I know people wash their goats for shows, so there must be some sort of shampoo for goats or something.
Does anyone here know of any that they would recommend? Not necessarily for showing, but one of our goats right now just looks really dirty and I figure it wouldn't hurt the others to have a bath too.
And do they make any goat shampoos to help with dandruff?
Do you think we'd be able to keep them relatively still long enough to wash them next time it rains or should we get them tied up or on a stand for it? I think we wouldn't have a problem with most of them if someone was holding them or blocking or feeding them.
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I found a bottle of goat soap at a feed store that is now closed ): I LOVE it, it has a little smell to it and since it is for goats I know it won't hurt them. I don't have the bottle in front of me but when I find it, I will post the brand.
diluted apple cider vinegar is a wonderful rinse- will condition the hair to be so very soft.
I have used baking soda on spots that are greasy and such. It is a great cleanser and I consider it truly non-harmful.
When my children were young, they were avid tree climbers and would get pine tar in their hair and on their skin....I used baking soda, it was the only thing I found that worked for removing pine tar from their hair.
The blue Dawn I have used as a flea shampoo on dogs. I imagine it smothers the fleas, but I'm not sure about that. I do consider it a toxic product.
Sandra Hess, CPM
Heartland Midwifery
Fresno, Ohio
I have tried dog shampoo-the kind you hook up the bottle directly to the hose. You turn a lever on the bottle when your ready to wash and it mixes the shampoo in the water. I was really impressed how it got the urine stains out of a white buck. It left his coat so soft and bouncy! Cant remember the name offhand but its a white bottle.
Hubby wondered if any of you have used head n shoulders or the like for the dry skin problems? Just curious if that works?
I shampoo with the 5 gallon bucket approach - I fill it with warm water and suds her up with the best suds I have.
I think anyway you can get some ground oatmeal in the mix is great for her skin. Like Deborah - I used some goats milk soap I had once and regular shampoo the other times - and very good rinsing with warm water. again - bucket was my only choice. I even rubbed her skin the last time with olive oil. I do want to have a skin scraping done eventually cause every year (she has a very thick layer of undercoat) she gets horrible dandraff and though I have never seen any bugs, I am suspicious of some sort of mite.
oh she isnt a willing participant - but I know she feels better afterwards.
Now you know, that does sound like a thought, Hannah! I had been thinking a dog shampoo, mostly because there is so much to choose from, like whitening shampoos etc. But horse sounds like a pretty good idea also. If all else fails cheap people shampoo would clean them and smell nice. I say cheap because I am of the mind that when it comes right down to it that lots of times cheap stuff is better because they frequently manufacture cheap plainer and more simple meaning with less ingredients, therefore hopefully less dangerous! Sometimes true- not always!
What about horse shampoos?
I love Dawn for lots of things and don't worry to much about the exposer because I don't use it often for things like animal bathing. Like maybe if a dog gets under a car and rubs grease or oil on them then yes I will. But I thought I would tell you that there is a LOT to what Deborah is saying because I have a dear friend who is a highly educated chemist who gets very frustrated at the idea of people like me even washing dishes with Dawn without gloves. She says if we understood the chemicals in that stuff we would never use it without gloves! Mind you she does use it, she isn't just a Dawn hater. So we should be careful about those things. I do like Debs idea!
We put a collar and lead on the goats to wash them with a water hose that we have hooked up to water that is warm. We used to use cold water, and it's okay as long as it's a hot day. I use a bar of my goat milk soap to wash them. I just rub it all over their body and suds them up. I know it is really good for their skin because it's the same thing I use for washing hands, showering, washing my face, etc.
I'm sure Dawn does an excellent job of cleaning them, but it might also dry out their skin, especially one that already has flaking. Sheep people have very strong feelings about using Dawn to wash fleeces. It cuts the grease really well, but some people feel that it also decreases the quality of the fiber because it is so harsh.
We don't even have a stand yet, so we'd have to get them used to it before we did anything.
But dish soap? That's interesting, I'll certainly try it thanks!
And what about for brushes? We have a little plastic brush that doesn't do much and we got a wire-tooth dog brush, but it was a bit rough so we're thinking about trying a cat brush. Do curry combs (like for horses) work well?
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