Southern by choice
Herd Master
I wanted to share the importance of having good data.
Background: We are NOT in a Selenium deficient area; we are NOT in a copper deficient area. All our goats are on a good high quality feed with high quality loose minerals, they have access to good hay 24 hours a day, tree foliage, grass, and forage. We give some alfalfa several times per week according to season. We have here Nigerian Dwarfs, Lamancha, and Kiko Goats. All goats are in good health... so sickness, no parasite issues.
Observation: We noticed our goats coats were lacking and felt it wasn't just the winter changes. Over time there was also a slight discoloring of their coats. The discoloring was very, very slight. The texture of the coats had changed to being more coarse and not as soft. As all who have goats know, you know your goats! LOL! So any minute change will be noticeable to you.
Hypothesis: We felt, given the lack of any other health issues, no parasite issues etc, this was some sort of deficiency. We suspected possibly copper but maybe zinc they are similar. Our suspicions were the IRON in our WATER. High Iron can act as a binder and not allow the utilization of other minerals. Iron greatly affects copper in particular. Because this appears to have been such a slow gradual effect and not having any issue for years we believed the effects were just slowly building up.
Our Course of Action: Instead of guessing or just giving copper etc and possibly overdosing or making the wrong call we chose to go with the data. We had several samples taken from the 3 different herds on the property. None of these herds co-mingle.
We had a Mineral Analysis done to get the exact information to effectively treat the situation. We were testing for johns and CAE too.
RESULTS: My suspicions were affirmed, our Iron is very high, results in the mineral utilization being interrupted, our course of treatment has not quite been determined as of yet. (Johnes and CAE neg also). Still waiting on the full analysis. Preliminary findings were High Iron. (all the data is together I just havent received the full content)
Conclusion: Having Data really allows for targeting areas that are of concern. I see quite often the stabbing in the dark approach, I see goats get sicker, die, overdosed, or lots of money spent way more than my $25 mineral analysis cost me. I say all this to encourage others to utilize their state vet/ vet schools etc to get the data BEFORE you treat. If I were to just give more copper I could be doing great harm to my animals because the copper could be building up creating a storage issue. I will be working with our 3 vets (I like consensus) to remedy the situation. I will let you all know what the proper plan is for this according to the recommendations I receive.
If you have high Iron in your water (usually well water) please keep this in mind. It can greatly effect the mineral utilization.
Background: We are NOT in a Selenium deficient area; we are NOT in a copper deficient area. All our goats are on a good high quality feed with high quality loose minerals, they have access to good hay 24 hours a day, tree foliage, grass, and forage. We give some alfalfa several times per week according to season. We have here Nigerian Dwarfs, Lamancha, and Kiko Goats. All goats are in good health... so sickness, no parasite issues.
Observation: We noticed our goats coats were lacking and felt it wasn't just the winter changes. Over time there was also a slight discoloring of their coats. The discoloring was very, very slight. The texture of the coats had changed to being more coarse and not as soft. As all who have goats know, you know your goats! LOL! So any minute change will be noticeable to you.
Hypothesis: We felt, given the lack of any other health issues, no parasite issues etc, this was some sort of deficiency. We suspected possibly copper but maybe zinc they are similar. Our suspicions were the IRON in our WATER. High Iron can act as a binder and not allow the utilization of other minerals. Iron greatly affects copper in particular. Because this appears to have been such a slow gradual effect and not having any issue for years we believed the effects were just slowly building up.
Our Course of Action: Instead of guessing or just giving copper etc and possibly overdosing or making the wrong call we chose to go with the data. We had several samples taken from the 3 different herds on the property. None of these herds co-mingle.
We had a Mineral Analysis done to get the exact information to effectively treat the situation. We were testing for johns and CAE too.
RESULTS: My suspicions were affirmed, our Iron is very high, results in the mineral utilization being interrupted, our course of treatment has not quite been determined as of yet. (Johnes and CAE neg also). Still waiting on the full analysis. Preliminary findings were High Iron. (all the data is together I just havent received the full content)
Conclusion: Having Data really allows for targeting areas that are of concern. I see quite often the stabbing in the dark approach, I see goats get sicker, die, overdosed, or lots of money spent way more than my $25 mineral analysis cost me. I say all this to encourage others to utilize their state vet/ vet schools etc to get the data BEFORE you treat. If I were to just give more copper I could be doing great harm to my animals because the copper could be building up creating a storage issue. I will be working with our 3 vets (I like consensus) to remedy the situation. I will let you all know what the proper plan is for this according to the recommendations I receive.
If you have high Iron in your water (usually well water) please keep this in mind. It can greatly effect the mineral utilization.
