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Expert: Goatlady - 5/19/2008


Question
Hi,  I have three two week old pygmy nany goats that were born with swollen glands in their necks.  The one has very fine hair and is with her mother, the other two were weak at birth and are bottle babies and doing fine now.  From what I have read it is evidently an iodine deficientcy in their mothers.  My question is what are the long term effects of this for them.  Will they have a normal life,  can they reproduce.  I want to find them homes and I want the new owners to know what to expect.  Thanks, Valerie

Answer
Hi Valerie, This may be milk goiter- The best resource I have seen on this is here:
http://www.goatbiology.com/milkgoiter.html
but usually hits baby goats not at birth but at a week old- I think I would try a tiny bit of iodized salt into the baby orally and see if this helps any.

Here is information on iodine deficiency goiter in lambs:
photos: http://www.pipevet.com/photos/goiter.htm
Short article:
Goiter

Goiter is an enlargement or swelling of the thyroid gland. Affected lambs have a swollen throat. They are often born with little or no wool. They are weak and often die of starvation. Treatment is usually unrewarding. But if the condition is not advanced, the lamb may survive. Goiter in newborn lambs is due to a deficieny of iodine in the pregnant ewe's diet. It can be prevented by providing iodized salt in the diet of gestating ewes. The salt mixture should contain 0.007 percent of available iodine. An iodine deficiency may also result in reduced yield of wool and reduced conception rate in the flock.

Iodine for Animals by the Salt Institute
http://www.saltinstitute.org/47q.html

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Goatlady

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Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats. (! During times of severe weather in the Midwest, I may experience a delay in internet service due to the interference of the satellite reception - but will answer your questions as soon as service is restored. !) Note: Keep in mind, the goat expert is volunteering her time to help other goat owners, she also runs her farm with her own herd of 100 goats and may not be at her computer at all hours. Questions are answered as soon as she can possibly read and answer them, usually within 24 hours.

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18 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction. The information I have to offer is not only from personal experience and years of research updated often as new information is made available to me, but supported by many Veterinary Research colleges and all medications and information I have to offer on how the medications work and what dosages "I" use, is information I have acquired by discussing directly with the company's veterinarians and staff research experts.

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5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service

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United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™

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Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University

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