Symptoms and methods of diagnosis of white muscle disease in kids, treatment
White muscle disease occurs in kids with a deficiency of selenium and vitamin E in the feed. The sick animal eats poorly, loses weight, cannot stand up, limps, often falls and lies all day. "Belomyshka" is often complicated by cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Young animals get sick because pregnant females used feed poor in selenium and vitamin E.
Causes of the "white mouse"
White muscle disease is a dangerous disease that occurs in young kids. In another way, the "white girl" is called muscular dystrophy. The disease usually proceeds with metabolic disorders, as well as with biochemical and morphological changes in muscles, nervous system, and internal organs.
Usually, young kids up to three months old, which are kept in stalls, at the end of winter or early spring, are ill with "whitefish". In 60 percent, the disease leads to the death of young animals. Recovered, but recovered kids subsequently lag behind in growth and development.
The main reason for the "white mouse" is unhealthy nutrition, that is, food poor in proteins, vitamins and minerals for pregnant goats and queens while feeding them to newborn babies. Dampness, dirt, stuffiness in the goat's house, untimely cleaning of contaminated litter, crowded content can lead to complications.
The disease develops when there is a deficiency in the feed of minerals (selenium, iodine, copper), vitamins A, B, E, proteins and carbohydrates. "Belomyshka" occurs in animals that graze in floodplain fields and in lowlands, on peat and sandy loam lands, on often flooded pastures. There is a lot of sulfur in such places, which prevents plants from absorbing selenium. The disease occurs if in winter you do not feed goats with coniferous branches, finely chopped vegetables (beets, carrots), a small amount of grain.
Symptoms of the disease
White muscle disease appears in kids during milk feeding, that is, at the age of 2-3 weeks and up to 3 months. "White" occurs in an acute, subacute or chronic form. The disease can be recognized by its characteristic signs: inactivity, weakness, movement coordination disorder.
Symptoms of the acute form:
- heart disorders (tachycardia, arrhythmia);
- cardiopalmus;
- deaf and weak heart sounds;
- frequent, shallow, shortness of breath;
- discharge from the nose;
- fetid feces;
- cloudy eyes with serous outflows;
- loss of muscle tone;
- poor appetite;
- digestive problems.
The duration of the acute stage is 7-10 days. The animal has serious problems with the heart and digestion, muscle weakness.The kid almost does not move, it can hardly stand on widely spaced legs, its shoulder blades protrude, convulsions are possible with the head thrown back onto its back. The temperature is normal, but if pneumonia joins, then it rises to 40-41 degrees.
In the subacute and chronic form of the "white mouse", the symptoms are the same as in the acute stage, but only less pronounced.
The kid may look healthy outwardly, and then suddenly die. The duration of the subacute form is 15-30 days, the chronic form is 50-60 days. The highest mortality rate is in the acute course of the disease, when 6 out of 10 sick kids die. In subacute and chronic forms, the number of deaths is halved.
Important! The characteristic signs of white muscle disease are visible only after the death of the kid, during the autopsy. If the heart or skeletal muscle is cut open, diffuse or focal lesions can be seen. These neoplasms have a white color, a dense texture, and they are similar to cooked chicken meat, but only drier.
Diagnostic methods
The diagnosis can only be made by a veterinarian based on the clinical picture and laboratory tests. Blood and urine tests of the sick animal are done. With the "white", the number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin decreases, leukocytosis is diagnosed. There is an acidic reaction of urine, the presence of protein, sugar, and increased creatine in it.
If possible, then do electrocardiography, radiography and fluoroscopy. On the basis of laboratory studies, rickets, malnutrition, dyspepsia are excluded.
How to cure white muscle disease in kids
Treatment gives results if the disease is treated in the early stages, that is, even during the pregnancy of the animals. First of all, pregnant goats are transferred to a dry and warm room, they are given better food: green grass, sun-dried hay, finely chopped carrots, coniferous branches, oat flakes, pharmacy vitamins (A, E, B and D), minerals ( necessarily selenium).
Medication for sick kids is prescribed by a veterinarian. Usually, the "white mouse" is treated with preparations containing selenium and vitamin E. Previously, whitened kids were treated with sodium selenite. It is a white powder from which a 0.1% injection solution was prepared. As a rule, it was prescribed at 0.1-0.2 mg per kilogram of the kid's weight (subcutaneously or intramuscularly). The animals were injected with 0.1-0.2 ml of a 0.1% solution (diluted with distilled water).
Sodium selenite can be used today. However, it should be remembered that this is a toxic substance, the dosage of which must be correctly calculated. It can be used in recommended doses. The lethal amount of the drug is only 1-2 mg per kilogram of the kid's weight. Abscesses often appear at the very site of sodium selenite injection. It is recommended to inject the solution together with antibiotics.
Currently, instead of sodium selenite, various complex preparations are prescribed, which contain selenium, as well as vitamin E: "E-selenium", "Ferroselenite", "Seevit" and others. A drug such as "E-selenium" is used for young kids at a dose of 0.2-0.5 ml per ten kilograms of animal body weight. Injections are administered intramuscularly and once. This drug can be injected into pregnant goats 30 days before lambing.
If pure sodium selenite is used, then the kids are additionally injected with vitamin E (three times a day for 5-7 days in a row). Animals are given useful mineral supplements (cobalt chloride, copper sulfate, manganese chloride), as well as proteins (methionine, cysteine) along with feed.
Possible consequences
White muscle disease causes serious metabolic disorders in the body of animals. Changes take place in the skeletal muscles, as well as in various organs. In advanced stages, the animal loses weight, its muscles atrophy, it cannot even stand up. This is an irreversible process that usually leads to the death of kids. The more severe the damage, the less chances of saving the animal. The disease is treated only in the early stages, that is, during the pregnancy of goats and in the first weeks of life of kids. Recovered animals will subsequently lag behind in development and growth.
Preventive measures
Preventive measures depend on the quality of feed, disease statistics in a particular area. In regions where there is a deficiency of selenium, the animals must be given pharmaceutical preparations. As a prophylaxis, pregnant goats are injected intramuscularly with "E-selenium" 30 days before lambing (once). It is recommended to inject this drug in kids at the age of 2-3 weeks to three months, but only in a minimal dose and once.
The diet of pregnant animals includes fish oil, fodder yeast, vitamins A, B, D, and necessarily E. As a prophylaxis, goats can be given pharmacy vitamin and mineral complexes with selenium. Additives are mixed into feed or drinking water.
It is recommended to feed goat premixes to animals, especially in winter. The diet should contain hay, finely chopped vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, beets). In winter, goats are given coniferous branches, a little grain mixture, silage, and bone meal.
White muscle disease is a dangerous disease that occurs when there is a lack of minerals and vitamins in animal feed. "White" does not affect adult goats, but it is found in kids. If the female was poorly fed during pregnancy, a weak animal is born to her. The main thing is to provide goats with high-quality feed, vitamins, minerals and necessarily selenium, then the young will not suffer from white muscle disease.
