Newborn goat kids are low in blood levels of vitamin E and selenium. Not known is how this affects health and growth of the kids. In a study on an organic farm 40 kids were allotted to 4 groups. Parenteral administration of 0.5 ml vitamin E and selenium solution (treated groups) or 0.5 ml salt solution (placebo) at the day of birth was combined with powdered full goat milk or goat milk replacer during the raising period.

The milk-groups were housed in one group. Housing conditions and additional feed were the same for all groups. Blood samples were taken at days 0, 31 and 102. Kids were weighed at blood sampling days and at day 14. Health and medical treatments were recorded by the farmer.

In goat milk selenium content was 116 µg/kg and vitamin E was 1.5 mg/kg while milk replacer contained 682 µg/kg and 102.7 mg/kg resp. Health did not differ between groups and number of treatments were low. No kids were lost till day 31 indicating a good farm management. Blood GSH-Px and vitamin E values in treated groups and in milk replacer groups were significantly higher than in placebo groups and goat milk groups at day 31 but not at day 102. The average daily gain in the first 14 days, the first 31 days and over the whole period of 102 days was 181, 181 and 165 grams. Treated groups gained on averages 10 grams more a day than the placebo groups, milk groups did not differ in daily weight gain. Although blood levels are different between treated and between milk groups, no relevant differences in health and weight occurred under well managed farm conditions

Eekeren, Nick van

Govaerts, Wim

Smolders, Gidi

English

Pasgeboren geitenlammeren hebben lage bloedwaarden in selenium en vitamine E. Het is onbekend hoe dit de gezondheid en groei van de lammeren beïnvloedt. In een onderzoek op een biologisch bedrijf werden 40 lammeren in 4 groepen verdeeld. Injecties met 0,5 ml vitamine en selenium (behandel groep) of 0,5 ml zoutoplossing (placebo) op de dag van de geboorte werden gecombineerd met het gebruik van poedermelk van volle geitenmelk, of kunstmelk, gedurende de opfokperiode. De behandelde groepen groeiden gemiddeld 10 gram/dag meer dan de placebo groepen; er was geen verschil tussen groepen op basis van de verschillende soorten melk. Hoewel bloedgehalten verschillen lieten zien tussen de verschillende soorten melk, konden er bij een goede bedrijfsvoering geen significante verschillen in gezondheid en gewicht gevonden worden.Newborn goat kids are low in blood levels of vitamin E and selenium. Not known is how this affects health and growth of the kids. In a study on an organic farm 40 kids were allotted to 4 groups. Parenteral administration of 0.5 ml vitamin E and selenium solution (treated groups) or 0.5 ml salt solution (placebo) at the day of birth was combined with powdered full goat milk or goat milk replacer during the raising period. Treated groups gained on averages 10 grams more a day than the placebo groups, milk groups did not differ in daily weight gain. Although blood levels are different between treated and between milk groups, no relevant differences in health and weight occurred under well managed farm conditions

Smolders, E.A.A.

Eekeren, N.J.M., van

Govaerts, W.

Name not available

Effect of vitamin E and selenium and different types of milk on health and growth of organic goat kids

