive tried to force elytes but not sure if the force feeding and added sugar content wont add to the buildup of lactic in her absolocum (spelling?) I’m confused as to what is the best course of treatment. Have given anti toxin, pepto, and allowed to graze. Interestingly even though she refuses the syringe feeding ( how we fed before the bowl), she has been nursing mom when mom allows for tiny brief spurts.
I have four 8 week old Nubians. I got home from running errands tonight and 2 of them had green diarrhea. They seem ok otherwise, I think. They are dam raised, but we recently opened a new area for them to browse. The 2 that have diarrhea are siblings. Their mom doesn’t have any symptoms. I don’t want to immediately jump to coccidiosis; that scares me. Could it be something they might have eaten or too much rich browse? How long should I watch them to see if it clears up? What do you suggest I do? We have an organic homestead, so I would like to avoid drugs, if possible. That being said, I’m not going to let them die if that’s what they need.
I have a sick goat with scours and a leg that doesn’t work well. He was fine a couple days ago.
Just starting out any suggestions
i have a 1 year old goat that just got diarrhea today and she has been eating uncured hay for the last 2 days and it is different from what she normally eats what can i give her to help stop or slow down her runs please help
More than likely the change in diet caused the scours. I’d make sure you have some baking soda out, limit her access to this uncured hay to gradually get her system used to it. Maybe some probiotics and electrolytes too.
can you give corrid to a 2 week old maybe older kid? (goat) if so do you do the recommended 5 day treatment?
I have a new almost 9 week old goat, she is eating fine and acting fine except she has scours and I dont know if it’s from change in location, her food, or what so I need to know what to give her to help her. I’m new to goats…
I have a male wether goat that was fine an 2 days later came home to him having scours. Still eating & drinking water. No change in food or environment. What should i do?
I have a 7 month old alpine doeling that came down with sours today I did a de worming about 6 weeks ago and a copper boules 3 weeks ago . Should I just try to treat the sours or go ahead and deworm again. We are in Alaska and already deep into winter .