Copper and Selenium for Goats
Deficiency and Toxicity
Copper and Selenium can easily be tested by your vet by a simple blood test.
Caution should be used when trying to self diagnose as deficiency can look similar to toxicity.
Disclaimer: The author of this article is not a vet and each individual should seek local veterinarian advice on dosages and treatments. The recommended dosage in this article is off label.
Copper
Copper Deficiency:
Loss of hair color (or reddening / rusting of black goats)
Coarse hair that has hooked end tips
Abortions / Stillbirths
Anemia
Bone fractures
Poor appetite / weight loss
Decreased milk production
Copper Toxicity:
Depressed
Lack of appetite
Loss of hair
Sudden hemolytic crisis:
Jaundice
Discolored (brick red) urine that is due to destruction of the red blood cells
Inability to stand
Shaking and/or difficulty with breathing
Brown mucous membranes
Diarrhea
Arched back (pain)
Grinding teeth (pain)
Selenium
Selenium Deficiency:
Can cause white muscle disease (nutritional muscular dystrophy)
Causes the goat to have difficulty controlling its muscles
Pneumonia - result of weakness in muscles that control breathing
Newborns with weak rear legs
Kids too weak to nurse
Unthrifty look
Coarse hair
Abortions / Stillborns
Lower conception rates, fetal reabsorption, dystocia and / or retained placenta
Reduced milk production
Reduced semen quality
*White Muscle Disease can be caused by Selenium or Vitamin E deficiency
Selenium Toxicity:
Labored breathing
Frothing from nose
Dilated pupils
Loss of tail hair
Sloughing of hooves
Elevated or below normal temperature
Unsteady gait
Blind staggering / wandering into objects
Impaired vision
Poor appetite
Throat and tongue paralysis
Respiratory failure
Death
Chronic Alkali Disease
Problems w/ joints, liver and / or heart
Anemia, enlarged abdomen
Crackling and/or deformity of hooves
Lameness
Dulling or loss of hair
*A garlicky odor of the breath is usually present in any type of selenium toxicity
Here is a good thread to read on the forum: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10926
Additional reading on Vitamin / Mineral Deficiencies in Goats: http://www.smallstock.info/info/feedhealth/mins.htm
Deficiency and Toxicity
Copper and Selenium can easily be tested by your vet by a simple blood test.
Caution should be used when trying to self diagnose as deficiency can look similar to toxicity.
Disclaimer: The author of this article is not a vet and each individual should seek local veterinarian advice on dosages and treatments. The recommended dosage in this article is off label.
Copper
Copper Deficiency:
Loss of hair color (or reddening / rusting of black goats)
Coarse hair that has hooked end tips
Abortions / Stillbirths
Anemia
Bone fractures
Poor appetite / weight loss
Decreased milk production
Copper Toxicity:
Depressed
Lack of appetite
Loss of hair
Sudden hemolytic crisis:
Jaundice
Discolored (brick red) urine that is due to destruction of the red blood cells
Inability to stand
Shaking and/or difficulty with breathing
Brown mucous membranes
Diarrhea
Arched back (pain)
Grinding teeth (pain)
Selenium
Selenium Deficiency:
Can cause white muscle disease (nutritional muscular dystrophy)
Causes the goat to have difficulty controlling its muscles
Pneumonia - result of weakness in muscles that control breathing
Newborns with weak rear legs
Kids too weak to nurse
Unthrifty look
Coarse hair
Abortions / Stillborns
Lower conception rates, fetal reabsorption, dystocia and / or retained placenta
Reduced milk production
Reduced semen quality
*White Muscle Disease can be caused by Selenium or Vitamin E deficiency
Selenium Toxicity:
Labored breathing
Frothing from nose
Dilated pupils
Loss of tail hair
Sloughing of hooves
Elevated or below normal temperature
Unsteady gait
Blind staggering / wandering into objects
Impaired vision
Poor appetite
Throat and tongue paralysis
Respiratory failure
Death
Chronic Alkali Disease
Problems w/ joints, liver and / or heart
Anemia, enlarged abdomen
Crackling and/or deformity of hooves
Lameness
Dulling or loss of hair
*A garlicky odor of the breath is usually present in any type of selenium toxicity
Here is a good thread to read on the forum: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10926
Additional reading on Vitamin / Mineral Deficiencies in Goats: http://www.smallstock.info/info/feedhealth/mins.htm
