FLOPPY KID SYNDROME

Floppy Kid Syndrome has been seen in meat goats in the USA since the early 1990's. The introduction of intensive management of goats with the importation of Boers into the United States brought FKS to producers' attention. Producers understandably tend to confine expensive goats in small areas, creating conditions under which kids can demand and receive more milk from their dams than their mothers would normally feed them. Unconfined dams allow their kids to nurse for frequent but short periods of time. When a doe cannot control and limit the amount of milk that her kids receive at each feeding, Floppy Kid Syndrome can occur. FKS usually doesn't occur until the kid is seven to ten days old because it takes a few days for the undigested milk to build up in the kid's stomach and start causing problems. An exception to this time frame -- bottle babies -- is covered later in this article. The kid literally overeats on milk on a repeated basis and is unable to fully digest the milk before it refills its stomach by nursing again, creating a toxic condition like Enterotoxemia (Overeating Disease). Untreated, a painful and rapid death occurs. Treatment must be swift to save the kid. The solution is simple and usually the opposite of what producers think should be done. Take the kid off milk completely for at least 36 hours. Substitute Bounce Back or ReSorb or equivalent electrolytes in place of milk and add baking soda to neutralize the conditions in the kid's stomach. Administer C&D anti-toxin (*not* the toxoid) immediately. Use Milk of Magnesia to push the partially-digested milk through the kid's system and out of the kid's body. Prescription Banamine, given IM via injection, will calm the gut; dosage is 2/10th's of a cc given IM for a young kid of a medium-sized breed. Because most FKS kids are wobbly-legged and stagger like they are drunk if they can walk at all, tube feeding may be necessary.

Dissolve one teaspoon of ordinary baking soda in eight (8) ounces of warmed electrolytes and mix thoroughly. If the kid will not suck a bottle, stomach tube one to two ounces (30 - 60 cc's) of this solution into the kid's stomach. Wait about an hour and tube feed another one to two ounces. Don't bloat the kid's stomach; use common sense about how much it can hold. Administer a SQ injection of C&D anti-toxin ( follow label directions) wherever loose skin can be found. SQ injection over the ribs is a good location. C&D anti-toxin helps counteract the toxic effect of the undigested milk in the kid's stomach and should be used every twelve (12) hours. If the kid is old enough to have already had its two-injection series of CD/T vaccinations, the producer will have to wait at least five days after all FKS treatment has been completed and start the CD/T series over again. However, a very young kid should not have received its first and second CD/T injections. The dam's immunities passed to the kid via mother's milk are supposed to protect the kid during its first month of life, at which time the kid's own immune system starts developing. But if the kid is overfed on milk, no medication can prevent Floppy Kid Syndrome. Because Floppy Kid Syndrome is accompanied by a bacterial infection in the kid's gut, antibiotic therapy is advisable. Obtain a vet prescription for Sulfadimethoxazine with Trimethoprim (or Primor) or use a sulfa-based over-the-counter antibiotic like Neomycin Sulfate (brand name Biosol) and orally medicate for five consecutive days. Dose the kid with Milk of Magnesia orally (five cc's per 20 pounds body weight) to speed the elimination of the undigested milk from its body. Mineral oil can be effective but must be stomach-tubed into the goat. Because mineral oil has no taste, the goat may not identify it as a substance to be swallowed and it can be aspirated into the lungs. A warm soapy enema can be given to remove hard-packed feces from the lower intestinal tract via the anus; however, an enema will not move undigested milk from the stomach. When giving a warm soapy enema, use a 3 cc Luer-slip syringe and carefully put the slip (tip) portion of the syringe into the kid's anal opening. Repeat several times, remembering that this is very delicate tissue that is easily damaged by rough treatment. Diarrhea sometimes occurs with FKS. This is good; the kid's body is trying to eliminate toxic substances. Do not use diarrhea medication unless the scouring is a liquid of watery consistency, threatening dehydration, and be very careful how much anti-diarrheal is given under such conditions. Diarrhea is a symptom of an illness -- not the illness itself. See my article on Diarrhea on the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. Do not give Immodium AD to a goat. Immodium AD slows and can stop the peristaltic action of the gut, immobilizing the undigested milk in the kid's stomach, making the situation worse. Do not use an anti-diarrheal product that has psyllium in it either. The producer's goal is to get the offending milk out of the kid's system quickly. If diarrhea becomes watery, orally dose the kid with up to six (6) to ten (10) cc's of PeptoBismol up to three times a day and use injectable Banamine to quiet the gut. Keep the kid hydrated with electrolytes.

The electrolyte/baking soda solution will both rehydrate the kid and soothe its gut. A kid can survive on the electrolyte/baking soda solution for two or three days if that time is needed to get its system cleaned out. Do not start feeding milk again until the kid's feces have returned to normal form, it can stand and nurse, and the kid has been re-hydrated. Then ease the kid back onto milk by feeding equal parts milk and electrolytes.

Bottle babies require special comments. During the first two weeks of life, bottle babies should be fed with individual bottles to control the amount of milk that they receive. See my article on overfeeding bottle babies on the Articles page of www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. Producers should try to mimic the dam, who feeds small amounts of milk very frequently to her kids to avoid stomach upset. Folks new to bottle babies can cause Floppy Kid Syndrome by overfeeding milk. A kid will drink as much as you will let it drink; the sucking response makes it feel safe and secure. Multiple bottle babies can be fed on a Lambar available from Jeffers. A Lambar is a milk-feeding system consisting of a three-and-one-half gallon bucket with lid and holes around it into which nipples attached to feeding tubes are placed. Training kids to use a Lambar is easy and your workload can be lightened IF you can keep kids from drinking too much, overturning the bucket, and knocking the lid off. Build a frame and secure it to the floor, then place the bucket inside it. I personally prefer to use individual bottles so I know exactly how much milk each kid receives. In all cases (Lambar or individual bottles), proper cleaning of equipment both before and after use is essential.

Suzanne W. Gasparotto, ONION CREEK RANCH, Lohn, Texas 5/14/11