*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that by clicking through and purchasing products, I will get paid a commission at no additional cost to you.
*Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian. This article is intended to offer you some tools to be mindful of how different aspects of your farm may affect your herd’s needs. It is not intended to replace the advice of a veterinarian.
Goat nutrition can be a confusing and tricky business! With deficiencies, toxicities & hidden antagonists, there’s a lot to consider. Learn what to look for and you just may become a holistic hero to your herd!
So here’s a story for ya…
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” Benjamin Franklin
Last May I came outside to find these adorable triplets. “Royal Ginger Snap” on the left, had a weak right hind leg, was very lethargic and would not nurse. Thankfully, an experienced goat expert friend came over and taught me how to save her life by injecting her with saline subcutaneously. And sure enough, Ginger perked right up and took the bottle! My friend reassured me that her leg would straighten out in a few days. It did!
What caused this?
Pat Coleby, author of the book (Affiliate link) “Natural Goat Care,” was one of the great natural farming pioneers in Australia. So having read her book, I knew that weak legs in kids could be a sign of selenium deficiency.
But walking with my dad in the pasture one day, he confirmed what I’d been told by a friend. Our soil probably has high amounts of minerals because we live right by a mountain. He pointed out the loco weed and warned me to get rid of it. He’d seen it make livestock go crazy and die! After doing a little bit of research on this mysterious plant, I found out that some types of locoweed are indicators of high selenium in the soil.
So if selenium isn’t low in our soil, am I barking up the wrong tree? Well, maybe not. At the time Marmee was growing her babies, I had been giving lots of alfalfa hay and my herd wasn’t grazing our pastures very much. Other possibilities: too many selenium antagonists, or perhaps a lack of vitamin E, which is needed to make selenium work properly. Or maybe I mistook mesquite saplings for locoweed! SO much to consider isn’t there?
Keeping a watchful eye
Now that our pastures are bountiful I know to be watchful of signs of selenium improvement, or even toxicity. Perhaps the fresh forage will also provide more vitamin E, which should improve selenium status. Some day I will get around to testing our soil. But for now, I’m just going to observe any changes I see now that my herd is on consistent pasture and compare them with the notes below.
It has really been amazing to witness the power of plant minerals once I started getting it right! You can see the dramatic change in my goat’s coat in the links to my article on making herbal minerals below. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as seeing a sign of a deficiency and providing that nutrient. Hopefully this article will shed some light on what may be interfering with the success of your mineral regimen.
Types of deficiency
It is crucial to understand that the relationships between minerals is complex. Some help each other get absorbed and used, while others are antagonistic to each other. Sometimes, a deficiency can be resolved by simply reducing (but not eliminating) the source of the antagonistic minerals. An example of this is that sometimes the high calcium content of the alfalfa can block the absorption of zinc. Replacing some or all alfalfa hay with grass hay can often resolve zinc deficiency.
Toxicity can also result from a LACK of antagonistic minerals! We don’t want to try to eliminate antagonists or we can cause a toxicity in something else. We just need learn how to balance vitamins and minerals.
- Primary deficiency- caused by lack of a vitamin/mineral in the diet.
- Secondary deficiency- caused by too much antagonist. Again remember the flip side: Sometimes lack of antagonist can cause toxicity.
Cross over
You’ll probably notice that some of the symptoms cross over. For example, pregnancy problems can be a result of copper deficiency or toxicity, or selenium deficiency. Be careful not to mistake one thing for another.
Copper • Selenium • Zinc
These are the most common mineral deficiencies in goats so let’s focus on those for this article. In the
Copper
Symptoms of copper deficiency
- no signs of going into heat/fertility and pregnancy problems
- kids fail to thrive
- bald spots, sometimes around eyes, bridge of nose (as in featured picture above), face, or end of tail creating a “fishtail” appearance
- weak immune system
- more susceptibility to parasites
- faded coat {you can see clear pictures of evidence of this in my article: Homemade Herbal Goat Minerals With Copper+ {Coat Changing COLOR}}
- failing to shed winter coat in a timely manner
- anemia
- swayed back
- bowed legs
- death
Causes of copper deficiency
- Alfalfa hay is high in molybdenum. Molybdenum is a copper antagonist, so it reduces the amount of copper absorbed from the diet.
