Recently, I've noticed my buck seems to have real dry, flaky skin (especially along his top line), and some balding on the top of his head. Kind of tell tale signs of a zinc deficiency. I'm thinking it's possibly due to too much calcium in his diet. I've recently (about a week ago) switched from alfalfa hay to a real nice 50/50 blend of alfalfa and tall fescue grass (cannot find all grass hay). He has free choice Sweetlix Meat Maker mineral and baking soda. Should I switch him to the Magnum-Milk mineral, which is for milkers, but actually has less calcium in it. Are there any other treatments? Or suggestions? Thanks a bunch.
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If it was only a 2 gram bolus, then yes, you can safely give him another copper bolus now, especially with that reddish coat. My goats get 4 grams of copper about every 4 months because we have a lot of sulfur and iron in our well water.
Hair loss from mites usually comes from the goat scratching himself, so you'd usually see it along the shoulders and hips. Does he have a way to scratch his topline somewhere, such as a low-hanging tree branch? You'd also see some broken hairs around the bald patches, if they're caused by scratching. Looks more like he just has an issue with dry, flaky skin. Between the copper bolus and sunflower seeds and hay pellets, you might start to see some improvement within 2-3 weeks.
Thanks Deborah. I have not seen any foaming at the mouth, so that's good... and tell's me that zinc deficiency possiblyisn't the problem. I purchased some timothy pellets, and have been giving him a mix of that and BOSS in the evenings for a little treat.
Another thought regarding the dry, flaky skin along his top line is that of mites. Maybe it's nothing, but I don't recall seeing his top line like this before (I've included a photo). Any thoughts?
Also, in the photos I've included, it appears as if his black coat looks a little "rusty" in places. This is obviously a sign of copper deficiency. Is that what it looks like to you? I did a copper bolus back in late November. Should I administer another?
Balding on the top of the head is pretty common for bucks. It's from butting heads and/or rubbing the top of their head on things like fence posts or trees to get their scent on it. When I've seen zinc deficiency in my bucks, it's usually accompanied by foaming at the mouth. It looks like whipped cream on their lips. The first time it was so bad (before I knew what was happening) that it looked like someone had sprayed a can of whipped cream all over my bucks' bodies and the stall they were in.
I still think it's a great idea that you switched from all alfalfa because that's always been the cause of zinc deficiency in my bucks, so you could be on the very early edge of a problem. Can you buy grass hay pellets at your local farm supply store? Tractor Supply in my area sells timothy pellets and a couple of others. You can add a handful of sunflower seeds to the hay pellets because they are high in zinc and vitamin E, which is also good for dry skin.
How long will it be before your buck will be getting most of his nutrients from pasture? Simply eliminating the excess calcium usually fixes things.
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If it was only a 2 gram bolus, then yes, you can safely give him another copper bolus now, especially with that reddish coat. My goats get 4 grams of copper about every 4 months because we have a lot of sulfur and iron in our well water.
Hair loss from mites usually comes from the goat scratching himself, so you'd usually see it along the shoulders and hips. Does he have a way to scratch his topline somewhere, such as a low-hanging tree branch? You'd also see some broken hairs around the bald patches, if they're caused by scratching. Looks more like he just has an issue with dry, flaky skin. Between the copper bolus and sunflower seeds and hay pellets, you might start to see some improvement within 2-3 weeks.
Thanks Deborah. I have not seen any foaming at the mouth, so that's good... and tell's me that zinc deficiency possiblyisn't the problem. I purchased some timothy pellets, and have been giving him a mix of that and BOSS in the evenings for a little treat.
Another thought regarding the dry, flaky skin along his top line is that of mites. Maybe it's nothing, but I don't recall seeing his top line like this before (I've included a photo). Any thoughts?
Also, in the photos I've included, it appears as if his black coat looks a little "rusty" in places. This is obviously a sign of copper deficiency. Is that what it looks like to you? I did a copper bolus back in late November. Should I administer another?
Balding on the top of the head is pretty common for bucks. It's from butting heads and/or rubbing the top of their head on things like fence posts or trees to get their scent on it. When I've seen zinc deficiency in my bucks, it's usually accompanied by foaming at the mouth. It looks like whipped cream on their lips. The first time it was so bad (before I knew what was happening) that it looked like someone had sprayed a can of whipped cream all over my bucks' bodies and the stall they were in.
I still think it's a great idea that you switched from all alfalfa because that's always been the cause of zinc deficiency in my bucks, so you could be on the very early edge of a problem. Can you buy grass hay pellets at your local farm supply store? Tractor Supply in my area sells timothy pellets and a couple of others. You can add a handful of sunflower seeds to the hay pellets because they are high in zinc and vitamin E, which is also good for dry skin.
How long will it be before your buck will be getting most of his nutrients from pasture? Simply eliminating the excess calcium usually fixes things.