MARCH 2009 Issue |
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
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• Subscribe to Meat Goat Mania • Email Us • Onion Creek Ranch • Bending Tree Ranch • OCR Health & Management Articles • MGM Archive |
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CHILLED NEWBORNS
7) If the baby is strong enough to nurse, you can carry it out to its dam to nurse, but not until its body temperature has climbed back to the normal 101.5°F. To make an enema, use warm water and add a drop or two of liquid dishwashing liquid. Get a 3 cc luer slip syringe without a needle attached and draw up 3 cc’s of the warm soapy water. Gently insert the tip of the luer slip syringe into the anus, slowly pressing the plunger to insert the water. Continue inserting water until it squirts back out. Gently rub the kid’s belly and continue adding water until the solid wastes come out. You will need to continue this process until you are sure that all solid waste has been flushed out. You will be surprised at how much baby poop comes out. © Pat Cotten 2009 |
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Iodine deficiency in goats is a disease of the thyroid gland. Under the chin behind the larynx on the front of neck, the thyroid gland enlarges to form a goiter when the goat is deficient in iodine. A goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland. Goiters are not "bottlejaw," which is anemia that is almost always caused by a heavy wormload and occurs directly under the chin. Goiters are not Caseous Lymphadenitis abscesses; CL abscesses occur at lymph glands and when located in the neck area will be under an ear, downward towards the chest, or along the jaw line. Goiters are often nutritionally related. Much of the northern part of the USA has soils that are iodine deficient. Plants of the Brassicas family interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. This includes plants in the mustard family such as cabbage, broccoli, and turnips. Supplemental iodine will not help correct iodine deficiency in goats eating these plants. The producer must eliminate them from the goat's' diet. The tendency to produce goiters can be inherited. Some Swiss breeds that have been linebred tend to carry abnormalities in thyroid function. The Boer goat is a breed that is more susceptible to iodine deficiency that results in goiters. Goiters can exist in newborn kids and have been reported by Boer breeders in the USA in recent years. Thyroid deficiency can cause stillbirths or kids can be born weak and hairless or with very fine haircoats. These kids are sluggish and grow poorly. They may or may not develop skin lesions. Cobalt deficiency and its accompanying Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause goiters. Treatment for iodine deficiency that isn't caused by plants that prevent iodine uptake is to add iodized salt to the goat's diet. Many prepared goat feeds use non-iodized mixing salt because the particles are small and have better mixing qualities. The amount of organic iodine (EDDI) put into prepared feeds is controlled by the U. S. Food & Drug Administration. Severe iodine deficiency can be treated more quickly by painting 7% iodine on a hairless part of the goat's body such as the tailweb. Free-choice feeding of kelp -- dried seaweed -- is probably the best method available. Kelp isn't always easy to find and is expensive but consumption per goat is small so overall cost should not be a major concern. A 50-pound bag of kelp lasts a long time and can be mixed with loose goat minerals to encourage consumption. Feed stores can special order kelp. Suzanne W. Gasparotto Onion Creek Ranch |
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