Posted by Leah Jane on December 18, 2014 at 11:43pm in Health
I have a goat that has really dry flaky skin. She's lost a lot of hair on her face as well. I don't see any bugs and she doesn't act itchy. I thot maybe it was a copper problem so I gave her copasure in Oct. Would it be a Zinc deficiency? Or something else?
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Because the copper oxide wire particles dissolve slowly into the bloodstream, apparently it's very difficult to overdose them. If it were me, I would give her another 2 grams. I give kids 2 grams who are only 20 lbs. Once they get to 40 lbs or over, I give them 4 grams. I gave my big buck 6 grams and he did fine.
Here is my big boy before and after copper boluses last year.
I have her 2grams in Oct. Should I give more? Also she only weighs around 40/45 lbs. I thought you could overdose on copper so I was a little hesitant to give more. Also I haven't noticed her to foam at the mouth.
As a nursing mama, she definitely needs lots of calcium, so stick with the alfalfa. Like I said, alfalfa is usually only an issue with dry does or bucks because they don't need much calcium. Too little calcium for a new mom, and you can wind up with hypocalcemia, which can kill them within hours. Luckily, it usually only happens with really heavy milkers, so it's pretty unlikely with a FF. But she definitely needs alfalfa.
I'm also curious about what copper dosage you gave. Here is a picture of a doe that has three symptoms of copper deficiency. Losing hair on her face, faded coat, and not shedding in the spring. (Picture was taken at the end of May.)
Another symptom of zinc deficiency is foaming at the mouth. It's not constant, but if it ever looks like someone sprayed whipped cream on your goats, that's what it looks like.
Congrats on the triplets! I would stay with alfalfa and grass hay free choice as well as a good quality grain twice a day for her very high nutritional needs. I'm wondering how much copper you gave her in October? I give mine 4 grams every 3 month and my very deficient buck I gave 6 grams but dropped back to 4 for his next dose. Do they have a loose mineral with sufficient copper? Some of the minerals labeled for goats do not have as much copper as others. My does get Sweetlix Meat Maker, kelp, baking soda, and selenium/E free choice. They have gorgeous shiny coats.
Thank you ladies! She is a ff as of Wed. She kidded with triplets. So I guess my question is do I try grass hay since she's a nursing mama? Also I own her dam and grand dam and don't have any such problems with them.
Copper would have been my first guess, but if a bolus didn't help, then I'd say zinc. Losing hair on the face is usually caused by copper deficiency, but dandruff is usually zinc. The only two reasons I've heard of for zinc deficiency are too much calcium or just a genetic predisposition to it -- not saying those are the only two reason because there is still so much to learn about goats! However, if she is a dry doe and she's getting alfalfa (high in calcium), that could be what caused a zinc deficiency. It's what caused the problem in my bucks one winter when I couldn't get grass hay for them.
I had a buck with really bad dandruff and flaky dry skin. He was copper deficient so the copper helped tremendously however I also rubbed grape seed oil on his skin and added sunflower seeds to his diet since they are full of healthy oils. He went from dry flaky faded blonde to gorgeous shiny red coat in a couple of months. This is what worked for me.
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I just gotta say, that buck is a real looker!
Because the copper oxide wire particles dissolve slowly into the bloodstream, apparently it's very difficult to overdose them. If it were me, I would give her another 2 grams. I give kids 2 grams who are only 20 lbs. Once they get to 40 lbs or over, I give them 4 grams. I gave my big buck 6 grams and he did fine.
Here is my big boy before and after copper boluses last year.
As a nursing mama, she definitely needs lots of calcium, so stick with the alfalfa. Like I said, alfalfa is usually only an issue with dry does or bucks because they don't need much calcium. Too little calcium for a new mom, and you can wind up with hypocalcemia, which can kill them within hours. Luckily, it usually only happens with really heavy milkers, so it's pretty unlikely with a FF. But she definitely needs alfalfa.
I'm also curious about what copper dosage you gave. Here is a picture of a doe that has three symptoms of copper deficiency. Losing hair on her face, faded coat, and not shedding in the spring. (Picture was taken at the end of May.)
Another symptom of zinc deficiency is foaming at the mouth. It's not constant, but if it ever looks like someone sprayed whipped cream on your goats, that's what it looks like.
Congrats on the triplets! I would stay with alfalfa and grass hay free choice as well as a good quality grain twice a day for her very high nutritional needs. I'm wondering how much copper you gave her in October? I give mine 4 grams every 3 month and my very deficient buck I gave 6 grams but dropped back to 4 for his next dose. Do they have a loose mineral with sufficient copper? Some of the minerals labeled for goats do not have as much copper as others. My does get Sweetlix Meat Maker, kelp, baking soda, and selenium/E free choice. They have gorgeous shiny coats.
Copper would have been my first guess, but if a bolus didn't help, then I'd say zinc. Losing hair on the face is usually caused by copper deficiency, but dandruff is usually zinc. The only two reasons I've heard of for zinc deficiency are too much calcium or just a genetic predisposition to it -- not saying those are the only two reason because there is still so much to learn about goats! However, if she is a dry doe and she's getting alfalfa (high in calcium), that could be what caused a zinc deficiency. It's what caused the problem in my bucks one winter when I couldn't get grass hay for them.
I had a buck with really bad dandruff and flaky dry skin. He was copper deficient so the copper helped tremendously however I also rubbed grape seed oil on his skin and added sunflower seeds to his diet since they are full of healthy oils. He went from dry flaky faded blonde to gorgeous shiny red coat in a couple of months. This is what worked for me.