My doe has dandruff and her coat is really rough compared to the rest of my herd. I have heard of giving them black oil sunflower seeds to clear it up-does this work and does anybody have any other suggestions?
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Copper in bolus form should not hurt them... and often, selenium and copper issues go hand in hand. :)
So, I should give them copper? If the rough coat is something else, the copper will not hurt them? They do have free choice hay and fresh water.
I guess I will finish up the bag of grain I have left and then they are done.
Thanks again!
There is no way to test for Copper until you have a dead goat, and then you can have a liver biopsy done... I *think* there is a selenium blood test, but I don't know much about that.
ALSO:
Giving grains to wethers/bucks/non milking or nursing does isn't necessary. In bucks and wethers, it can cause urinary calculi issues, which can be lethal. Free choice hay is really all any goat needs (boy or girl) unless you are putting demands on a doe through raising kids or milking.
Liz Barnes said:
Good to know, as my wether has a rough coat and I feed free choice Hoeggers goat minerals, kelp and baking soda. I also give the three of them about a cup of Purina Goat chow (non-medicated) twice a day. They share the grain. Is there anyway to test or is it ok to just give them the copper?
Well, your mineral mix is pretty low compared to what I use, so I'd use it more often... Maybe Deb would have better info on how often to dose. I usually do it every time I bolus with copper, which is every three months or so, and also a couple weeks before delivery on my pregnant does.
How often do you use the selenium paste?
Oregon in general is a selenium deficient area... Not sure what county you are in.
I offer my goats selenium paste, and I also feed Black Oil Sunflower to help with the low selenium levels here in OR.
Selenium is at 25.0000-30.0000. I will definitely check that later today. On to deal with the human kids now.
Usually even if you have a good loose mineral, they will still need copper. For example, mine get Sweetlix Meatmaker I order from Jeffers (1750-1810 pmm copper), but it's not enough to keep their levels up without bolusing. It's still important to have minerals, but it just won't be enough to cover their copper in most situations.
You can look at this map to see how your area is for minerals, but other things also affect the levels your goats are able to get from their diets. http://tin.er.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/countydata.htm The good thing is that it's easy to see when you have a copper deficiency! It broadcasts itself in their coat condition, which is good because it also affects their inner health.
That's a decent level for copper. What is the level for selenium?
Just for your reference, you should check out the levels in Meat Maker for Goats. http://www.jefferspet.com/images/label/0029517.htm That's one of the better minerals out there. If your minerals compare well, then I say stick with them!
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