I have been trying everything I know on a fawns diaorrea. Pepto helps, but has not stopped it, she get's yougurt with every bottle of formula. Anybody ever tried rice? I'm wondering about rice milk? She loves jello water, but it doesn't have the nutrition she needs. SHe is eating well from the bottle and some green and twigs and still gaining weight along with the others. I let her eat all the dirt and raspberry leaves she wants. I assume that she needs something in the dirt, but what about powdered clay for the runs? Anybody think that would help? Has anyone tried kopectate?
I really appreciate ideas. I called two vets, but they get confused by wildlife.
Goat people, anybody got a cure for the scours?
How old is she? Did she get any colostrum at birth? What does the diarrhea look like (color, consistency, odor, any blood)? What formula is she on?
I'm not sure wheather she got colostrum or not, but I doubt it now. watery, no blood. she is about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. She is on "save a Kid" formula.
Any way to get any goats milk?? Could be the formula ...Kaopectate is better than pepto...
Check out this link: http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/scours.html Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom as there are further links. The one from NZ about scours in hand-raised animals has a lot of good tips.
Is she depressed at all? It didn't sound like it from your description. If her attitude is good and she's still eating well, that's a good sign. You might want to check with a wildlife rehabber or call another vet. She may need antibiotics if this is bacterial scours.
You may need to stop feeding formula for a day or so and replace with an electrolyte solution. If her electrolytes get out of whack, she'll go down really fast. Keep her clean, warm, and dry. And I would probably not let her eat dirt at this point.
Dusty beat me to it..... you cure scours in cows with goats milk! may help with fawn. also, the yogurt you give her, if it has added sugar or sugar substitute, could be the CASUE of the scours...
if she is over eating the dirt and raspberry, you are right she may need something extra...
for a Kid -child i would say brat diet, is that why you thought of rice milk? keep in mind that means a bana might help, if it didn't make her sick...
you can get Pro-Bios at the feed store, in a past tube or powder form to add to water. it is the probiotics needed, and it lists all livestock and pets on the tube, so should be safe for her. wish i could just hand you soem throught the pc...
She is getting goats milk formula. The yogurt I give her is made from fresh goat milk by me and I AM the rehabber. There is no way I can afford to feed her full fresh goatmilk full time. She drinks a quart and a half a day and at 5 bucks a quart, I couldn't afford to feed the rest of the little buggers. I've been mixing pedialite with the formula. I let her eat the dirt because she is a wild animal and they usually know better than I what they need. The fawns and deer frequently eat it and dig for worms which they eat like spagetti. The raspberry leaves have a calming effect on the stomach and are one of their favorite foods.
I'm always hesitant to give the wild animals antibiotics as sometimes that can cause more problems than it solves. I have a call in to a vet with some experence with deer farms, but it's tough to get them to treat wildlife and if they won't do it for free, i have to weigh the cost against how much the cost will offset the ability to care for others. I only save animals that I know can be released as healthy additions to the wild populations.
I tried pectin tonight and tomorrow and will probably add mushed rice. I wish she would eat marshmallows. That works really good for raccoons!
I appreciate the advice!
marshmallows for racoons? LOL.
wish i could help. you are doing great. i will ask my goat friend tomorrow what she gives hers for scours. she has 20+ goats freshen a year, some with five kids... some get goats milk, some formula, some cows milk. yep, she bought some cows to milk to feed her kids so she could sell the goats milk. and when she buys calves she uses goats milk. go figure!
tf
Marshmallows have lots of pectin.
I just got some info from a deer rancher. He said that if it were bacterial then the others would have it too and she would not appear so healthy otherwise. He uses pectin, jelletin or kopectate. He said they all eat dirt and that its replacing a lot of the minerals and such. He thought the rasberry leaves were good, but suggested black berry bark root bark, either raw or as drops from the healthfood store. (If I can get her to eat it)
We figgured that something was wrong with this fawn at birth as I believe that she was abandoned by her mother. I suspect that she was one of a set of twins or even triplets because of her size. They will often abandon the weak one. She is piebald and at first I thought she was blind. She sees ok, but there are still odd things about her. She did a strange thing with her head at first and she is a bit clumsy for her age. I call her the ADD deer as she gets distracted by everything and forgets what she's supposed to be doing (like drinking her bottle), she is also really hyper when she is waiting her turn to feed and dances all around me.
In all the years I've done this I have lost only one or two to "failure to thrive", but they did not gain weight or be as active as this one. It's a delima.
jylgaskin my goat mentor raises some 200 goats and when he has scour he gives them gatorade to help with the dehydration. Also yogurt. Not the process stuff with fruit and sugar. The real yogurt that is plain and has a live culture in it.
MollyD
That's what I was thinking; Gatorade or Pedialyte for dehydration. Replaces valuable electrolytes and such. Feeding her food right now might irritate her intestines more and the diarrhea may continue. If you stick with the Pedialyte for a minute it will give her intestines time to rest and keep her hydrated in the meantime.
I have used this several times and it has always worked for me I have used the one with buttermilk but have known people who uses the other one
This message was edited Jun 19, 2008 12:49 PM
Yeah, don't forget the antibiotic!
She probably picked up a parasite. Is the poo black? That could indicate worms..sometimes worms can cause scours.
Gosh that's high dollar for goatmilk, I get it for 4.00 a gallon. and I get straight from the cow milk for my critters of course for 4.00 a gallon.
I wish I could send you some.
The pectin worked! The poor thing will probably never poop again. She has spent the afternoon snoozing in the sun. It's the first sun we have seen in days. We walked out to the rasberries and she had some leaves and blossoms. Now she is happily snacking on my hostas.
Thanks for all the ideas.
wish I could get goatmilk by the gallon!
Glad she's doing better.
i was going to ask about cocciodosis. also saw some interesting scours remeides in the Hoeggar catalog.
glad she is well!
tf
If you have a recurrence, or a new case, try Spectam Scourhalt. It is a pig scour antibiotic ( spectinamycin) that is available at a lot of farm supply stores. I have used it with goats, lambs and calves with excellent results. Comes with a pump to fit the bottle, making it easy to dose the animal.
Robert
patrob.....we used to use that for calves too, with wonderful results. I was wondering too if it would work with fawn too, but couldn't think of the name of it. Good to know it will work well with goats too!
Christy
I'll keep that in mind for last ditch efforts. I try to avoid giving the wilds antibiotics, if I can. The pectin in her bottle worked perfectly. I gave it to her for 2 days and the diarreha has never come back. She is eating a lot more greens and twigs now which also helps.