we need help...we are losing too many kids the last 2 years...would like some opinions b4 I ask my vet. Last year we lost 6 kids...one doe had twins; one was huge apparently born dead and the 2nd was tiny and weak; lasted 3 days. another doe had quads and I originally thought she abandonded them but after talking to someone they were probably born dead also. we chalked it up just to having a bad year after 5 years of no problems. this year one doe delivered a dead baby in the middle of the night. last nite my best doe delivered twins; one was large and was dead. the other was very tiny and weak but was walking around. I didn't see him nurse but mama is a excellent mama so just to calm myself I did give him some colostrum just to be sure. i checked them at 10 pm and at 2am and mama and baby were snuggled up so i felt better. i checked them at 5:30 and all was ok and my hubby checked them at noon and gave him some colostrum just as a precaution. when i got home tonite and went down to the barn and the baby was dead. we have been wracking our brains; the only thing that has changed was our hay supplier. our old guy retired and last year and this year we used a new guy. the hay appears to be ok; no mold. is it possible there is some weed or fungus in the hay that could be causing these problems? we have had only 2 babies that have survived with no problems; one Nigerian and one mininubian. any feedback would be most appreciated.
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Deb thank you so much for your info...I will let you know how everything turns out....
I'd order the Copasure and give them that ASAP because it will work faster than the free choice mineral. It's available through Jeffers and other online sites. Limestone is basically calcium, which can also cause copper deficiency. I forget about that one because it's not in our water.
So much of the babies' development has already happened, I don't really know how much it will help them at this point, but I'm sure it won't hurt -- and there is almost nothing that I say that about. It will help the mama does, so they will hopefully go to term, which would be a good thing. We discovered we had a copper deficiency problem in the summer, so we had a few months before breeding season to get our does' mineral status up to normal.
No problem with iron or sulfur in the well water..if anything theres limestone .....I don't remember the brand name of the goat mineral they didn't like but I have seen the one you recommend; I will pick that up. I will also pick up your book. Once the goats start eating this supplement how long does it take for their bodies to start utilizing it? I have 2 does that are pregnant ; one due in late Feb and the other in March. Should I expect problems or will the minerals help the babies this late in the pregnancy?
An all stock mineral block does not have anywhere near the amount of minerals that goats need -- especially copper, which can cause all kinds of problems with fertility, premature labor, miscarriages, unhealthy kids, etc. And if you are on well water with high levels of sulfur (stinky water) or iron (turns things orange), then that definitely sounds like a copper deficiency problem.
Sweetlix Meat Maker is a really good goat mineral, and I've never heard of goats not wanting it. If you're not sure who has it in your area, their website has a dealer locator. Do you remember which goat mineral you had tried? Was it a loose mineral? Goats have very soft tongues and can't usually get enough minerals from a block.
Even with a good goat mineral, however, if you have hard well water, you will still probably need to use copper oxide wire particles (COWP), which some people refer to as a copper bolus. I recommend Copasure. Most people dose them at 1 gram per 22 pounds, which is more than what the bottle says. Also, you may need to do it every 3-4 months, depending upon your goats.
Do you have my book, Raising Goats Naturally? There are a few pages in there about copper and other minerals. I don't want to repeat everything, if you already have access to that info. The book is available from libraries and inter-library loan, if you don't want to buy it.
yes we are on well water....and it is hard water....I use a all stock salt/ mineral block....for some reason my goats wont touch the ones specfly for goats....it makes sense abt the quads coming fast; they were lined up in a row
This sounds like a problem with mineral deficiency. What do you do for mineral supplementation? Do you have well water?
Finding four dead quads could have simply been because the doe gave birth to them too quickly to get them cleaned off, so they suffocated at birth. When birthing quads, some does shoot them out so fast that it's hard for a human with two hands to keep up. I've seen kids born 30 seconds apart, and if that happens, there is no way a doe can do anything. If the sac doesn't break during delivery, the kid will suffocate. If temps are freezing when a doe has quads, they can easily die from hypothermia because she can't get them dry enough.