Uh, oh. Bloody urine from mini colts or goats.

[mrichmond]

Help! When I fed tonight around 5:30, I found a spot of what looked to be bloody urine in the snow in the paddock. Our minis, Ziggy and Theo, share the paddock and barn with our Nigerian Dwarf goats, Ben and Jerry, so I have no clue who left it. We had 4” of fresh snow last night or I probably wouldn’t have seen it. There was a horse hoof print in it that happened after I saw it, but at least you can get an idea of size. The horses and goats are all eating and drinking normally and seem to be acting normal as well, but it has been cold, so the water has been icing up overnight and sometimes between feedings.

With 4 animals, I need to separate them to figure out who has the problem. I have some kennel panels that I can use to split the paddock tomorrow to narrow down which species, then I can separate the horses or goats again to figure out which one has the problem.

A friend who has both goats and horses is leaning toward it being a goat issue, but when I mentioned that the horses are eating Nutrena Mare & Foal pellets, 1 1/2 cups each twice a day, she was concerned about the high protein and mentioned protein spillover. Has anyone here heard of such a thing? The minis are 8 months old, so I thought they needed a higher protein feed. Everyone is getting a grass/Timothy blend hay, pretty much free choice.

I’ve read about urinary calculi in goats, but I’ll check the Goat Spot, too to see if anyone there has any suggestions. I know I don’t have a lot of time to figure this out so we can get the proper treatment for whoever is sick. Please, if you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear it.

 

[elizabeth.conder]

That is actually a normal color for urine in snow. It’s due to an oxidation reaction. Still wouldn’t hurt to run it by the vet, but unless any of them seem to be having issues I wouldn’t worry too much. If you google it you’ll find lots of info.

 

[mrichmond]

That is actually a normal color for urine in snow. It’s due to an oxidation reaction. Still wouldn’t hurt to run it by the vet, but unless any of them seem to be having issues I wouldn’t worry too much. If you google it you’ll find lots of info.

Omg. I guess they got me, didn’t they?
Thank you so much for clueing me in!
I’ll keep an eye on them for awhile anyway.

 

[Taz]

I have that a lot in the winter. If I'm there when they pee it will look normal until the end and then you get that colour. My vet told me it was just them not drinking as much(but plenty) and the urine is more condensed. If your worried ask your vet but I wouldn't panic. If your boys weight is good I wouldn't worry about changing their feed until it warms up again, I don't feed mine any extra protein unless it's mom(and she needs it) and the babies are eating it too or they are older and having problems keeping weight on. Good for you noticing though!!

 

[chandab]

Mare and Foal feed, 3 cups per day for 8 month old minis, is probably about the recommended feeding rate. They need the higher protein and nutrients in a mare and foal feed for proper growth; if you find they get to chunky on the 3 cups of mare/foal feed, it might be of benefit to switch them to a ration balancer, it's highly concentrated, so fed at a smaller rate, they get the nutrients without the calories and carbs of the mare/foal feed.