With the onset of milk production, the goat loses a large quantity of calcium with the milk.  The goat normally has more than enough calcium reserves in her bones, but if she has been on a diet high in calcium; her body may have “forgotten” how to mobilize those calcium reserves because it hasn’t needed to.  Consequently, when she starts lactating, and she needs to deliver calcium to the mammary gland for milk production, her blood calcium levels may fall to a dangerous level.  Moderate milk fever will make the goat lethargic, with poor appetite and poor milk production.  Acute cases of milk fever can leave the goat in a coma; she will need immediate veterinary attention.  Your veterinarian will need to administer calcium gluconate into the bloodstream to restore the normal concentrations of blood calcium and re-establish your goat’s health.  Your goat cannot absorb enough calcium nor can she absorb it fast enough from food to meet the immediate needs of lactation, and if she is ill, she won’t be eating anyway.

You can help prevent milk fever by not feeding too much high-calcium feed, such as alfalfa, during late pregnancy.  If the doe’s body does not get all the calcium it needs in the feed, it will start pulling calcium reserves from the bones.  By the time the doe gives birth and begins milking, the body is familiar again with quickly mobilizing bone calcium, and the doe will not suffer a potentially fatal drop in blood calcium. You can then begin feeding high-calcium feeds again to support the calcium needs of lactation.  As the goat progresses through lactation and begins to decrease her milk production, dietary calcium will be used to restore bone reserves.