# Goats vs Chicken feed



## Vytanny (Sep 24, 2009)

Ok, I was on here before about losing goats from them eating chicken feed. Well our goats have found a new way to get to the feed. Is there anything we can do to help them pass the chicken feed and not get stopped up and die?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Hopefully this isn't the same animal that is foaming in your other question.

It's not that goats can't eat chicken feed, when I first got goats our doe ate dog food and chickenfood daily after she was let out of he small barn and corral to eat in the woods. Only after everything was empty would she go out to eat in the woods  So I always made sure she was locked up when I fed, then let her out as everything was pretty empty.

So it's not that any of that will kill your goat, what kills your goat is them not having anything like it, and then they get out and eat pounds of it.

Keep your grain behind closed doors, a door that a 2 year old child can't open, then goats can't either. Only put out enough grain/dogfood etc...that you animals actually eat, that way if the goats get out they don't have a 50 pound sack or a garbage can full to eat, bloat and die.

Treating them takes bloat release or bloat guard and tubing them with any veggy oil you have...a few tablespoons will do nothing, you need more than a quart down them. Putting a good amount of baking soda in the oil helps if they have frothy or gas bloat. If it's impacted and they aren't pooping diarrhea in several hours, it's vet time. If you do not know how to tube, its vet time. Vicki


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## Vytanny (Sep 24, 2009)

We keep the chicken feed inside the chicken coop which only has a small door for the chickens to go in and out of, somehow they squeezed through that tiny door and got to the feed, we are unsure how much was eaten, this just happened a couple hours ago. So, do we just keep an eye on them or is there something we can give them to help them pass it because we believe our best nubian girl is pregnant and we really do not want to lose her


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## Vytanny (Sep 24, 2009)

Ok sorry I didnt notice the last part of your post, So my question then would be, would they be ok if they didnt eat much?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

You have a small window of opportunity. If you know for sure they didn't eat much, than do nothing. If they are not treated now and they did, recovery is bleak.

A 2 year old can fit through the door? So can the goats  I have latches on my goatbarn doors that my 2 year old grandsons couldn't open, couldn't figure out...so we rarely (unless someone doesn't close a door) have goats out. So if your fences are such that they won't keep the goats in, than you have to make sure areas that will kill them, are either fort knox or simply don't have enough of any grain etc.. that will hurt them if they eat it.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

If you really don't want to lose your best doe, then I would take action. And an impaction may not show up for a day or two but by then it is much harder to treat. One thing you can use, which is very helpful, is milk of magnesia. It is an antacid and a laxative.


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## Vytanny (Sep 24, 2009)

Thank you all very much, the goats are doing well, they are having regular bowel movements but we might do the milk of mag to be safe


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