Mandibular osteodystrophy fibrosa in Indonesian goats fed Leucaena

Four Indonesian goats fed Leucaena leucocephala with a calcium to phosphorus ratio in excess of 6:1 for 472 days developed mandibular osteodystrophy fibrosa to varying degrees ranging from severe to slight. The animals appeared to grow normally but the animal with the most severe clinical symptoms lost weight for 35 days prior to the termination of the experiment. The other three animals either maintained or gained weight during this period. A balance study performed part way through the experiment revealed that the animal which subsequently lost weight was probably not storing calcium or phosphorus whereas the other animals had a positive calcium balance and were probably storing small amounts of phosphorus. Histological examination of tissues taken after a post-mortem revealed that the kidney, parathyroid and thyroid glands and long bones were normal.