Funny and mischievous kids sometimes do things that are difficult to understand logically. Every farmer needs to know why kids eat raw soil. A seemingly harmless habit can have serious consequences for kids. Diseases, as well as unbalanced nutrition of animals, push goats to eat earth and other foreign objects.
Reasons for this strange preference
A kid is prone to eating lumps of earth for the following reasons:
- avitaminosis;
- helminthic infestation;
- immunodeficiency;
- stress, fear, anxiety;
- dysbiosis.
All of the above conditions are based on a lack of vitamins and microelements in the goat’s body. Eating soil for more than 3-4 days is considered dangerous to the life of a kid. If the habit of chewing soil does not go away, you need to take action.
Sometimes goats can develop a tendency to chew earth for other reasons:
- Lack of salt in food.
- Desire to get rid of hairballs in stomach.
- The desire to experience the world by taste.
In addition to the soil, a young goat with illnesses and imbalances in nutrition begins to sharpen its teeth with the help of a board, chew bags and other garbage. If this behavior is not stopped immediately, sad consequences may occur for the animal’s body.
Why does a goat actively chew on boards?
A young goat chews boards with its teeth, like charcoal, to cleanse its stomach of pesticides and nitrates found in modern crops. Here wood acts as an absorbent. The tree also provides the goat with the missing trace elements. Often, goat kids eat bark from trees and young growth of bushes within a radius of several kilometers around the grazing field.
What to do in such a situation?
The kid will stop eating lumps of earth when its diet is optimized. In addition to hay, grain, vegetables and fresh grass, experienced farmers add bone meal, rich in phosphorus and calcium, to their animals' diets. Each goat in the flock should have access to salt and fresh water.
It is sometimes useful to feed animals with special vitamin complexes, including B vitamins, which are scarce in plain food.
If prevention of helminthic infestation has not been carried out for a long time, it must be carried out immediately.The drug that was previously used for animals on a particular farm is suitable.
Possible consequences
A goat that constantly eats soil will certainly pick up parasites or helminthic eggs. Her body will suffer from nitrates and pesticides accumulated in the soil.
When a kid refuses to feed after eating soil, bezoar disease can be suspected. Hairballs in the stomach interfere with digestion. In this case, you need to call a veterinarian and give the animal a suitable absorbent. Symptoms of poisoning, such as vomiting and diarrhea, can be caused by bacteria in the soil. Prevention measures will not help here. The help of a veterinarian will be required.
Prevention
Prevention of eating earth and boards is considered to be improving the diet of animals. Feed should be chosen from trusted manufacturers. Another measure to prevent this phenomenon is timely examination of young animals on the farm. If the goat's tests are normal, then a simple vitamin complex will solve the problem of eating the soil.
