Don't Panic when Kikos look off

Last week one of my Kiko does went into heat. I thought all were bred and took the bucks out of the doe pin. Alas, obviously one didn't take. Goliath, my herd sire was trying to get her and I decided to put him back in with the 'girls'. This left Oliver, our 100% NZ Buckling, by himself for a few days... oh lord, you would have thought I killed him - screaming and making a fuss - note: he could see the rest of the herd, he just wasn't in with them.

Fast forward a day - I came out to one heck of a mess on Oliver. He had scours (diarrhea) and his backend, legs, testicles were covered. Normally in goats, Kiko no exception, that is a sign of 'oh shoot - something is seriously wrong' and you jump to action... Instead, I scratched my head and said -- what's changed? Same paddock, no new forage ONLY the fact that he is stressed (by himself and torqued about it).

SFM Oliver

What did I do for my Kiko?

Short answer, nothing. I watched him throughout the day. Gave him hay and ensured the water was fresh. His backend progressively got cleaner and the stools improved in conformation. By the 2nd day, he was back to normal.

I didn't clean him up. I know that sounds like I'm a bad mother, but Kikos don't like water and will clean themselves or clean themselves by walking around. I didn't see him licking himself, I suspect the forage did most of the heavy work.

Had he not started to get better throughout the day, I would have run the fecal and checked his famacha, but he did. My philosophy with the herd is to let the goats be goats with minimal intervention. Yes, if something is off, I will intervene - but Kikos tend to do really well for themselves, one reason I chose the breed!

The moral of the story is Don't Panic... assess the situation and adapt. Don't immediately give dewormer; don't immediately go to farm store or your 'emergency' cabinet. Stop and Assess. THEN React