Need advice on growth- UPDATE- animals were extremely ill

[babsbag]

Why do you suspect a Selenium deficiency? BoSe can be great if it is needed but can also be deadly. See what your vet says and talk to him about any cases of deficiency he or she has seen in your area. Here is a link to a map listing average soil content in the U.S. but other things do influence selenium intake and absorption---this is just a reference point.

http://tin.er.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/se/usa.html

Edited to add that goats require 0.2 ppm, but less than 0.5 is deficient. Above 3.0 ppm is toxic.

This is what mine says:

(Where our hay is grown) Selenium Se (ppm) 0.238 0.159 0.100 1.295
(Where we live) Selenium Se (ppm) 0.303 0.296 0.100 1.496



What would you do in my case?

Don't forget that BoSe is also Vitamin E

My goats have access to loose minerals and goat blocks and are fed primarily alfalfa.

I don't know what the Selenium values are in No Ca, other than low, but I do know that my vet that raises goats and all my friends (and myself) give BoSe injections to does a month before kidding and also to kids if they are weak. I had a necropsy done on a 7 wk old kid last year and the selenium and copper levels were both about 50% below the lowest "normal" amount. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure if your animals are deficient is a liver biopsy. The kid's dam had been given BoSe pre-kidding. This year the does have been given copper boluses and will be given BoSe next month. I will also give my kids BoSe at 4 weeks and not sure about the copper. If they are showing a deficiency at 7 weeks I obviously have a problem

A selenium deficiency can cause a number of problems

"Proper selenium levels are necessary for goats to reproduce, lactate, give birth, urinate, and have properly functioning muscles. Selenium working with vitamin E helps develop and protect healthy brain cells, assists in thyroid function, helps the immune system function properly, and prevents cell wall damage. Symptoms of selenium deficiency are similar to those of Vitamin E deficiency. White Muscle Disease, also known as Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy, is a condition in which kids are too weak to stand or suckle at birth, they consistently cough, milk sometimes runs out of their nose after nursing, and they develop pneumonia because of muscle weakness in their lungs. In adults, abortions, stillbirths, retained placenta, or inability to conceive can be indicative of selenium deficiency."

Since the necropsy showed that one kid was deficient I have no reason to not to suspect the status of my entire herd and to supplement accordingly.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Wow, that is not good. Were these your first goats?

 

[SassyKat6181]

No, I have two 10 month old does. I should've seen the signs at her farm, but they were so cute and my kids were excited to get them. WON'T ever do that again!!! Fortunately they were in their own "quarantinne" stall and never met my girls.

 

[RemudaOne]

Just a thought, but perhaps the vet was concerned with breeding them since they are stunted but would more than likely produce full sized offspring. That may get pretty hairy around kidding time. My first lambing ever was a humongous lamb........ Took four hours to get that lamb out and thankfully both ewe and lamb survived, but I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone.

That's just what came to my mind when I read it