Hi all,
I'm new so please forgive my ignorance. I just took ownership of my goats about 2 months ago.
I have issues with 2 of my girls.
First: Libby is about 3 years old, pregnant for the third time, due to kid in early May. She has developed thickened skin on her udder and a bit on one 'pin bone'. Today I noticed for the first time, she had a little scab on her back just above her tail. When I gave her back a little scratch, the scab came off and it is very dry skin there. We've been putting bag balm on the area, which I guess might be a bad idea if this is a bacterial thing? I've been scrubbing the area with washcloth and warm water before applying the bag balm and she seems to like the scrubbing, so maybe it's itchy? Also, I have tried spraying it with a solution of water, ACV and copper sulfate according to the instructions in Pat Coleby's book, and Libby did not like that at all. She acted like it really hurt (or maybe she was just being difficult!)
Also, her coat has been looking rough. I saw that that is a symptom of low copper, but they have a mineral mix free choice. I ordered some 2g copasure so I'm planning to give that to all of them when it arrives.
Second: Abby kidded in October. She had not been milked by the folks who had her before. When we found a new home for her kids a couple weeks ago, we saw that her bag was quite full that night. We thought the kids were completely weaned but apparently not. So, we started milking her and she's been giving about a cup and a half morning and night. Today I noticed that *she's* starting to get scabby on the udder and what looks like little blisters with pus in them.
Also, Abby is ALWAYS hungry (which I guess might be because she is milking?)
Any thoughts on what I can do for these girls? Thanks so much for any help you can give!!
Replies
Thanks for your response!
Yes, loose minerals. It's Purina Goat Chow Mineral, Copper 1750-1800 ppm, Selenium 25-30 ppm, Zinc 7500 ppm.
I do feed alfalfa pellets morning and night to them all, with grass hay available all the time. They are pastured, but the grass isn't all that great, given our California drought! I have been giving them all BOSS morning and night, and Abby (the milker) is getting Purina Noble Goat Dairy morning and night.
It's frustrating because the guy I got them from lives only about a mile from here and he kept them on nothing but pasture and a tiny bit of alfalfa pellets. He did have a LOT more acreage than us and so the girls had more variety, including lots of browse.
I don't have pictures, but will try to get some later.
What are the copper levels in your mineral? Are they loose minerals? (It sounded like they are, so that's good.) Copper is a mineral that many areas are either deficient in or have other minerals that bind with it making it difficult to absorb for the goats. Most people, even with good quality minerals available free choice, still have to supplement with copper boluses. My goats get their boluses every four months. If I'm even a month late, their coast start to remind me that I missed the due date. The coat issue sounds like a copper problem.
Do you have pictures of the dry scabby areas? My first thought was mites, but there are other issues as well that could cause that, like zinc deficiency, biting lice, or mange.