To dose or not to dose?

Here's the deal:

I have two FF does, both are 2 years old and both are 3.5 months pregnant. I have had them nearly two years here in south central KS where our Selenium and Copper are (I think) pretty adequate. I have never dosed with copper or selenium, and I only recently made a loose mineral feeder so I'd say they've only really been getting minerals regularly for the past 3 or 4 months (before that I had it out in a bowl and it seemed to get knocked over/dirty a lot and not eaten well). And at that, I have them on MannaPro loose minerals (I know it's not the best, but I haven't found the Sweetlix stuff here yet), and they get timothy hay/alfalfa mix. Our water is not well water and I think fine as far as sulfur goes.

After reading my (wonderful :) new book "Raising Goats Naturally" and many of the supplementing discussions on here, I gave my goats a good look over with new eyes and noted a bit of a fish tail on one of my does along with a balding spot on the bridge of her nose, and bald tips on the other does ears. To me their coats look a little rough, but I kind of think they just look rougher in the winter and sleeker in the summer. I see some lighter looking areas on my brown doe.

I bought BOSS today and offered the girls each a handful - the doe with bald ear tips ate hers up, the other said "no thanks". I also went ahead and ordered Copasure and Selenium/E gel from Jeffers which should arrive today.

Here's the questions:

Should I go ahead and dose them both with copper and selenium today, or just start with copper and reassess? Also, how do you get a picky (pregnant) eater to eat the BOSS?

Here's a thought ... you might only dose the one that has the most symptoms, so you can compare her to the other one. The first time I bolused with COWP, I only did the goats that had symptoms, and it was really amazing how they changed within only a couple of weeks. I even took my husband out to the pasture, and he had no idea which goats had been dosed (or even why I was asking him), and I had him feel the coats on various goats and asked him who had the nicest coats, and in every case, he chose the goat that had been bolused.

Based on your environmental conditions, it doesn't sound like copper deficiency should be an ongoing problem for you. Maybe after correcting this initial deficiency and then providing them with a loose mineral regularly, they'll be in good shape.

Replies

Deborah Niemann-Boehle March 14, 2014 at 4:46pm

Yes.

Randi Leister said:

Okay thanks. Are the bridge of the nose (as pictured) and tips of the ears common spots to lose hair with copper deficiency?
Randi Leister March 14, 2014 at 2:31pm

Okay thanks. Are the bridge of the nose (as pictured) and tips of the ears common spots to lose hair with copper deficiency?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle March 14, 2014 at 2:02pm

Here's a thought ... you might only dose the one that has the most symptoms, so you can compare her to the other one. The first time I bolused with COWP, I only did the goats that had symptoms, and it was really amazing how they changed within only a couple of weeks. I even took my husband out to the pasture, and he had no idea which goats had been dosed (or even why I was asking him), and I had him feel the coats on various goats and asked him who had the nicest coats, and in every case, he chose the goat that had been bolused.

Based on your environmental conditions, it doesn't sound like copper deficiency should be an ongoing problem for you. Maybe after correcting this initial deficiency and then providing them with a loose mineral regularly, they'll be in good shape.

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