HOW TO PREVENT STOMACH & GASTRIC ISSUES
WHAT HELPS THE ANIMALS STOMACH?
Movement -Stomach and gastric issues rely on natural movements of wandering & grazing. These movements are normal habits for goats, sheep, swine, horses, turkeys, and poultry. Movement benefits their entire body and internal processes. When the animals are not exercised or let out daily to wander, the stomach and intestinal process can be greatly affected.
Quality Feed & Eating Habits – Along with movement, feeding quality feed designed for your market project will greatly help to prevent stomach and gastric issues. Eating habits begin with feeding on a regular schedule and taking care to adjust the feed to your growing project.
A quality feed will include gastric supplements such as:
- Probiotics – Are known to support normal stomach structure and functions.
- Acid Balancing – Ingredients such as Calcium and Magnesium to help reduce excess acid in the stomach. (These are the primary ingredients in Rolaids or Tums).
- Smoothing – Ingredients (Aloe Vera, probiotics, and slippery elm) to help soothe irritated stomach & intestinal walls.
Before you decide on a feed, check the feed tag for these ingredients. If your feed does not have these ingredients, check the supplements available for purchase. Adding a supplement may be an easy fix.
WHAT PUTS YOUR ANIMAL AT RISK FOR STOMACH AND GASTRIC ISSUES?
Your market project may be at risk for stomach and intestinal issues if the following items are not provided. Simply put, leaving your market project in a small pen for days on end will cause all sorts of issues in all categories.
Hay changes – Lack of hay for Goats and Sheep or change in hay can cause stomach upset. Transition hay changes over 5-7 days – Read article “How to Safely Switch Feeds”. Goats and Sheep should be fed some hay every day while they are growing. Small amounts of hay twice a day should not interfere with your grain program. The digestive process that hay creates cannot be easily reproduced by feeding grain alone.
Water – Lack of water or low water intake – always provide cool clean water in ample amounts. Water helps the intestine to breakdown and process food. With low water amounts, the feed becomes packed and dry in the intestines and causes “impaction” which leads to gas buildup and pain (also known as constipation or more severe cases colic). Besides cool clean water, add a white salt block to increase normal water consumption for Goats and Sheep.
Movement – Lack of movement to exercise or stretch can cause intestinal distress. Provide a pen that is adequate in size and shelter for your animal type. Daily, let your animal out to stretch and move around. Giving animals a chance to trot or run around works wonders on their stomach, attitude and overall well being!
Exercise animals on an empty stomach. Never exercise any animal on a full stomach. If you need to work or show your animal early before a meal, feed a reduced amount to take the hunger edge off. Feed the remainder of the breakfast as a light lunch.
Fiber with Grain – A feed program high in grain and little to no fiber can cause intestinal problems for market animals.
FIBER SOLUTIONS
If your market animal’s poop is runny or not considered normal, try adding fiber and probiotics. Most of the time, if it is just a feed issue and not an underlying health issue, the fiber and probiotics will help to “firm things” up…Literally! An easy way to figure out how much fiber to add is to feed 1-2% of the animal’s weight each day. Feeding small amounts 3-5 times per day can also help. Here are some sample calculations.
Goats and Sheep – Add a 3-quart scoop of hay to their daily grain program can be enough fiber to help balance the stomach and intestines out. It also prevents urinary calculi buildup.
Pigs / Swine – add oat groats or water-soaked beet pulp to their grain portion. Both will add sufficient fiber and filler that helps their intestinal processes and it also increases their stomach capacity.
| Goat | ||
| Weight of Animal | 65 | 65 |
| Percentage | 1% | 2% |
| Lbs. Per Day | 0.65 | 1.3 |
| Lbs. Per feeding | 0.325 | 0.65 |
| Lamb | ||
| Weight of Animal | 80 | 80 |
| Percentage | 1% | 2% |
| Lbs. Per Day | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Lbs. Per feeding | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| Pig | ||
| Weight of Animal | 160 | 160 |
| Percentage | 1% | 2% |
| Lbs. Per Day | 1.6 | 3.2 |
| Lbs. Per feeding | 0.8 | 1.6 |
SHOPPING LIST
- Time for Exercising!
- Probiotic Paste or Supplement
- Hay – Alfalfa or Grass Hay
- Beet Pulp or Oat Groats
SUMMARY
If increasing your animal’s exercise along with adding fiber & probiotics to their diet does not improve their stomach and intestinal issues within 12 hours, perform a health assessment. There may be a health issue that needs to be corrected. Once you have performed a health assessment, let your advisor or vet know your findings. This information will help them to get you back on track!
