Urinary Calculi in Goats: Fact vs Myth

If you raise goats, especially wethers or bucks, chances are you’ve heard of urinary calculi.

Urinary calculi is a devastating condition that goat owners absolutely dread. It can bring down a perfectly healthy goat in a matter of 24 hours and, if left untreated, will always be fatal. Goats affected by urinary calculi can go from completely asymptomatic to having a full blown emergency in one feeding to the next.

If you’re sitting here biting your nails, you’re not alone. Many goat owners have never heard of the condition, let alone have the ability to become an expert in the mere 24 hour window they have to save their beloved animals.

You, however, are here – reading this article – which means you’re about to become a full blown expert, capable of preventing, recognizing, and treating urinary calculi. Right? Right!

What is Urinary Calculi?

Urinary calculi is a condition where excess minerals (mainly phosphorous) turn into stones in the urinary tract. These stones block the urethra, which is the part of the urinary system between the bladder and the outside of the animal. With a partial blockage, the goat may still be able to urinate a small amount. However, a full blockage means that the urine can’t exit the body at all. 

At this point, time is of the essence. 

A mere 24-48 hours is all that separates the goat from a bladder rupture and subsequently, death.

Urinary calculi, left untreated, will always be fatal. 

Goats suspected to have urinary calculi must be caught and treated immediately to have any hope of being saved.

Symptoms of Urinary Calculi

Goats that are experiencing urinary calculi will appear to be in medium to substantial amounts of pain. They will be visibly restless, anxious, react negatively to any pressure placed on their abdomen, and will frequently forcefully strain to attempt to urinate with little to no urine coming out, often very vocally. Other signs may include rectal prolapse from abdominal pressure, drops of bloody urine, or visible crystals attached to the preputial hairs, but these are not always consistent or visible in every case.

As a whole, the goat will look extremely uncomfortable and miserable and struggle forcefully to pass urine, to no avail.

If a goat is displaying many of these symptoms, and you do not see it successfully urinate within a reasonable amount of time, chances are very high that it has a blockage.

Who is at Risk?

Of all goats, wethers (castrated males) are the most at risk of experiencing urinary calculi.

Why, you ask?

The difference lies in hormones.

While both wethers and bucks have a longer urethra with sharper curvature when compared to does, wethers have stopped producing testosterone since their castration. Testosterone helps grow the urethra and without it, the urethra will end up being smaller in diameter. 

Think about it this way. If you have a hula hoop, you’re going to be able to pass a lot more solid objects through it than if you’re holding a hoop meant for ring toss. It’s the same idea with goats. Bucks with a far larger urethra (hula hoop) will be more likely to pass stones than wethers with a smaller urethra (ring toss hoop).

On the other hand, cases in does are a lot more rare. Does have a shorter urethra with far less curvature, which makes passing stones a lot easier. A lot of stones that would cause a blockage in a buck or wether may pass through a doe with ease, never showing any symptoms at all.

Preventing Urinary Calculi

You know what they say: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – and dealing with urinary calculi is no exception.

Delayed Castration

Since most of a goat’s urinary tract growth typically occurs within the first 6 months of life, waiting until 6-7 months of age to castrate can dramatically reduce the risk of urinary calculi later in life. This gives a healthy amount of time for the urethra to mature to a larger diameter before cutting off its testosterone supply.

Wethers that were banded after 6-7 months are far less likely to experience urinary calculi than wethers that were banded at the traditional 8 weeks.

However, this isn’t always doable.

Mindful Early Castration

It’s not secret that bucklings can be fertile at a shockingly young age. Some have even been reported to have bred their dam and sisters as early as 4 weeks old! That being said, many farmers don’t have the time nor facilities to keep intact bucklings without risking accidental breedings to the rest of the herd, especially if supervised feedings don’t fit their schedule.

So what can they do?

If you must castrate earlier than 6-7 months, it’s essential to wait until the urethral process has separated before using your method of choice.

The urethral process is the appendage at the tip of the penis that allows the buck to direct the stream of his urine. It looks like a little worm and is folded upwards and adhered to the penis at birth, only separating under the influence of testosterone.

Castrating a buckling before the urethral process separates from the penis leaves a dangerously curved, narrow section at the end of the urethra and dramatically increases their risk of urinary calculi. In fact, it’s so prominent that it’s often not “if” these goats will have a blockage, but “when”.

To ensure your buckling’s urethral process has actually separated, take a few minutes to monitor him each day. Watch for him to extend his penis (they all do!) and make sure his urethral process is able to dangle independently. Spare your wether from a painful blockage later in life and make sure that you do not castrate until you see this separation!

Supply Plenty of Water

Bucks and wethers, on average, need to drink far more water than does to ensure urinary health.

Not only do bucks use their urine to remove waste from their body, but they also use it for reproductive purposes. During breeding season, bucks will urinate on their front legs and faces to attract the does and signal himself as a capable herdsire to produce the next generation of kids. This frequent urination, while unpleasant, is extremely helpful in preventing cases of urinary calculi. Increased urine production increases the hydration the buck needs in order to sustain it. When the buck drinks more water and does so very frequently, any potential urinary stones and excess minerals are diluted and excreted from the body before they can grow large enough to cause a problem.

Wethers, on the other hand, no longer have most of the “bucky” instincts of their non-castrated herdmates and only use their urine to excrete waste from the body (providing they weren’t castrated after picking up the habit, of course). Because of this, they urinate less often and therefore don’t drink as much water. By combining their already high anatomical risk status with a lack of excess water overall, dehydration can allow stones to form much more easily and cause their chances of experiencing urinary calculi to skyrocket!

While it’s essential to supply your does with plentiful amounts of clean, palatable water at all times, it’s even more important for your bucks and absolutely crucial for your wethers!

