Milk Goiter in Kids

Milk goiter is a condition that can develop in goat kids that drink A LOT of goat milk. Affected kids have a swelling on their throat right where their head meets their neck. This condition, as far as I have ever seen, is harmless, though it makes the kids look a little weird. I have only personally seen it on dam-raised goat kids whose mothers are heavy milkers...either Saanens or Saanen crosses. When the kids decrease nursing or are weaned, the swelling goes away. I am not sure exactly what the mechanics are behind the condition, chemically speaking...only that we have had it here at the farm numerous times, and have never had any ill effects from it.

Some people will see the swelling and think it is bottle jaw, a dangerous condition brought on by heavy worm parasite overload. However, these two conditions differ in where the swelling occurs. Bottle jaw causes the entire underside of the jaw to become quite squishy with pooled fluids. Milk goiter is found at the back of the jaw, where the neck meets the head. Also, milk goiter is present all the time, while bottle jaw generally recedes during the night so the animal's jaw will look almost normal in the morning, then the fluid comes back to the jaw as the day progresses due to the animal keeping its head down while it grazes.

Milk goiter is no big deal. Bottle jaw is an emergency. If jaw swelling happens to one of your goat kids and you aren't sure which condition is causing the swelling, a fecal can tell you if there is a parasite overload. You can also check eye membranes for color. Bright pink is great, dull pink is so-so, and gray means dangerously anemic.