# Copper : Copper: deficiency symptoms in kids~Sue Reith



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Thank you Sue for allowing us to post your articles

Question:

>>I have a 1/2 Boer buck kid, born 8 days ago who has lost control of his 
rear legs. I don't believe this is FKS, the kid can still nurse and does so 
with gusto. I noticed he was a little shaky last night, but didn't pay much 
attention. This early p.m., he is unable to get up. I'm treating this as 
White Muscle disease, but is there anything else I should consider; navel or 
joint ill, say? His navel was slightly infected yesterday (other kids have 
such sharp teeth!), so have started him on a course of Penicillin, washing 
it and spraying twice daily with 7% Iodine. Any other ideas or input very 
welcome.<<

Sue Reith responds:

This is, I'm sad to relate, a classic symptom of copper deficiency. The 
bad news is that once the rear spinal nerves have started to deteriorate as 
a result of the deficiency you can only arrest the progression of the 
deterioration, which without treatment would continue up the spine until it 
hit the brain if the animal didn't die sooner. We have found here on the 
West Coast over the past several years a continuously growing trend for kids 
to show signs of a combination of Selenium AND Copper deficiency, which the 
California State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has been finding consistently of 
late in its necropsies of kids. Unfortunately, the last people to know that 
it seems are the vets! They will treat the poor animal (at great $$$ to its 
owners) for everything imaginable to no avail. I once got angry at a vet I 
knew for doing that to a pet owner's new baby goat, and he charged them a 
huge bill and told me I was wrong, as he (a dog and cat vet) was sure this 
tiny kid had CAEV! (Thanks for letting me vent on that one!) Another 
classic sign that I have observed with the copper deficiency symptom you are 
seeing in your kid is that they do remain 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed' 
throughout the whole sad thing. When Selenium is also deficient, a shot of 
BoSe will actually raise their spirits for a while, but it will subside in a 
week or so.

Joyce Lazzaro's Copper Deficiency page, if you haven't already read it, is:

http://www.saanendoah.com/copper1.html

Sorry to be the bearer of potentially bad news...

(While I urge you to share this information with other individual goat owners, please do not reproduce the article for publication without my specific permission. Thank you. Sue Reith.)

Sue Reith 
Carmelita Toggs 
Bainbridge Island WA 
[email protected]


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