Uniary Calculi

We are learning more about Urinary Calculi (UC) all the time.

Currently we do know that the balance of Calcium and Phosphorus is an important factor to the prevention of UC. The problem with this is that even though you may have a balanced feed and mineral supplement you can't always figure for your hay and pasture or the fact that certain minerals in the water that your stock is drinking can bind out various elements.

That along with the fact that some animals are worse than others about picking out their favorite ingredients from their feed often make the prevention of UC a real challenge.

We also know that UC can be brought on by stress, especially the stress of transportation. It is not uncommon for animals to have reduced fluid intake during times of travel which seem to increase the potential of UC.

It seems we are hearing from more and more breeders that are experience UC problems and need to know what they can do to TREAT a buck or wether that has an active case of UC.

During the past year we have had the opportunity to assist several different breeders that have been experiencing UC within their herds and to follow the treatment of several individual animals.

In the following text we will attempt to share with you the procedure used on the animals we were involved with in a hope that this information my prove helpful to you and your veterinarian.

How to identify a buck with UC:

The first signs of UC are normally noticed when the breeders sees the animal stretched out attempting to urinate, usually either dripping what appears to be urine from the end of the penis or forcefully straining with NO urine appearing at all. Sometimes the breeder's first thought is that the animal is constipated - but constipation is not very common in goats and UC should be your FIRST thought when you see a male goat of any age stretched out in the 'urinating position' and you do not see a stream of urine flowing. Sometimes you may even see the buck 'pulsing' a bit and curling his upper lip . On occasion you will find a buck (kid or adult) that seems to just lay down all the time and upon closer inspection you will find that the belly around the penis area is wet or damp. This is usually caused from urine leaking while the animal is laying down and should be considered a SERIOUS cause for concern.

The next question is WHAT TO DO???

The first thing is to take a closer look. Catch up the buck and LOOK at the penis. Easy to say - but not always so easy to do!

Depending on the size of the animal (might be necessary to have some help on hand here) the best way we have found to expose the penis is as follows; Standing behind the buck , set him on his rump with his spine resting against your legs. Having him slightly 'slouched' over - bend over him and reach directly behind the scrotum (this is between the scrotum and the tail) at the base of the scrotum, there is a 'magic' spot that you can put pressure on and when doing can 'extend' the penis. At this point you should be able to see the HEAD of the penis. A healthy penis head will be smooth and a healthy pink color and you should see small blood vessels on it. If the head is purple, gnarled or angry looking you have trouble and we suggest at this point a trip to your veterinarian is advised.

Removal of the urethra process has proven to be helpful in treating UC. Ideally letting your veterinarian do this and having his assistance and direction in treating the animal is our first choice.

The urethra process is the string or worm like extension on the end of the penis that the buck uses to 'spray' urine with. The removal of the urethra process does not effect the bucks fertility.

It is helpful to have a damp washcloth (not 'wet' but just good and damp) to hold onto the penis with and a sharp pair or scissors (small manicure scissors work well and I was just told that a large pair of toenail / fingernail clippers will also work) cut off the urethra process as close to the head of the penis as you can. There is no advantage of leaving any of the urethra process in place. The urethra process is VERY narrow and one of the first places that stones and grit will accumulate and plug up the 'plumbing'.

Once the urethra process is removed sometimes you will get a good urine flow, sometimes just a dribble and sometimes no relief at all.

Ideally your veterinarian will have a sonogram machine and can check the bucks bladder to see how full it is. Quite frequently by the time you have noticed there is a problem the bladder is full enough that is in danger of rupturing.

Your VETERINARIAN can 'TAP' the bladder, using an 18-19 gauge spinal needle AFTER anesthetizing the animal. PLEASE -- DO NOT attempt to 'TAP' the bladder yourself -- first the animals needs to be immobilized COMPLETELY and an anesthetic is required to do this. Second a comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and the procedure is needed and your veterinarian will also understand which anesthetics may exacerbate the problem.

Understand that tapping the bladder is done to BUY TIME for further treatment to work. Tapping the bladder by itself will NOT cure the problem because the problem is BLOCKAGE.

We have found that by drenching the animals with an effective ACIDIFIER, along with the proper antibiotics to address possible infection and possibly special drugs to help relax the urethra many animals have been saved .

You need to monitor the fluid intake and OUT FLOW of the buck while you are IN TREATMENT with your veterinarian so that you can keep a close eye on the bladder. We find that having the veterinarian check the bladder every 36 hours by sonogram is advised, this lessen the chance of rupture.

The ACIDIFIER we have used is mixed in a heavy concentration at first and the animal is drenched with with an appropriate amount depending on the age and weight of the animal. Then the acidifier is added to the goats daily water rations for several months at the least and better yet as an on going attempt at prevention.

PLEASE NOTE: Vinegar will NOT work as an acidifier!

If your Veterinarian would like to know more about this procedure please have him/her contact us at 417 754-8135 and we will put them in touch with our veterinarian.