Newborn Goat kids with Swollen Throats

yankeeterrier · #1 02/03/12, 08:49 PM

I was helping a friend with a commercial dairy with her newborn kids and several were born with large swollen masses bilaterally just under their jaws. They also appear to have swollen tongues. They are nursing and otherwise seem fine, but in years of kidding hundreds of goats I have never seen this. Could it be iodine deficiency in the does? Has anyone else had experience with this. Suggestions for treatment? Prognosis?

CarolT · #2 02/03/12, 08:52 PM

Look up milk goiter and see if that's not it. My guys had huge ones LOL Dairy breeds seem to get them worst

ETA However, never know milk goiter to cause swollen tongues

Alice In TX/MO · #3 02/03/12, 08:53 PM

Looks like iodine deficiency:
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf...KA-4ZLVN4?open

yankeeterrier · #4 02/03/12, 09:16 PM

I'm certain it is iron deficiency. She also had a lamb born with the same issue earlier this week. Guess she needs to revise her feeding program.

Backfourty,MI. · #5 02/03/12, 09:31 PM

Have her paint all the undersides of their tails with iodine. Keep that up for awhile but that's what it sounds like to me too.
I believe it was Dunroven that was having a real problem with the same thing in her Boer herd.

dunroven · #6 02/03/12, 10:31 PM

That's exactly what I had and it was because of flixweed that got into my pasture. I didn't even breed this season because I absolutely want to be certain it is gone. I lost 2 fabulous looking, very large doelings because of it. I did manage to keep 3, but one is smaller than she should be, and I won't be breeding her this year, until I am sure we have some good size on her. The other one that I kept was a buck. Now they say, that bucks WILL survive this but doelings will die, generally speaking. It was an extremely horrible death to watch, which took only seconds, but no chance to help and the little does were screaming trying to breathe and the mother was just about sick with worry about what to do and when I took the babies away, she nearly went nuts. She actually adopted and helped raise one of the other babies that had survived this. THAT baby is huge now! Goiters are well under control, but absolutely, get the iodine and a 2 inch paint brush and paint, paint, paint. Then wherever you are getting your hay check to see if they have the flixweed (wild mustard). It has little tiny yellow flowers on it. After I thought it was the hay, I saw the durn thing in my pasture, so I went around and pulled all of them, and then put salt water on the spots so hopefully they won't come back this year, but I'm waiting to see. I absolutely can't watch those little ones die with this again. Its heartbreaking to say the least.