Organic Eprints

RAHMANN G & GODINHO D (Ed.) (2012): Tackling the Future Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry.  Proceedings of the 2nd OAHC, Hamburg/Trenthorst, Germany, Sep 12-14, 2012     247 Effect of vitamin E and selenium and different types of milk on  health and growth of organic goat kids  GIDI SMOLDERS1, NICK VAN EEKEREN2, WIM GOVEARTS3  1 Livestock Research of Wageningen University, the Netherlands,  www.wur.nl, email:gidi.smolders@wur.nl. 2 Louis Bolk Institute, the Netherlands, www.louisbolk org,  email: n.vaneekeren@louisbolk.nl 3 Bioconsult, Begium, email: wim.govearts@bioconsult.be  Abstract Newborn goat kids are low in blood levels of vitamin E and selenium. Not known is how this affects health and growth of the kids. In a study on an organic farm 40 kids were allotted to 4 groups. Par-enteral administration of 0.5 ml vitamin E and selenium solution (treated groups) or 0.5 ml salt solution (placebo) at the day of birth was combined with powdered full goat milk or goat milk re-placer during the raising period. The milk-groups were housed in one group. Housing conditions and additional feed were the same for all groups. Blood samples were taken at days 0, 31 and 102. Kids were weighed at blood sam-pling days and at day 14. Health and medical treatments were recorded by the farmer. In goat milk selenium content was 116 µg/kg and vitamin E was 1.5 mg/kg while milk replacer con-tained 682 µg/kg and 102.7 mg/kg resp. Health did not differ between groups and number of treat-ments were low. No kids were lost till day 31 indicating a good farm management. Blood GSH-Px and vitamin E values in treated groups and in milk replacer groups were significantly higher than in placebo groups and goat milk groups at day 31 but not at day 102. The average daily gain in the first 14 days, the first 31 days and over the whole period of 102 days was 181, 181 and 165 grams. Treated groups gained on averages 10 grams more a day than the placebo groups, milk groups did not differ in daily weight gain. Although blood levels are different between treated and between milk groups, no relevant differences in health and weight occurred under well managed farm condi-tions.    Key words: organic goat kid, vitamin E, selenium, blood values, weight gain  Introduction In newborn goat kids selenium and especially vitamin E can be very low, although Ghany-Hefnawy et al (2007) state that goat keep the selenium status in kids at a high level. Smolders et al, 2010 found low blood levels of vitamin E in kids although the level in pregnant goat were at an accepta-ble level. This could negatively affect resistance in kids and cause health problems and high mortal-ity rates. Administering selenium and vitamin E could have a positive effect on animal health and on mortality of newborn goat kids. Shi et al (2010) found no difference in the form of selenium supplied. On the other hand supplementing selenium and vitamin E could result in  zinc deficiency (Kojouri&Shirazi, 2007). In the Netherlands temporarily overproduction of goat milk occurs. To keep the milk price at a acceptable level, the surplus milk from a cooperation of goat farmers is tak-en from the market and powdered. It is used to feed goat kids in automatic feeder systems to avoid contact with the mother because of high risk of infection with Johne´s disease. Not known is wheth-er minerals and or vitamins should be added to promote daily gain and health of goat kids.   ! Agriculture and Forestry Research, Special Issue No 362 (Braunschweig, 2012) ISSN 0376-0723 Download: www.vti.bund.de/en/startseite/vti-publications/landbauforschung-special-issues.html    248 Material and methodology  On an organic goat farm with 800 dairy goats in the lambing period October – November 2010 40 newborn goat kids were allotted to 4 groups within two day. The design of the experiment is shown in table 1.   Table 1.   Design of the experiment with 10 kids per group Milk  Goat milk (full, powdered)  Milk replacer Treatment  0.5 cc Vitesel  0.5 cc placebo  0.5 cc Vitesel  0.5 cc placebo  Within an hour after birth the kids were collected from the barn with the pregnant and lambing mothers. The first 20 kids were placed in a group supplied with powdered full goat milk and the second lot of 20 kids was placed in the group supplied with milkreplacer8, in the same barn and the same housing system with long straw as bedding material. In both groups 10 kids were treated with Vitesel9 and 10 kids were treated with salt solution as a placebo. The kids were separated from the mother before they could get colostrum. The kids were weighed, eartaged, injected with either 0.5 ml of Vitesel or 0.5 ml salt solution and supplied with the first colostrum replacer from a bottle with teat within two hours after birth. Weighing was done at a person scale with the caretaker and the kid. The first two days colostrum replacer was fed by automatic feeders and also the powdered milk and milk replacer were supplied by automatic feeders till weaning at 12 kg live weight (about 6 weeks of age). Hay and concentrates were available from 5 weeks after birth. Blood samples were taken before administering the vitamin E + selenium solution at about 2 hours after birth (=day 0), at day 31 and at day 102.  Blood samples were stored at 4 degrees Celsius and transported to the laboratory the next day for analysing GSH-Px and vitamin E. The kids were weighed at days 0, 14, 31 and 102. Powdered full goat milk and milk replacer were analyzed for minerals and trace ele-ments. Diseases were recorded by the farmer and treatments were given in accordance with the practicing veterinarian.  Results Full powdered goat milk contained less selenium (116 vs. 668 µg/kg) than milk replacer and also vitamin E was lower in goat milk (1.5 vs. 102.7 mg/kg respectively). In table 2 the mean and stand-ard deviation of the GSH-Px blood values of the goat kids at day 0, day 31 and day 102 are given per treatment and milk group. At day 31 the treated kids have significantly higher GSH-Px values than the placebo kids and the kids fed with milk replacer have higher values than the kids fed with powdered full goat milk. At day 102 the differences between groups decreased but all groups had high GSH-Px blood levels.  