Aflatoxin poisoning in my herd

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

Ok, so now the results are back. They found aflatoxins when the hay was tested. Usually aflatoxins do not cause such sudden and severe problems, but it is not unheard of. Another goat breeder I knew of had aflatoxin poisoning from her custom feed mix years ago. She had more severe losses than I did.

This is the same toxin that is causing widespread production losses in dairy cattle herds I am familiar with, and sometimes deaths. It is most commonly found in corn, but can be found in most any grain and in hays. It is not usually visible to the naked eye. A lot of feed mills are starting to test every batch of corn bought in, as several have had lawsuits against them from losses sustained by dairies that buy their bulk feeds. Now, I'm wondering if we should also be testing our hays.....
It is more common during drought conditions while the crop is growing(which we had this past year when this hay was grown).

Some quotes from sites I've been studying on. Quotes are in bold, my observations are not:

"Cattle afflicted with aflatoxin may have a black or bloody diarrhea from digestive tract bleeding"

My sick goats that survived past the first 24 hours had black/bloody scours.

"Aflatoxin poisoning (aflatoxicosis) is one of nature's most potent toxins and quickly kills goats. A by-product of mold growth, aflatoxins do not go away, even if the mold dies............
Aflatoxin poisoning can be acute (goat dies within hours) or chronic (recurring illness)"

So in hays, if the mold is no longer visible, its going to be impossible to tell without testing. Lovely.
I think I'm almost glad my goats had the acute kind. They have been healthy as horses since they recovered. Milk production is not lowered at all, which is one of the chronic symptoms.

Will post more pertinant info if I find it.

Thanks Sue, for finding out!!

Originally Posted by noeskimo

Hey cheer up, hay prices WILL come down-here they already have-alfalfa square bales $17. We got 3" of rain today:the most we've had for more than 2 yrs.