Feed a Proper Diet

If you take just one thing away from this article, let it be this section.

Feeding a proper diet is the absolute best and most effective way to reduce and nearly eliminate your goat’s risk of experiencing urinary calculi.

The vast majority of cases involving urinary calculi are caused by feeding grains, minerals, and forages with an improper balance of calcium to phosphorous. The ratio should be 2:1, with twice as much calcium being consumed as phosphorous.

Buckle up, because we’re about to get pretty scientific.

A Healthy 2:1 Balance

Phosphorous naturally binds with calcium.

In a healthy 2:1 ratio, when you have twice as much calcium than phosphorous, all of the phosphorous binds with calcium to form calcium phosphate – which is what strengthens bones and teeth – leaving no phosphorous left over. There is some calcium left in the body, but this is normal and considered a healthy level.

Too Much Phosphorous

In any situation where you have too much phosphorous (1:1.5, 1:2, 1:3, etc.), you’re going to have some left over after forming calcium phosphate.

Let’s use a ratio of 1:2, for example. When you have double the amount of phosphorous than calcium, only half of the phosphorous particles are binding with calcium particles. The other half remains in the body with the potential to form stones. This risk greatly increases with the more phosphorous that’s left over, as each particle has the potential to cause phosphorous-based stones, leading to urinary calculi.

However, the reverse can also be problematic.

Too Much Calcium

If the body has too much calcium in relation to phosphorous (such as a ratio of 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, etc.), this also leaves the goat at risk of developing stones.

For example, in a ratio of 6:1, you have triple the proper amount of calcium that you should have with that amount of phosphorous. Since only a third binds with the phosphorous, that leaves two-thirds of the calcium unbound in the body, capable of forming calcium-based stones at any given time.

Overall, the more unbalanced this ratio becomes in the goat’s diet, the more excess particles are left in the body, and the higher chance they will become problematic and cause urinary stones later on.

Foods to Avoid (…Or Not!)

As a result of this strict food ratio, it’s no wonder that many people have polarizing opinions over which foods to avoid to protect the urinary health of their herd.

Should you avoid corn? Alfalfa? How about grain? Don’t they all cause urinary calculi?

The answer is: Nope! All of these foods can be safely fed when done correctly.

I know! I know! *cue the angry goat owners*

But it’s true!

When you take a look the calcium to phosphorous ratio in your goat’s diet, you want to look at the WHOLE diet, not just a part of it. Many people see the individual mineral amounts of specific foods and automatically assume that they’re a problem, without taking into account the other parts of the diet that could be counteracting it.

For example, if you’re thinking about feeding alfalfa, you might initially decide against the idea based on its extremely high calcium content. However, if the grain or minerals you’re feeding have a lower calcium content and the goat is also being supplemented with low-calcium or high-phosphorous foods, the high calcium of the alfalfa likely won’t be an issue. In fact, it might even make your 2:1 ratio a little more balanced (depending on the other dietary components, that is).

And the same goes for corn and grain!

It’s not the individual parts of the diet that make the biggest difference, but the total balanced nutrition of the diet overall.

However, what if one of your goats still happens to experience it?

Treating Urinary Calculi

Urinary calculi is a tough condition to treat, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Partial Blockage

If your goat can still urinate to a small extent and is only partially blocked, luck is on your side! You have more options in this situation than any other outcome.

Because your goat can still expel fluids, it’s not at a very high risk of bladder rupture (yet). This means that you can give small amounts of water mixed with ammonium chloride to try to dissolve the stone from inside. Ammonium chloride can be purchased at a wide variety of feed and livestock stores, available in powder form. Follow the directions on the package and dose accordingly.

However, if your goat doesn’t improve or – even worse – blocks completely, stop giving liquids immediately. You must resort to more serious options, usually meant for full blockages.

Full Blockage

Full blockages are a lot more dangerous. Since the urine cannot escape the body, it continues to fill up in the bladder as time goes on, which can quickly cause a rupture. With any serious blockage, this is the first thing you’re going to want to do:

Remember that “wormy” appendage we talked about earlier, the urethral process? Yeah, so you’re going to cut it off.

*insert shocked city folk here*

The urethral process is the smallest section of a goat’s penis and, since it has the most curvature, it’s the most prevalent place for urinary stones to get stuck. By cutting it off, you might unblock your goat’s urethra in time to prevent his bladder from bursting.

Yes, it probably does hurt, but urinary calculi is a life or death situation and, if a little discomfort is what it takes to save the goat’s life… you’ll surely have no problem doing it. However, PLEASE look up a diagram of what the urethral process looks like! In fact, I’ll link it here. This article is about rams, but the anatomy is the same. If you cut off your goat’s entire penis, you’re going to give yourself a whole new set of problems.

If this works and your goat can urinate freely again, great! You’ve solved the problem and that should be the end of it for now. However, if removing the urethral process still hasn’t resolved the issue, you’re looking at a more serious case on your hands.

The most extreme cases will require a vet. These are cases where the urethra is completely blocked off and no urine is able to dribble out, even after removing the urethral process. If this is the case, there is nothing left you can do on your own and the only option to remove the stones is usually surgical. Call an emergency vet ASAP!

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Okay, wipe the sweat from your forehead. You’ve got this.

You now know how to prevent urinary calculi, identify any potential problem areas in your management practices, and accurately identify the goats in your herd that may be more at-risk for the condition. And if one of them do happen to experience it? You also know the symptoms, what it looks like, and what to do about it. (And you can always save this article as a refresher, duh!)

Urinary calculi is a very serious condition, but, with quick thinking, it’s not always a death sentence. Stay calm, make a plan, and try to minimize risks where you can. If you do ever have to face it, you’re now more prepared than you were yesterday!