- Water that’s high in calcium (our issue), sulfur or iron, which are also antagonists and bind to copper and keep it from being used by the body.
- Coal fired power plants can contaminate land with sulfur, among many other things.
- lack of copper in the soil
- lack of good soil biology
Symptoms of copper toxicity
merckvetmanual.com does a great job of explaining copper toxicity. The prognosis is usually not good.
According to “Copper Poisoning in Small Ruminants” by Dave Van Metre, DVM, DACVIM
Professor / Extension Veterinarian, Colorado State University, the following signs indicate copper poisoning:
- Weakness, panting, and dull attitude
- Pale mucous membranes
- Yellow discoloration (jaundice) of the mucous membranes of the eyes, gums and genitalia
- Dark brown or red colored urine
- Abortion in pregnant ewes and does
- Death
Causes of copper toxicity
- living near mines or buying hay grown near them
- lack of antagonists (mentioned above)
- over supplementing
- Liver damage, such as eating a toxic plant, can cause a large release of stored copper, causing fatal toxicity.
- According to the article mentioned above, “Copper Poisoning in Small Ruminants“, allowing a goat to have access to supplements or feed that are intended for cattle, swine, poultry or horses can create copper toxicity in goats.
“Sheep are by far the most susceptible farm animal species to copper poisoning, with goats being less susceptible than sheep and cattle being less susceptible than either sheep or goats. Pigs are the least susceptible to copper poisoning…”
- grazing goats on pasture that has been fertilized with cow, pig or poultry (depends on type of feed and concentration of manure)
Selenium
Symptoms of selenium deficiency
- white muscle disease: a type of nutritional muscular dystrophy
- fertility issues similar to copper deficiency
- retained placenta
- low milk production
- poor growth
- mastitis
- premature kids
Causes of selenium deficiency
- feed/mineral choices low in selenium
- too much selenium antagonist in offerings to goats
- low selenium in the soil
- lack of biology in the soil
Note: Selenium needs vitamin E to work properly so I make sure our goats are getting plenty of sunflower seeds mixed in their grain rations. Green grass and sun cured hay is also a good source of vitamin E.
Symptoms of selenium toxicity
- rough coat
- hair loss
- lameness
- sloughing of hooves
- erosion of joints
- liver cirrhosis
- cardiac atrophy
- lowered conception rates
- anemia
- birth defects
- abdominal pains
- starvation
- blindness
- excessive salivation
- partial paralysis
- respiratory distress
Causes of selenium toxicity
- over supplementing
- alkali soil
Zinc
FUN FACT: According to this, you can use sweet potatoes to determine zinc deficiency in soil. Before it gets warm, plant some, and as the leaves come in, notice if the leaves are miniaturized. If so, there is likely a deficiency. As the temperatures increase they tend to become more resilient to the deficiency and begin to recover.
Symptoms of zinc deficiency
- thickened flaky skin
- weight loss
- small testicles
- buck uninterested in mating
- stiff joints
- excessive salivation (sometimes looks like foaming at the mouth)
Causes of zinc deficiency
- high calcium in the diet (alfalfa or water)
- lack of zinc in soil
- lack of good biology in the soil
- alkaline soil reduces zinc availability
Symptoms of zinc toxicity
According to this study:
- loss of appetite
- loss of condition
- diarrhea
- profound weakness
- jaundice
Causes of zinc toxicity
- over supplementation
- providing water in galvanized steel trough or bucket- (lots of people do, including myself, but good to know if you spot zinc toxicity symptoms)
Note: I’m not sure what concentrations would cause metal to leach, but when I give my herd apple cider vinegar I offer it in a small plastic bucket of water, hoping that is better than galvanized steel.
Now, what to do about it?
Here’s how I formulate our herbal mineral mix: Homemade Herbal Goat Minerals With Copper+ {Coat Changing COLOR}
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I have several young lactating dairy goats that have some bowing in there back legs? Do you have any thoughts jill
Hi Jill! I’ve seen some discussion on copper bolus and a good mineral mix reversing that in a buck. I think it was on backyardherds.com.