What Causes Bloat In Goats?

If you have been around goats for more than a minute, you have probably heard someone mention bloat. But what is it and what causes bloat in goats? There are a far amount of reasons that a goat can bloat and we are going to talk about them here.

What Causes Bloat In Goat?

There are three main things that causes bloat in goats; obstruction, too lush of grass and upset rumen. There could be other factors, but usually bloat falls into one of these three categories. I am going to go into these three categories in depth and then talk about the various treatment options and methods for dealing with bloat.

I also want to give you guys a science lesson and some other things to keep in mind before I give you treatment protocols. If you want to skip ahead because you know you have a goat in bloat, head to the bottom, but make sure to read through the rest of this after the emergency has past.

How Does A Goat’s Stomach Work?

Before we get into what is bloat, I wanted to bring up something that maybe you didn’t know. If you did, you can skip down to the next section. A goat’s stomach has four different sections; the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The main culprit for bloat is going to be the rumen because it acts as the fermentation tank for what the goat eats.

If you don’t know how fermentation works, you have probably dealt with it when you open a juice that has been left to sit out with the lid on. It’s basically the breakdown of sugars and turns them into alcohols. This is how wine, bread, beer, etc are able to create bubbles.

As the goat eats, the rumen (with all it’s bacteria, parasites, etc) starts to break down the food that the goats eat. It then creates the bubbles that causes your goat to either burp or bloat.

What Is Bloat?

Bloat is when a goat is unable to release the gasses that are in their stomach. This release is usually them burping…. and if you have not had the absolute horror of a having a goat burp in your face…. It’s gag worthy.

But when a goat can’t burp, due to obstruction or too much gas building up, the left side of their stomach will start to swell with that gas. This makes them incredibly uncomfortable. Usually, you can see bloat a mile away, but if you aren’t quite sure if what you are seeing is bloat, one way to figure it out is to see if the animal is burping. You can also put your hand on the stomach and see if it moves, think gas bubbles. The belly will also be hard and sound like a basketball if you flick it with your finger.

These are usually early-ish signs of bloat. Later, and more dangerous, signs of bloat are pacing, panting, crying, and labored breathing (worse than panting, it will look like they are gasping). You need to start treatment ASAP and potentially get a vet involved.

Dealing With Obstruction

This is not a super common issue if you do not give your goats treats. If you do give your goats treats, this can cause an obstruction because goats are hungry little beggars that don’t like to chew…..

One of the most common treats that people give their goats are pieces of apple, carrots, squash, and other semi or hard items. Most people think that their animals will chew up their food like a normal creature… They do not. They will damn near swallow a carrot whole. So do yourself, and them a favor and cut up large pieces of fruits and veggies. Or give them very large pieces that require them to take bites instead of swallowing it in one go.

We learned this lesson the hard way, not because of bloat but because of choking.

Too Lush Grass?

This one can go hand in hand with an upset rumen, but it is a separate category. Plus, it needed it’s own very space because there is a lot of factors that go into why too lush of grass is actually a bad thing. When an animal is used to eating hay, and then they are suddenly turned out to fresh grass, you will notice that, at least initially, they are thrilled! Until you notice that the left side of their stomach is massive and you’re not sure why.

The main difference between hay and fresh grass comes down to water content. Which sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about the fact that wet grass becomes sludge in a rumen. If that rumen gets packed with sludge, it can disrupt the ability for the rumen to ferment and produce gas for them to burp.

There are two main ways that this tends to happen; early spring and after rain. Most people are so excited to turn their animals out to pasture, especially after a long winter. But do yourself and your animals a favor and don’t let them stay out on fresh pasture for too long. Let them get use to the change in their diet.

This also goes for wet grass after a rain.

An Upset Rumen

In the science section, we talked about what a rumen does and how it works; fermentation. If the rumen cannot function, then you risk a goat bloating. But how does a rumen get upset? Usually it’s an issue with deworming or antibiotics. Though that is not always the case.

