My baby goat's left side is bulging. Is this normal for young goats?

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. From your picture, the appearance of his rumen seems pretty normal. A healthy, well-fed goat can seem to be quite bloated. If he is acting normal, you have already done all the correct things. Limit his grazing on lush pastures, give him only a small handful of grain once you start him back, and get him off the alfalfa & on a good prairie grass hay. This & fresh water is all most goats will need. Take care.

Your goat sounds like he may have some trouble with his digestive system. Goats do well on high-quality grass pasture or grass hay. I would be very cautious with any alfalfa or grain, as these items can cause bloat in goats as they are very rich. Some burping/eructation is normal in goats, so what you are noticing may be normal for him. Also, make sure to have him dewormed as goats often have intestinal parasites. Hope that helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If her temp is high and she is painful or bloated in her abdomen, this could be a life threatening emergency. She may have a grain bloat, have ingested something toxic or have an infection. I recommend having a vet take a look at her as soon as possible. In the meantime try to walk her a bit and she is she is interested in browsing or chewing any hay.

The left side does look much bigger than the right, but does not appear infected. It is not uncommon for there to be some asymmetry between the two udders, but I agree that this is rather pronounced. Given the size of the udders, I would expect that she would be due any day now. False pregnancy is a possibility, but rather rare, so I wouldn't be too suspicious of this yet. I would just keep an eye on the udder for any change in color or discharge like pus or blood. This would indicate that there is an infection. If it has an infection or you are otherwise concerned, then it would be best to have a veterinarian check her out. They could have a better look at the udder, test it for signs of infection and easily be able to check for pregnancy. I hope that helps and Iris has a kid soon.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your puppy. Some puppies are so small that their stomachs visibly distended after eating. If this is the case, her stomach should look normal again some time later. Going forward, feed her smaller more frequent meals and use puppy formula as opposed to goat milk. I hope this information helps!

Hi there. Bloating in goats can be an emergency and will require veterinary assistance. If she is not eating or drinking, it is time to take her in. Depending on how bad it is-they may be able to pass a stomach tube or it may be surgical and require a puncture of the rumen to relieve pressure. It worries me that she is not urinating. This can happen if she is severely dehydrated but also in diseases like renal (kidney) failure (she is older) or she could have a blockage from urinary calculi. All of these situations will require veterinary hands on help. I hope that everything f goes well to you and my best to you and your friend. I hope this helps!

This does not look normal, especially if it’s been like that a week. You need to have a veterinarian examine her to make sure the kids are alive and that she has enough room to have them naturally after her injury. She’s recovered from that so please have her checked so she can have the kids without complications. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Leaper.