I have raised goats, cattle and horses all my life. This article is intended to explain what is going on with pregnant does that develop a condition called pregnancy toxemia, how to possibly prevent it, diagnose it and what works in my herd (U-BAR Boers) to treat it.
Pregnancy toxemia is the same as preeclampsia in women. It’s a metabolic disease of does that occurs in the final weeks of pregnancy (usually the last 1 to 3 weeks). Signs of the condition, due to low glucose (sugar) levels in the blood include a gradual decrease in food intake, depression or inactivity, down and unable to rise, tremors, wobbly gait, weakness, swelling of the feet, weight shifting, walking tenderly as if their feet hurt, and teeth grinding. If left untreated or not treated quickly enough, this condition can result in the death of the doe and her kids.
Pregnancy toxemia is typically seen in does carrying more than two kids. Does who are obese, very thin or have a heavy parasite load are also more at risk. The condition develops due to a reduced ability to consume enough food and obtain energy from their diet to meet the energy demands of the doe and her kids. 80% of the growth of the kids occurs during the last 6 weeks of gestation. As the doe’s uterus enlarges, there is less room for her stomach (rumen) to fill with feed or there simply may be no way for the doe to eat enough or she may not have enough offered. In order to meet the nutritional requirements of the growing kids and still maintain her own body, the doe’s liver begins to convert stored fat into sugar for energy. This process (gluconeogenesis) is also what causes the ketone production and why it is critical that the doe be in good condition, not thin, obese or have a heavy parasite (worms) load and have plenty of good feed available in the last weeks prior to kidding. I also recommend worming with a good broad-spectrum wormer (Not Valbazen) 30-45 days prior to kidding and again about a week after kidding when the stress of kidding and making milk lowers the does’ resistance to parasite infestations. If you wormed the affected doe earlier, have a fecal checked to be sure internal parasites haven’t occurred again because an acquired worm load can cause pregnancy toxemia as well.
If at all possible, an ultrasound at 45-50 days of pregnancy is highly recommended to identify does carrying more than two fetuses. This allows for more intensive management and observation of those that are more prone to the development of pregnancy toxemia. If ultra-sounding is not possible, pay particular attention to does that are overly large for their stage of gestation and monitor their eating habits and behavior closely. Make note of the ‘pecking order’ during feeding time and make sure some are not being pushed out and not receiving adequate nutrition. If that happens separate those does that are more timid and feed them separately.
To have any chance of correcting the condition, paying close attention to the does activity, appetite, gait and overall attitude is key. I can’t stress enough that early diagnosis is critical to managing this potentially fatal condition. Once the doe is down and refuses to get up, or if ketone levels have been high and 2 days of drenching have not reduced ketone levels to moderate or low, the decision must be made to induce or have a C-Section performed. In some cases, the doe is more important to the breeding program than the kids and the kids may have to be sacrificed. It is extremely risky to not induce a doe with high ketone levels that are not responding to treatment. If left too long, the doe may lack sufficient energy to even deliver the kids and the risk of losing both the doe and the kids is great. It is also possible for the kids to die due to pregnancy toxemia and leave the doe with a potentially fatal infection called septicemia.
*Note: If the doe has had to be induced it is fairly common for her to experience
a retained or incomplete passing of the placenta. Very small doses (1/4 cc every four hours for 3-4 doses) of oxytocin can help with problem sometimes but extreme caution must be exercised with this drug. You should consult your veterinarian if the doe does not pass the afterbirth within a few hours after kidding. Never attempt to assist removal of the placenta by pulling on it. Please read the separate article on what to possibly expect if you are forced to induce a doe.
Preventing pregnancy toxemia involves four management goals.
Show or obese does should lose excess weight and very thin does should be fed to gain some weight prior to breeding and all bred does should be maintained on a maintenance diet until the final month of pregnancy at which point their feed intake should gradually be increased. Growing kids more than double a doe’s nutritional requirement.
There should be ample room for exercise (which is extremely important), and control of other conditions that might result in reduced feed intake or increased energy demand, such as parasitism, adequate shelter from bad weather or illness. You may also worm and vaccinate your does about 30 days prior to kidding. (I worm, boost the CDT vaccination and give Vitamins E,A,D, and a BoSe injection 30 to 45 days prior to kidding.)
