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  • I've used pour-on ivermectin on kids only a few days old. I don't do it unless they are scratching a lot.
  • I, too, am plagued by the lice for the first time.  I just dusted with DE.  And will probably clip my does tomorrow.  I am wondering, however, about my kids.  Should I just keep a close eye on them?  I'm assuming clipping is not an option and same for any sort of chemical like Ivermectin.  They are only a few days old and I don't want to stress them out any more than I have to.
  • Mentor said the dandruff could be a reaction to Ivomectin poor on that she used to treat for lice. I looked all over him and did not find a single bug so I am guessing that could be it. I think I will let him keep his hair a bit longer but I am going to shave all of them by mid April for sure.
  • I've read that goat lice are specific to goats, and I'm sure we would have had them by now if it were possible! :)

    Don't worry if Pecial had lice. I was horrified the first time I found lice on my goats. I felt like such a terrible goatherd! But it happens to just about everyone and is really not a big deal.

    You can put a t-shirt on him when you first clip him if it's cold. I've seen a lot of goats with t-shirts on them at the first shows in Illinois. We've even done it ourselves.

  • This is turning out to be a really awesome day!! NOT! I just went out to sit with Boudreaux a while and sure enough I noticed he is full of dandruff, and maybe shedding some of the winter coat. I didn't see any bugs when I looked him over, but I think I will have to shave him sooner than I anticipated. ...If Pecial went to the vet full of lice I will be so embarrassed!  Can humans get the goat lice? It's going to be 42 tonight at the lowest and then the lows  will be in the 50s...should I put a sweater on him?
  • When it's 60-70 at night, it's definitely fine. We wound up having to clip goats for a May show one year when it was still falling into the 40s, and the poor goats were all hunched up and cold. They looked terrible. I felt so bad. At least the cold only lasted a couple days.
  • I have the intention to shave the goats at least once a year. Especially with how ridiculously hot it gets here in Louisiana. I just don't know when I should do it...It's still in the 5o's most nights. I'm guessing when its getting to be about 60-70 at night would be a good time? I do want some of the hair to grow back before it gets too hot and sunny...otherwise I will have to put sunscreen on Pecial who is mostly white, and probably Indiana too since she has a good bit of white towards the back.

  • Clipping a goat is my favorite way to get rid of lice -- totally natural and totally effective. You don't have to do anything else. Just not practical in Illinois until at least May. :(
  • I have personally not had great luck using DE for lice. I even talked to an entomologist about this, and he said DE would kill lice, but the trick is that it must come into contact with them. I really tried hard this winter to make it work, and I think I wound up putting way too much DE on the goats, because they seemed to get really itchy afterwards. I'm thinking it dried out their skin. And they still had lice. If you just sprinkle it on them, it falls right down to their skin. I even added some essential oils to it this year and still no luck. If it kills the lice for you, let us know what you did.
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