All Goats Need to Pee!

Middletown Animal Hospital treats all animals, large and small.  We see lots of goats in Lake County.  Urolithiasis or stone formation within the bladder is a common problem in male goats. Small stones will form usually as a result of an imbalance of calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium in certain diets such as alfalfa hay. These small stones can get lodged in the long urethra of male goats causing a partial or complete inability to urinate. This is a medical emergency and life threatening! We recently had a goat present for this in our hospital. Fortunately for this goat, a minor procedure of amputating the very tip of the urethra (urethral process) solved the problem and saved his life. Some blocked goats are not so lucky and require a major surgical procedure. The key to preventing this problem is by NOT feeding certain feedstuffs such as alfalfa, molasses and high concentrate feeds. In addition, access to fresh, clean water is a must. Additionally, supplementing ammonium chloride can help prevent obstruction and keep the urine flowing.