by Patricia Stewart

Created on: March 22, 2009

Goats are ruminants, which means they have four stomach chambers. These are the reticulum, the rumen, the omasum and the abomasum. Bloat happens in the rumen, which is the most amazing part of this complex system. The rumen is a community, with a population of micro-flora, who break down the cellulose from the plants and turn it into sugars and proteins for the goat. There is a very special point where there is enough cellulose that the bacteria can happily digest the cellulose and plant proteins, and churn out sugars and proteins for the goat's nutrition. But this creates a lot of gas. Ruminants use that gas to burp up "cud" into their mouths, so they can add more saliva and make things easier for the bacteria to work.

But if the diet contains too much sugar, the bacteria are damaged. The environment in the rumen changes, and it fills with gas, acidifies the gut, and the bacteria die. If this is left uncontrolled, the animal experiences bloat, which is very painful and can be deadly. The first sign of bloat is that the goat stops eating. A check of rumen sounds will show little to no activity, as there is so much gas that nothing can move. Left unchecked, the bacteria cannot recover and the next step of the illness begins, polio. This is not a contagious polio, but a lack of magnesium to make thiamine, and the goat's brain begins to suffer. Polio causes paralysis, great pain, neurological damage and death.

So how do you avoid bloat? First off, not too many sweets for those goats. Just like humans, goats have a sweet tooth, but they are not meant to have a great deal of raw sugars, and many grains are laced with molasses. There are good things to molasses, including iron, but too much will bring bloat on quickly. Fresh spring grasses and spring buds are rich with sugar, as they help the plant awaken from dormancy. Too much exposure to that rich sugar source can bring on bloat. But also, insufficient roughage, such as hay, or moldy hay, can bring on bloat. Most of a goat's diet is meant to be roughage. In the wild they nibble and wander all day, taking 2-3 days to process their meals. Giving them a short cut, by feeding a grain-heavy diet, is a recipe for bloat.

So what do you do when you think bloat might be happening? Start by walking the goat. Goats can die of pain, and are known to just wallow in it. Keep the goat moving, and hopefully you'll hear a symphony of gas as it moves. That's good. Many people provide baking soda as a rumen buffer. If allowed, goats

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