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Post by mollymckee on Jan 31, 2019 18:33:33 GMT
We have two pet goats. They are both nannies, we don't breed them. DH made me promise there would be no milking involved as he spent a lot of time on his uncles' dairy farm when he was growing up and he didn't want to be any more tied down than we are. A couple of mornings ago I went down to feed and the younger one had a horn stuck under a shed. I released her and realized she was stiff with her head back. I gave her a shot of B vitamins and she was fine within an hour. This is the second time she has had this happen. How can I prevent it? Do you change their feed? Give them vitamins regularly? Something else? The older goat has never had a problem.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 20:09:00 GMT
Goat polis is a deficiency of thiamine. It can be caused by anything that interferes with the goats' ability to make this. Here is a good article about polia and listeriosis. Both are mostly, although not entirely, a feed issue, polio more so than listeriosis. www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/listeriosis.html
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Post by mzgarden on Jan 31, 2019 23:59:16 GMT
As Redfish said, goat polio is a B1 deficiency. While generally this is traced back to a feed issue or the use of Corid to treat coccidiosis,if you have a goat that is repeating the symptoms, it's possible her issue is within her own metabolism. My understanding is that a goat produces B vitamins through the rumen activity so possibly this particular goat is not producing sufficient quantities? You could buy some human vitamins (B1 or B complex) and add them to her feed each day or prepare a medicine ball including B vitamins. B vitamins are water soluble, so not likely to overdose on them. This would not be a treatment for symptoms of course, but you could try it and see if it prevents a reocurrence.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 1:15:38 GMT
Long term use of molasses also can interfere with B vitamin production. Also, if goats don't have enough Cobalt,they cannot make b vitamins. If pasture is unusually wet or dry, the plants may not take up Cobalt and so the goats wont be getting it. When I have issues (haven't had polia but other indications) I put a certain amount of a 1% (I think) Cobalt solution in the water. Some people use Brewers yeast in feed as well, I believe.
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Post by mzgarden on Feb 1, 2019 2:34:30 GMT
@redfish, learned some new stuff - thanks. Did not know molasses interfered with B vit. production. About the cobalt solution -- is that something you mix yourself or do you buy it?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 3:30:05 GMT
@redfish , learned some new stuff - thanks. Did not know molasses interfered with B vit. production. About the cobalt solution -- is that something you mix yourself or do you buy it? I use Cobalt sulfate and mix the solution myself. I need to correct the above, I actually use an 8% solution, not 1%. 8 tsp Cobalt to 4C warm water. Stir or shake till dissolved. 2 ml per gallon of water. And, part of what makes minerals so much fun, if there is not enough iodine, they cannot use the Cobalt properly, or copper. Without proper amounts of copper and Cobalt, they cannot take up calcium. And it goes on and on. For the molasses, it is more of a long term use thing and, obviously, varies from animal to animal but it's something to be aware of
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Post by mzgarden on Feb 1, 2019 11:37:07 GMT
@redfish, thanks. Sometimes I think - owning goats might require a bio-chemistry degree
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Post by dustawaits on Feb 1, 2019 15:35:00 GMT
One breeder started a diary of when certain goats were affected. With her herd it was weather change. I don’t know if a Degree would be sufficient!!!! After having goats for nearly 40 years...you have to be ready for anything, expect nothing , hope for the best and prepare for the worst. You can never have everything you need because most likely it will be outdated, spoiled, molded , or whatever when you do need it.
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Post by mzgarden on Feb 1, 2019 20:53:57 GMT
dustawaits, hahaha, you're so right. I thought I was the only once, since I've only had goats for 7 years.
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Post by mollymckee on Feb 3, 2019 19:08:14 GMT
Thank you everyone. Both times she has done it she has been on oat hay. Very good oat hay, but usually we feed alfalfa. This year and two years ago we had oat hay over the alfalfa in the mow,so we fed that first. I'm thinking the alfalfa has more B1 than the oat hay, but I can't seem to find anything about it. I think I'll give them extra B1 every so often to try to keep the polio from happening. They are good goats, I don't want to see them sick. I sure wish there something to cure me that fast!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2019 12:59:38 GMT
This may sound odd, but did the doe get her head stuck before or after she showed signs of polio? In that case, in addition to balancing feed, you may want to make some sort of apparatus to prevent her horns getting hung up. People have done interesting things with tennis balls, duct tape, and PVC.
Good luck with your gals. Goats rock!
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Post by mzgarden on Feb 4, 2019 13:11:56 GMT
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Post by mollymckee on Feb 4, 2019 16:28:31 GMT
This may sound odd, but did the doe get her head stuck before or after she showed signs of polio? In that case, in addition to balancing feed, you may want to make some sort of apparatus to prevent her horns getting hung up. People have done interesting things with tennis balls, duct tape, and PVC. Good luck with your gals. Goats rock! I don't know what happened first. I found her when I went into the barn in the morning. I should say, she called me when she heard me come into the barn. I got her unstuck and she started showing the signs of polio almost immediately. The other time she didn't get stressed, that we could see. We left her horns because we have cougers, coyotes, and other things that eat goats. They are bigger goats, we thought leaving the horns would at least give her a chance. I wish we hadn't now.
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Post by mollymckee on Feb 4, 2019 16:39:50 GMT
It appears that alfalfa has more of all the important things, probably because it is real leafy, if done right. I've asked my hay guy (DH) and he is going to talk to several professors he has worked with and see if we can test the have for B1.
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