Hi Everyone.
Over the past week I have noticed my one buck in particular really beginning to shed and loose his hair. My second buck is doing the same thing but far less dramatically. Today I noticed that my first buck is actually loosing/shedding his hair in large amounts...looking like dryer lint when it comes out. We are in Canada, so the temperatures are beginning to warm up, though it is still below -0 degrees celsius many nights. Is he shedding or should I be worried about selenium deficiency? He now has a large baldy spot on his neck. No scalling or flaking on his skin. He has not had a selenium injection since birth, but does have minerals every day with selenium. Any thoughts??
Thanks!
Replies
This isn't the link she shared, but pumpkin seed is high in zinc.
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/foods-high-in-zinc/
Dang. I can't find it. I thought I had it bookmarked.
If you can get your hands on some unsulfered black strap molasses, it has high copper content too, and I would dose with that while you wait for the copasure. One of the gals here posted something about grains high in certain properties... I'll see if I can find that link for you.
they are not getting alfalfa regularly, only if they are out of their barn and yard and make a dash for the hay barn...so yes once in a while they snack on the alfalfa but not daily. Can i give them regular Zinc from the drug store? I have tablets here that are 50mg tabs of elemental zinc...would that work?
I have ordered Copper which will take some time to get here in the mail. Today his fecals came back with a low count of worms. I am thinking tomorrow I will get invermectin and give him an oral dose...thinking now it must be an external bug as he is getting worse fast. All his hair all over his body is coming out now. He will also be getting a bath tomorrow.
Any feedback or other suggestions are most appreciated!
I didn't see the pictures until today, and they look a lot like my bucks that had zinc deficiency. Are the bucks getting alfalfa? If so, the calcium in the alfalfa could be binding with the zinc to inhibit absorption.
Sounds like copper could also be an issue, though, because you have sulfur in your water.
That's what I got too! Actually they were out of the calf size then. But I am glad I ordered the cattle size because it was twice as much for 1 1/2 times the price. Works for me!
If you have sulfur in your water, I would bet my farm that copper is an issue!! Deb has lost a few bucks because of it. (before she realized what was wrong) She had their liver's biopsied, because she wanted to be sure, and low copper was defiantly a killer for her. It also makes sense that some of your goats struggle and others don't. That's very true for all mineral intake, and another good reason to let them have their minerals free choice. Those that need more can access it, and those that don't won't eat as much. Each goat will have slightly different levels of need for each mineral.
Jeffer's carries copasure http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=16535&camid=liv The price is a little steep up front, but you don't use a lot of it, so one container will last you a while.
Again Rachel...thanks! You have no idea how helpful this is! I know we have high sulfur in our well water and though I try to use rain water in the warm season, they are now on month almost 6 of our well water as we have long winter's up here. All these little tips are super helpful to my learning.
Thanks for taking the time to share and teach!
I have just switched to a new mineral which I have high hopes for...and am now on the search for COWP.
You're welcome! One thing to consider, that I don't know if you caught in the article about copper I linked to earlier, is that there are areas with copper binding agents in the things goats ingest. For example, Deborah lives on property with Sulfur water. Sulfur will bind to copper, and keep your goats from absorbing it. If your goats are eating something that is binding their copper intake, then they can't absorb it as well. People with binders in their goat's environment have to compensate with larger doses of copper, even when vets tell them that they shouldn't have to because their feed/minerals have it in there already. A lot of times, that just isn't enough. There is also a difference in the KIND of copper you choose to give the kind in the Copper Oxide Wire Particles (the COWP mentioned in the last article I linked) absorbs differently, and is harder to overdose and cause toxicity with. The kind if feed and minerals is a copper sulfate, which absorbs faster. That's another reason not to feed minerals in with feed, and to use loose minerals. Goats are pretty good at regulating their intake when the minerals are out free choice, but when you add agents like salts in block form, or grains in feed, then can end up eating more mineral than they really should, because they like the *extra* ingredients so much. If you feed treats, think about whether the things you are feeding have binders in them too. Make sure things like Black Strap Molasses and Raisins are unsulfered. Sorry to throw so much at you in one post! Just trying to give you the nutshell version of everything I've learned.
thanks Rachel! Super helpful!
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next