During the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy, monitor suspect does for the signs of pregnancy toxemia (usually rears it’s ugly head on day 21 from due date or sometime after that) and test their urine daily using Ketostix. Make sure the Ketostix’s have not expired, they have a fairly short shelf life. As soon as a doe gets up, she will usually urinate, have the Ketostix ready and insert it into the urine stream, or catch some in a cup and dip the stick into it and wait 10 to 15 seconds. (I save some of the 6 or 12 cc syringe covers to use a urine catchers – they’re free and you can have some in every pocket and corner of the barn.) Separate the doe (put a buddy in with her if possible), increase feed intake, and begin drenching at the first sign of ketones. Worm or insure your does are free of parasites that can drain their energy resources.
Ketostix – can be purchased at any drug store or pharmacy
Does confirmed carrying 3-4 fetuses or those showing ketones on the Ketostix should be offered continual access to a high energy feed during the last month of gestation. (Feed that contains some of the following corn, milo, barley, wheat or cottonseed meal, soybean hull pellets and the label reads 16% or more protein. I do not feed whole or ‘just’ cracked corn as it can lead to founder and other issues.) Prepared feed containing the additive Rumensin or Monensin can also be helpful as those ingredients increase feed utilization in the rumen. At 3 to 4 weeks prior to kidding, increase the feed amount and quality gradually so as not to upset the normal function of the rumen, which could also cause pregnancy toxemia as well.
Treating pregnancy toxemia.
Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it cannot be stressed enough that diagnosing the early stages of pregnancy toxemia is key to the success of treating it. Have the Ketostix readily available, (again, an empty syringe case works well and is good to catch urine if you need to) and test suspect or multiple (more than 2 kids) does daily. Have the ingredients listed in the drench recipe below before kidding season arrives.
Dosing Syringe – Drencher (Different sizes available) Also showing a calf drencher which works great when giving larger doses. Valley Vet and other livestock supply business offer different sizes of drench guns. Given the large volumes that need to be given in most cases, a 150 ml to 300 mil drench gun or calf drencher makes it much easier to administer the correct amount of drench.
Pregnancy Toxemia Recipe
Equal parts of:
50% dextrose
CMPK (best) or Calcium Gluconate
Amino Acids
Blue Lite, Keep ‘N On or other form of electrolytes (2 scoops of Blue Lyte or 1 bottle of Keep ‘N On mixed with water)
Dyne
Propylene Glycol (I try at first without PG, then add some after day 2 if no change)
1-2 tsp Probios (powder or paste)
(I also add about 10 Niacin and 10 Vitamin B dissolved tablets to each gallon of mixture)
If you’ll use one of the dextrose or CMPK bottles as a measuring bottle OR use any measuring cup you like, but you will need at least a gallon of mixture to start with. The mixture, if refrigerated, will last for a couple of months. I keep mine in the fridge even when using daily but do warm it before drenching it, they take it much better warm.
This drench, because it’s so high in carbs (sugars) tends to really lower the does desire to eat hay/grain and ketosis also causes a lack of appetite. That’s why we’ve developed the high-fiber nutritional drench to use as well.
Nutritional/Fiber Drench
This can be given along with the drench or instead of for a couple of times a day. This mixture adds some to fiber to the does digestive system and is attempting to keep her rumen functioning. It’s very high in carbohydrates but does lack the other metabolic ingredients included in the drench above.
1-2 cans of smoothly blended cream corn (so it will go through the drench gun)
1 pkg of baby rice powder or cooked/blended rice
1-2 can of blended sweet potatoes (with sugar, not Splenda) or powdered pkgs
2-3 packages of cooked/blended grits or mashed potatoes
Some dissolved alfalfa pellets are great too.
1 cup of dyne and add water to make it the right consistency for the drench gun.
Give 150-300 cc 1-2 times a day.
WATER: The most over looked problem, make sure the doe is drinking lots and lots of water, otherwise drench her with 300-600 cc’s of water several times a day. Check the frequency and color of her urine. If it’s a dark yellow she needs a lot more water in her. If necessary have an IV setup and some 1 liter bags of sodium chloride to give sq.
