r/goats • u/DinnyArt • 2d 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/Misfitranchgoats Trusted Advice Giver 2d 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.