A rumen works on bacteria and parasites to function. If you have recently given dewormers, there are little to no parasites. If you have recently given antibiotics, there is little to no bacteria to breakdown food. This causes the rumen to get very upset and not work.

Usually, you will be told to give probiotics, prebiotics after any treatments. An upset rumen is the reason why.

Treatment Protocols For Bloat In Goats

Now, I will say this until I am blue in the face; ALWAYS contact a veterinarian if you have an animal in distress. Period.

However, I also fully understand that you may not have a vet that can help you. Sometimes, you can’t afford it. Other times, there is no vet to care for your goat. In those cases, you have no way to contact a vet for help. So here are the ways that I treat for bloat on my farm.

But please understand something, your animal can die from bloat. This is not something to play with. IF you choose to do nothing (either getting to a vet or doing something yourself) that animal will die a painful death. I’m not saying this to be fear mongering or mean. I am simply stating a fact. If that is not something that you can stomach, maybe reconsider getting livestock.

Clearing An Obstruction

If you have a goat with an obstruction, you have to clear that obstruction, and it will not be easy. Goats will fight you tooth and nail…. and if they aren’t fighting you, you have a whole different problem. The best way to remove an obstruction is with your hand/ arm or a semi rigid tube. This is the one that I have on hand and it has saved a couple of overly enthusiastic goats.

Also make sure to have some sort of hard thing in their mouth (bite block) to keep them from chewing on the tube and potentially making things worse. You are going to feed the tube through the middle of the bite block (I have used small rolls of duck tape) and gently cram it down their throat. You will be fighting them, it will suck, but you need to be gentle but firm in the pressure needed to get the tube down the throat. You will probably meet resistance of the thing they didn’t chew.

You will need to gently but firmly push past it to try and clear the esophagus. The reason we are being gentle but firm is because we don’t want to damage structures or make things worse. However, if you have a goat that is bloating because they can’t burp, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. You will know if you are in the trachea (not likely) because you will hear them breathing through the tube. You will need to back up the tube and try again. You will know if you are in the esophagus if hear a hissing sound and smell the absolutely foul smell of fermenting grass.

I said above that you will either use your hand/ arm or tube. I highly recommend the tube, but I have also pushed my arm down their throat. You will get cut on their teeth. They will bite. But if it comes between my arm getting a few scratches or bites and my goat dying? I’ll take the wounds with pride…. just make sure to clean those wounds up because infections are not fun.

Normal Bloat

The first and easiest methods for fixing bloat is to get the goat moving. Think about when you are gassy. Sitting in one spot is not going to get that gas bubble to move. But if you get up and start moving or stretching, it can help get that gas bubble to move around. It’s the same way with goats.

However, that only works if you catch it early. One of the best ways I have found to treat bloat is a mixture of baking soda and olive oil. I make a drench of it, usually 2 tablespoons of baking soda in about half a cup of olive oil. It should be thick, but not thick like batter, more like a syrup. They will not like it, they will fight you, but make sure to get as much of it down them as possible.

Keep an eye on them and repeat if necessary in about an hour.

Fixing An Upset Rumen

There are two ways to fix an upset rumen and both of them work well. First and foremost, you should be giving pre or probiotics after ALL treatments that will disrupt their rumen (dewormer or antibiotics). I even go so far as to give them probiotics after any big changes in their diet (remember switching from grass to hay or hay to grass). I also give them probiotics after kidding to make sure that they are supported. Unfortunately, this takes longer to work. If you are needing a quick answer, the second option is the best.

Another way to fix an upset rumen is to give them some sort of dark beer. We regularly drink with our goats so any beer will work, but a good, room temperature dark beer like Guinness is great. Now, if you are on a sobriety journey, this may not be a good option for you. Instead, getting a good natural kombucha like GT’s or fermented pickle juice would be fine too.

The reason that we give beer (or kombucha) is because it has carbonation to help with the burping and because it has yeast or other bacteria to help give the rumen something to jump start it.

I hope this helps

Bloat is a killer for any ruminant and it’s a painful way to die. These are some of the tips and tricks I have picked up in the years that I’ve owned goats and I hope they help you.

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