You can get all the drench ingredients, including Blue Lyte and YMCP and the drenchers from Valley Vet as well as other online Farm and Ranch sites. If you store unopened ingredients in a closet or someplace where they don’t get too hot or freeze, they’ll last for a couple of years or more. YMCP - It's a yeast-based product to help with digestion and is loaded calcium and other essential vitamins. I put some in the water for my does a few days before kidding and also offer it a few days afterwards. They will guzzle an entire bucket down right after kidding. Really helps with the transition into milk production and its increased calcium demands. It's manufactured by a company called Tech Mix. You can order it and the Blue Lyte from a FB friend named Victoria Tonn (Face Book) and it's also available from several other online livestock supply businesses. I use a lot of Blue Lyte and the YMCP and highly recommend it.
I buy the dextrose, CMPK and Amino Acids by the case. The key is to have the ingredients BEFORE you need them!
Fill syringe with drench, holding does head slightly tilted up, insert the metal end far back into the mouth between the cheek and the teeth and slowly depress syringe. Allow the doe to swallow often. Also give 300-600 mls of fresh water after drenching to make sure the doe has plenty of fluid intake. (Do not try to drench a doe that has no swallowing reflex.) Note: Do not wear good clothes when administering this drench; you will be wearing some of it! If you use the calf feeder (which I do) just keep the bubble containing the drench down low while inserting the tube down her throat, you don’t want any going down into the lungs. Insert the tube (and they’ll have a swallowing reflex) and then when it’s in place tip the bubble with the drench (or water) up and let it flow down. Make sure it’s empty before you remove the tube. You can add extra water to the drench to help increase fluid intake. I really prefer the calf drencher because there is no risk to the doe inhaling anything if it’s given properly.
If a doe’s Ketostix test strip indicates low ketone levels (5 to 15 on the stick), usually about 100 cc’s of the drench mixture given orally twice a day via a drench gun is sufficient but frequent testing with the ketostick is needed to determine the continued effectiveness as the condition usually worsens the closer to the due date she gets.
Higher levels (40 or higher on the stick) giving 300 to 500 cc’s 3 to 4 times daily is usually sufficient to bring down the ketone levels within a day. If multiple daily drenching’s do not lower levels significantly and the stick does not show ‘large’, but the doe is still eating and within 10 days of her due date, you can administer 1cc (IM) of dexamethasone daily (same time each day)until she kids or you administer an induction dose of dexamethasone and lutalyse. (This small dose will not cause induction and will encourage development of the kids lungs as well as make the doe feel better, lower ketone levels and increase her appetite). (DO NOT stop giving the 1 cc dose daily and then start it up again, this WILL bring on labor – once you start, do not stop until kids are delivered.) If the doe continues to have ‘large’ readings on the Ketostix after two days of the drenching treatment, stops eating or appears weak, induction is no longer a matter of choice regardless of the stage of pregnancy. Do NOT wait.
At this point, the doe should be offered all the fresh water, grain/good hay she will eat. The small dose of dexamethasone often improves the appetite and you can offer the doe a variety of treats (rose bush clippings, oak leaves, blackberry clippings, whatever is available for the season – beware of yard shrub clippings though, some are poisonous). It’s just critical that they eat high carbohydrate foods and drink plenty of water.
Use 10 cc’s of dexamethasone (IM) (5cc is adequate for induction if she’s been receiving the 1 cc per day dose earlier) and 2 cc’s Lutalyse (IM) to induce. Generally, the doe will kid within 24 to 48 hours (sometimes it takes longer, don’t panic and sometimes it takes less, depending on how close to their due date the doe is). Continue to administer the drench during this period and about 100 cc 1-2 times daily for 2 days after kidding especially if not eating well. Offer the doe a bucket of warm water with molasses (I use a powder called YMCP to help with milk fever, milking and after kidding stress) after kidding. Keep a close eye on her after kidding to insure complete delivery of the afterbirth. Sometimes it’s beneficial to continue drenching a day or 2 after kidding if the doe remains lethargic.
If a doe does not recover well (it wasn’t a difficult birth) and she delivered 3 or more kids, occasionally they can suffer from a displaced abomasum (part of the stomach). Here is a link for easily treating that condition. https://kinne.net/displ-ab.htm
Again, please do not delay the decision to induce if the ketone levels are not dropping. So many of us (myself included) have lost beautiful, much-loved animals trying to wait just ‘one more day’ to make the call. It takes a couple of day for kidding to occur even with induction and that’s two more days the doe has to survive with high ketones.
Please, feel free to print/email/share this with everyone you know that has goats. Education, recognition and early treatment is the key to saving our does. I know how badly it hurts to lose one.
Lauren Green
