Ammonium Chloride

One problem that can arise with goat bucks and wethers ( and I suppose rams) is urinary calculi blockage. This happens when crystals form and get lodged in the urethra, making it impossible for the animal to urinate...and they will die if the blockage is not removed. If you observe straining but no urination, stretching, kicking at the belly...suspect a blockage, and call your vet or experienced goat breeder. Who will still probably tell you to call the vet.

However...its better to prevent the situation from happening in the first place. To do this, there are two things that you need to do. First is...calcium/phosphorus ratio in their food must be appropriate....2:1, and plenty of roughage. Too much grain, or too rich of grain, is not a good thing. Second is the addition of ammonium chloride to their water, or some feed rations have it already mixed in. Hoeggers Goat Supply sells small bags of ammonium chloride, and I feed it every Monday morning to our bucks, mixed in their water. So far, so good!