Hi. I have a Nigerian Dwarf wether who will be 1 year old in April, that is losing hair on his legs and belly. He also has some hair loss around his eyes. He has flakey dry skin all over his lower body. (Pictures attached) He only eats grass hay, and has access to free choice sweet licks minerals, baking soda, and selenium. He was given copper in mid September. The minerals seem to be disappearing quite quickly this last week. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. I read about the zinc deficiency. If he has an external parasite, would it be possible that it is only affecting him, and none of the rest of the herd that he is with? He doesn't seem overly itchy, a scratch here and there. I'm afraid if I try to take him to the vet, he will be given shots of things that aren't really necessary. Trying to save the vet as a last resort. Going to get some Nu-stock tonight to apply. Can I bring him in the house and give him a bath? Would that stress him out? Would it help his skin? Should I use a pour-on? Or should I just take him to the vet? Any help is appreciated!
I was not really able to see what you're talking about in the photos, but your description sounds like copper deficiency. You didn't say how much you gave him in September, but it's not unusual to dose it every 3-4 months. If that's it, you should see improvement within a couple of weeks. And it won't hurt him -- which is something that I almost never say about anything. Here's a post I did on that:
Same thing happened to my daughter's wether last winter. Poor guy went through some really cold days with near-naked legs and nose.
We had purchased some hay that unfortunately had a higher legume content than ideal, so I thought once we could get some grassier hay,things would clear up; they didn't. I had read about zinc, so started giving him zinc for a while; didn't change things. So I took him to the vet, who scraped his skin and tested him for critters, with negative results. Like a bozo I administered the Ivermectin, etc that the vet gave me anyway (even though there was no indication to do so); didn't clear up.
Finally we started moving his COWP doses closer and closer together. His hair eventually came back, and his reddish hair turned glossy black again. He now gets his copper every 2 months, as opposed to his sister who gets hers every 4 months.
Deborah has done a lot of research on copper through her many experiences with loss and sickness. I had read much of that information already when we were going through this hair/skin issue, but didn't think it could possibly apply to our situation since we were already dosing with COWP (every 6 months, according to package directions). I attribute the improvement to the increased copper intake, and think perhaps the package directions don't always apply.
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I was not really able to see what you're talking about in the photos, but your description sounds like copper deficiency. You didn't say how much you gave him in September, but it's not unusual to dose it every 3-4 months. If that's it, you should see improvement within a couple of weeks. And it won't hurt him -- which is something that I almost never say about anything. Here's a post I did on that:
http://thriftyhomesteader.com/is-copper-oxide-really-safe-for-goats/
Thanks for sharing your experience, Naomi!
Same thing happened to my daughter's wether last winter. Poor guy went through some really cold days with near-naked legs and nose.
We had purchased some hay that unfortunately had a higher legume content than ideal, so I thought once we could get some grassier hay,things would clear up; they didn't. I had read about zinc, so started giving him zinc for a while; didn't change things. So I took him to the vet, who scraped his skin and tested him for critters, with negative results. Like a bozo I administered the Ivermectin, etc that the vet gave me anyway (even though there was no indication to do so); didn't clear up.
Finally we started moving his COWP doses closer and closer together. His hair eventually came back, and his reddish hair turned glossy black again. He now gets his copper every 2 months, as opposed to his sister who gets hers every 4 months.
Deborah has done a lot of research on copper through her many experiences with loss and sickness. I had read much of that information already when we were going through this hair/skin issue, but didn't think it could possibly apply to our situation since we were already dosing with COWP (every 6 months, according to package directions). I attribute the improvement to the increased copper intake, and think perhaps the package directions don't always apply.
Hope you get it figured out!