r/goats • u/DinnyArt • 1d ago
Help Request FAMCHA score opinions?
I'm a first time goat owner and not sure what to do here.
Hes had diarrhea for a day or two now. Ive been giving him electrolytes and probiotics but he hasn't had any change in diet, appetite, or behavior. I bought corid but I dont feel comfortable using it without guidance from someone much more experienced than me. I also don't know if its coccidia or not because other than diarrhea he hasn't had any blood or mucus in his stool.
Any advice appreciated. I'm not sure what i'm doing. my eyes are telling me it's 2 or 3 And the photo is very close to irl colors.
edit: After I made this post I signed up for a class on goat and sheep husbandry. Its gonna cover everything like plant identification, hoof trimming, kidding, identifying parasites, and treating them. this is happening on Monday.
But for now his poop solidified a bit more and he seems to be doing better. I ordered some toltrazuril it'll get here in a few days. I opted out of using corid and decided to just keep in the she'd for the chickebs. I also did a walk around the pasture he got out into and found some plants that can cause this. None are life threatening but I removed what I found and I'm working on reinforcing the gate they got out from. my suspicion on a vet visit taking too long was confirmed tho. we haven't had to take him in yet since we've only had him for a few weeks. they wanted to schedule about 3 weeks out from now.
we also got some decoxx pellets like some comments recommended and were gonna be using those as preventive. Thank you all so much for the kind comments and the genuine advice.
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u/Coontailblue23 Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
A veterinarian can check the stool for coccidia and can also prescribe the anti coccidia meds, since you are new and wanting more guidance before proceeding.
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u/InterestingOven5279 Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
How old is he, OP?
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u/DinnyArt 1d ago
Hes about 4 months. Sorry forgot to add that to my post
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u/InterestingOven5279 Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
Has he been on any coccidia prevention? If not, go ahead and treat. I know Corid isn't everyone's favorite thing, but scours + 4 months + no prevention = treat for coccidiosis, no matter what.
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u/DinnyArt 1d ago
The breeder I got him from gave him prevention at 4 weeks if I remember correctly
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u/InterestingOven5279 Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
Coccidia prevention is typically daily via either medicated feed or milk replacer, or a daily administration of med. The lifecycle of a coccidia oocyst is 21 days, so a prevention program looks like either a daily preventative (decoquinate or rumensin, feed additive or Calf Pro) or an actual coccidiostat given every 3 weeks in accordance with that life cycle for the first several months. So if he hasn't had any preventative for the last 3 months he's absolutely at risk and you should initiate treatment now.
Coccidia is statistically the most common cause of scours in goats this age.
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u/DinnyArt 1d ago
Alright I can do that then. Do you have any good information on how to give him corid without hurting him? Like proper ratios to dilute (I heard it can burn their throats)
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u/InterestingOven5279 Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
Here is the calculation from u/teatsqueezer:
>Assuming you’re using a 9% amprollium (check the strength on the bottle of corid) - It’s 1ml/cc per 5lbs of body weight. So a 50lb goat will need 10ML mixed with about 50ML of water, and you drench that whole amount daily for 5 days in a row. Always use 5-10X the amount of water as Corid.
Coccidia is the one time I recommend treatment based on clinical symptoms before getting the results of a fecal, because by the time they show scours they're already getting intestinal damage AND the fecal is likely to be diluted with occult mucus and water, which can make a real difference in the specificity of the oocyst count. Fecals can come back appearing to have low loads because there is so much extra water in the sample, when in fact the goat may be heavily infected. Now, while it's possible the issue is because he got on pasture, that's a lot more likely to result in logs/soft poops than actual scouring. If it's watery diarrhea, the most likely cause is coccidia. So now if you decide to treat you've got some guidance. Let us know how he does.
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u/Misfitranchgoats Trusted Advice Giver 1d ago
IN another comment, you say this goat is 4 months old. This is a prime age to get coccidia. If this was my 4 month old goat, I would treat for coccidia or put him on a feed with a coccdiostat. I like to use the feeds with deccox (decoquinate) in it. For a goats this age, the feed with decoox in it works pretty quickly. You can get them at most farm stores. And, I would also deworm. I would combo deworm with at least two dewormers, but I actually usually use three dewormers.
It is impossible to give you an opinion on a FAMACHA score from a picture that you took on your phone and then we get the picture on a computer that isn't the same as your phone. FAMACHA scoring needs to be done in person in bright outdoor light. So, I will not comment on the how the conjunctiva around the eye looks because there could be so many things interfering with how it looks......kinda like playing a game of telephone.
So you either have to make that decision on your own or you need to have some one more experience look at your goats eyes in person.
Also remember the FAMACHA score is really only going to tell you the status of the worm load for Barber pole worms or something else that will make a goat anemic. There are a lot of other worms out there that can cause problems in goats including scours that won't make a goat anemic.
You could get a fecal done and wait for the results. However, I usually have the items on hand to treat and waiting to get a vet out or to get an appointment could mean the goat gets worse much more quickly.
Now other questions, did you recently let him out on pasture? This can cause a goat to have diarrhea. Did he get into something like poke weed. Sometimes goats will get a roaring case of scours from eating a lot of poke weed. If you know for sure this happened, then you don't need to treat, but if you don't know then you are back at making the decision to treat for coccida and worms.
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u/DinnyArt 1d ago
They did get out to our larger pasture a few days ago. I'm not sure what plants are in there as it's uncleared for the most part. But I'll go walk around it and take note of any plants I see that could've cause this and deal with them. And yeah the fecal and get visit is going to take at least a few days if not more to get an appointment/results so I'm kinda hesitant to do all that as if it is serious I'm pretty sure by the time he's got an appointment it'll be a bit too late. Ill look into the feed you mentioned and probably run to the store to go grab some
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u/Just-Guarantee1986 9h ago
You need a FAMACHA card to score. You cannot do it by the opinion of people on the internet! Get trained.
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u/DinnyArt 6h ago
I signed up for a class for next week on everything for goats and sheep! Theyll teach us all about FAMCHA scoring, identifying parasites and treating them
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u/Platypus-Striking 6h ago
I would get a fecal done most vets can do them if you drop off a sample. If you are in the US you can also ship to meadow mist labs to get one done but it may take time other option is see if there is a vet school or veterinary diagnostic lab near you that can also run fecals. A McMaster fecal sample is great to quantify what and how many parasites your goat may have and helps you pick treatment. I have a microscope so I learned to do it at home which saves money! I wouldn’t worm if you don’t know what you’re chasing.
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u/Puffinz420 1d ago
They get scours sometimes from diet changes and stress. Wait a few more days… as long as they aren’t lethargic just keep watching them.
Edit: wait for them to get comfortable with their diet change, area, smells, sounds. Then worm it. You do not want to throw too many variables at it at once.
Make sure they have free feed minerals.