In table 3 the mean and standard deviation of the vitamin E blood values at day 0, day 31 and day 102 are given per treatment and milk group. At day 31 the powdered goat milk group kids have a significant lower vitamin E blood level than the other groups while the vitamin E blood level in the milk replacer group is significantly higher than the other groups. The high standard deviation in the Vitesel and placebo group at day 31 indicates large differences between kids within the groups, caused by differences in goat milk and milk replacer. At day 102 differences fades away and groups have the same vitamin E level.                                                     8. Zelmo Yellow Organic, Twillmij BV, Stroe, the Netherlands 9 Vitesel (Vitamin E + Selenium), Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, Northern Ireland RAHMANN G & GODINHO D (Ed.) (2012): Tackling the Future Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry.  Proceedings of the 2nd OAHC, Hamburg/Trenthorst, Germany, Sep 12-14, 2012     249 Table 2.   Mean ± stdev of GSH-Px-values in blood of organic goat kids treated with Vitesel or placebo and fed with powdered full goat milk or milk replacer  Group  Treatment  Milk   Vitesel  Placebo  Goat milk  Milk replacer Day 0  384±71  435±110  427±121  392±56 Day 31  840±155  697±172  660±170  877±104 Day 102  887±266  844±255  933±125  797±333  Table 3.   Mean ± stdev of vitamin E-values in blood of organic goat kids treated with Vitesel or placebo and fed with powdered full goat milk or milk replacer  Group  Treatment  Milk   Vitesel  Placebo  Goat milk  Milk replacer Day 0  0.18±0.10  0.31±0.30  0.38±0.27  0.11±0.02 Day 31  6.41±5.89  5.36±5.47  0.67±0.60  11.10±2.75 Day 102  2.34±0.83  2.46±0.76  2.22±0.80  2.58±0.69  Figure 1.   Mean and stdev of daily gain (in g) of organic goat kids per period in treatment and milk groups    The daily gain of the kids in different periods is given in figure 1. There are no significant differ-ences in daily gain between groups, nor within treatment groups nor within milk groups.  The health status of the kids was good. In the treated group two kids had meningitis and one kid was lame. In the placebo group one kid was lame, one had diarrhoea and one kid died for unknown reason. In the goat milk group one kid had meningitis, one was treated for diarrhoea and one was lame while in the milk replacer group one kid had meningitis, one was lame and one kid died for unknown reason. 1001201401601802002202400-14 14-31 31-102 overall periodg Vitesel Placebo Goat milk Milk replacer! Agriculture and Forestry Research, Special Issue No 362 (Braunschweig, 2012) ISSN 0376-0723 Download: www.vti.bund.de/en/startseite/vti-publications/landbauforschung-special-issues.html    250 Discussion The GSH-Px- values are at a high level from day 31 on. In goat the reference values are adapted from cattle and should preferably be between 120 and 600 U/g Hb (Dercksen et al, 2007). It seems that not only older goats but also goat kids use selenium in feed very efficient: at day 31 the mean values in all groups exceeds the upper reference value.  The vitamin E values at day 31 are at a very low level in the goat milk group, due to a lack of vitamin E in the diet and despite the treatment with Vitesel. The kids in the milk replacer group showed extreme high vitamin E blood values at day 31. After weaning and with a diet of roughage and concentrates the vitamin E values equalizes over groups at a low level, compared to reference values (Smolders et al, 2010). Seeing the devel-opment of the daily gain of the kids in the different periods and overall, these different vitamin E values do not have an effect on development of the kids. All groups realize an acceptable weight gain. Circumstances and management on the farm were the experiment was executed was excellent, with much focus on offering good quality roughage and concentrates during and after the weaning period. In those conditions injection of selenium and vitamin E seems not effective. Even with the lower mineral and vitamin content of powdered full goat milk, compared to the content in milk re-placer, daily gain and health of the kids were not negatively affected.  Suggestions to tackle the future challenges of organic animal husbandry In organic goat husbandry prevention of diseases should be the main focus, preferably in natural surroundings. That also includes feeding according to requirements with a diverse diet offering goat kids at a young age good quality roughage and high quality concentrates supports sufficient intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins and promotes resistance and a better chance to self cure and no need for using antibiotics.  References  Dercksen, D.P., Counotte, G.H.M., Klein Hazebroek, M., Arts, W. and Rijn, T. van, 2007. Seleni-um requirement  of lactating goats (in Dutch). Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde 132, 468-71 Ghany-Hefnawy, A., Lopez-Arellano, R., Revilla-Vazquez, A., Ramırez-Bribiesca, E., Tortora-Perez, J., 2007.The relationship between fetal and maternal selenium concentrations in sheep and goats. Small Ruminant Research 73, 174–80. Kojouri, G.A., Shirazi, A., 2007. Serum concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, MO and CO in newborn lambs following systemic administration of Vitamin E and selenium to the pregnant ews. Small Ruminant research 70, 136-9 Shi,L., Xun, W., Yue, W., Zhang, C., Ren, R., Shi, L., Wang, Q., Yang, R., Lei,F., 2010. Effect of sodium selenite, Se-yeast and nano-elemental selenium on growth performance,Se concentra-tion and antioxidant status in growing male goats. Small Ruminant research 96, 49-52. Smolders, EAA, Eekeren, N van , Govaerts, W, 2010. Mineral bolus in goats only when there is shortage of minerals (in Dutch). V~focus August, 20-23.          

Mineral bolus in goats only when there is shortage of minerals (in Dutch). V~focus

Selenium requirement of lactating goats (in Dutch). Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde 132,

Serum concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, MO and CO in newborn lambs following systemic administration of Vitamin E and selenium to the pregnant ews.

Effect of vitamin E and selenium and different types of milk on health and growth of organic goat kids

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