Bloat and Diarrhoea in Goats: Causes and Care
Bloat and diarrhoea in goats: how to recognise the danger signs, the common causes from grain to worms, safe first steps and when to call a vet urgently.
Health guide
Not a substitute for a vet. If your animal is unwell, in pain or getting worse, contact a qualified veterinarian straight away.
Quick answer
Bloat is gas building up in the rumen, and it can kill a goat within hours. A tight, swollen left side in a distressed goat is an emergency: take the feed away and call a vet straight away. Diarrhoea is less clear-cut. Sudden diet changes, worms, coccidiosis and infections can all cause it. Mild cases in adults often settle once the diet is put right, but kids, bloody or watery diarrhoea, or a dull goat need a vet quickly. Gradual feed changes and good parasite control prevent most cases of both.
How a goat's stomach works (briefly)
Goats are ruminants. The biggest part of the stomach, the rumen, sits on the left side and works like a fermentation vat: microbes break down fibre and give off gas as they go. A healthy goat burps that gas up regularly and chews its cud. Trouble starts when the microbes are knocked off balance, and the usual culprit is a sudden change in diet.
Bloat
Types and causes
- Frothy bloat: the gas is caught in a stable foam and can't be burped up. It is usually linked to grazing lush legumes such as fresh lucerne (alfalfa), berseem or clover, particularly when they are wet, or to heavy grain feeding.
- Free-gas bloat: the goat can't burp, so gas builds up. A blocked food pipe is a common reason (a piece of fruit or root vegetable stuck in it), and grain overload can do it too. Lying on its side for a long time can add to the problem.
- Grain overload (acidosis): the goat breaks into the feed store, or someone gives far too much grain in one go. This is serious in its own right and often brings bloat, followed by diarrhoea.
Signs of bloat
- Swelling high on the left side, behind the ribs, that feels tight like a drum
- Stops eating and stops chewing cud
- Restless and uncomfortable, getting up and down, kicking at the belly
- Grinding teeth, groaning, drooling
- Laboured or open-mouth breathing as the rumen presses on the lungs
- Staggering, collapse
What to do now
- Remove all feed, and the suspected feed above all.
- Call a vet immediately. The right treatment depends on the type of bloat, and the wrong one can make things worse or injure the goat.
- Keep the goat standing and walk it slowly if it can manage. Standing it with the front end slightly raised, on a slope for example, may help it breathe.
- Do not pour liquids down the throat of a distressed goat. They can go into the lungs.
Depending on the case, a vet may pass a stomach tube to let the gas out, give an anti-foaming treatment for frothy bloat or, when the goat's life is at risk, release the gas directly through the side. These are jobs for a vet. If they leave you with any treatment, follow their instructions and dosing exactly.
Diarrhoea (scours)
Common causes
| Cause | Typical clues |
|---|---|
| Sudden diet change or too much grain or lush green fodder | Follows a feed change; goat otherwise bright, or dull if grain overload |
| Worms (internal parasites) | Weight loss, pale gums or eyelids, rough coat, sometimes bottle jaw (swelling under the jaw); common in grazing goats in warm, wet weather |
| Coccidiosis | Most common in kids from a few weeks to a few months old, especially in crowded, damp pens; diarrhoea may contain mucus or blood, kids strain and lose condition |
| Bacterial or viral infection | Often in young kids; watery diarrhoea, weakness and rapid dehydration |
| Enterotoxaemia (overeating disease) | Sudden illness or death, often in fast-growing, well-fed kids after a feed change; largely preventable by vaccination |
| Spoiled or toxic feed, or toxic plants | Several animals affected after new feed or access to new plants |
Home care for mild cases in adults
If an adult goat's droppings are only slightly loose and it is bright, eating and drinking:
- Take away grain and lush green feed for a day or two and give good-quality dry hay or straw instead.
- Keep clean water available at all times.
- Bring the other feeds back slowly over several days.
- Keep a close eye on it. If there's no improvement within about a day, or the goat turns dull, see a vet.
Don't give human anti-diarrhoea medicines. For a dehydrated goat your vet may suggest an oral electrolyte, and they will decide whether dewormers, coccidiosis treatment or anything else is needed, often after testing a dung sample. Stick to the dosing they give you.
Prevention for both
Most of this comes down to feeding. Change the diet gradually over one to two weeks, particularly when goats move onto lush pasture or start getting grain. Feed fibre first: give dry hay or straw before turning goats out onto wet legume pasture. Limit concentrate, and keep the grain somewhere goats can't break into. Cut root vegetables and fruit into small pieces so they don't cause choke.
The rest is herd health:
- Worm control that follows your vet's plan, ideally guided by dung tests rather than routine blanket dosing, to slow down dewormer resistance.
- Clean, dry, uncrowded pens and raised feeders to cut coccidiosis.
- Vaccination against enterotoxaemia (and tetanus), as your vet advises.
For housing and feeding basics, see Goat Farming for Beginners: A Practical Start-Up Plan.
When to see a vet
Call a vet immediately if you see:
- A swollen, tight left side with distress, breathing difficulty or collapse
- A goat that broke into grain or ate a large amount of concentrate
- Diarrhoea in a young kid, or a kid that is weak, cold or not suckling
- Bloody or black diarrhoea, or straining
- Sunken eyes, dry gums or skin that stays tented when pinched (dehydration)
- Pale gums or eyelids, or swelling under the jaw
- Several goats sick at once, or a sudden death in the herd
In Pakistan
Bloat cases tend to climb when goats go onto green berseem and lucerne in the cooler months. They climb again around Eid al-Adha, when well-meaning families suddenly feed newly bought animals large amounts of grain, bread or fresh fodder. Give a new goat what it was eating at the market and change things slowly; see Eid al-Adha: How to Choose a Healthy Sacrifice Animal. Worms are a common problem in the monsoon, so ask your local veterinary hospital for a parasite and vaccination plan that suits your area.
Looking for healthy goats from verified sellers? Browse goats on Paalo.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell bloat from a goat that has just eaten a lot?
A goat with a full belly is still comfortable, chewing cud and moving normally. A bloated goat has a tight, drum-like swelling high on the left side, stops eating and chewing cud, looks uncomfortable or distressed, and may grind its teeth, kick at its belly or breathe with difficulty.
Are soft droppings always a problem in goats?
Mildly softer droppings after a change to lush grass can happen and may settle once the diet is balanced. Watery, smelly, bloody or persistent diarrhoea, or any diarrhoea in a young kid or a dull goat, needs prompt attention.
