Colostrum Poop Let’s talk about poop, specifically goat kid poop. Every year I get phone calls from panicked owners that something is wrong with their new baby goat’s poop. 99% of the time nothing is wrong and the new owners are just unfamiliar with the different stages of new born goat poop. Let’s break down the first week of poop and what it looks like.
Day 1 poop will be a dark brownish black very sticky poop that is meconium poop. It is often a stringy bead.
Day 2-3 poop is very thick orange poop that comes from the dam’s colostrum milk. This poop is super sticky. I swear this stuff should be commercialized as an organic super glue. Yes, it is that sticky. BEWARE if the doe does not remove this poop from her kid it will harden and plug the anus and you will have a dead kid. ALWAYS be on the look out for this on day 2 and 3. It often gets stuck to the tail and leg as well. First fresheners are well known for not cleaning up kid’s butts properly, so be especially diligent with new moms to make sure they are doing their job. (Photo Credit- Beatitude's Family Farm)
If you do find a kid with colostrum poop clogged on his rear end you are going to have to get him to a sink with warm water and soak his butt for at least 20 minutes to get this sticky mess off. You might have to trim it off the hair to get it removed. Make note of the silly doe that didn’t do her job for next year. Hopefully she will learn her lesson and not repeat it the following year.
Day 4-14 poop will be more of a yellow milk poop. It won’t be near as sticky as colostrum poop and will be soft so don’t panic it isn’t a brown pelleted form like adults. It shouldn’t have a bad smell to it either.
Day 14+ poop wills start to resemble a more pelleted form as the kid has begun to nibble on hay and grain and their rumens are starting to develop more. If the poop becomes greenish in color and runny then you have a problem, but I will leave that for a future blog.
Happy kidding season and best of luck to all of you.
Day 4 Milk Poop
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