Bad Lice Problem

1292 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by sweetgoatmama, Mar 20, 2011

4-Hgoats

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2011

I guess lice are pretty common in the winter months, and my goats have had scruffy looking coats for about a month now. I didn't seem to notice any problem with it untill about the end of february. The goats hair is scruffy, dull, flaky skin, and the undercoat hair is falling out. Also the hair is very thin and some parts of alpines coat is hairless! I did dust them with insectra dust or something of that name. But the lice must be so bad, that it doesn't work. I am worried that there may be something else wrong with the goats. They seem fine. Theyre eating, drinking, pottying normally. There hair is just horrible looking. I think there is lice in their bedding. I haven't had the time to clean out the stall this winter. There has been too much snow. Once the weather gets warm i need to bathe both goats, clean out the stall and hopefully that will end lice for awhile. But for now I am asking anyone what they would do. Should I just ignore it and use the dust untill i can bathe them? Our feed store sells injections for parasites, should i try that? I'm not sure how major a lice problem is. We have had lice with the goats before and i just cleaned the stall and bathed them and they were fine, but now the weather doesn't permit that and the lice problem is bigger!

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Rex

· #2 · Mar 14, 2011

Lice can live on the ground for awhile but the most common form of transfer is contact with another animal that has lice. In a herd of goats, if one goat has them then the chances are that all of them have them. We use a powdered insecticide made for Lice and sprinkle it on the goat from the top of their head to the end of their tail. It will filter down through the goats hair and eventually cover enough of the goat to do the job. The life cycle of the Louse requires another treatment in two weeks to make sure you kill any that may have hatched out after the first treatment and before they are old enough to lay new eggs. Failure to re-treat will result in a new infestation.

I don't see why you couldn't treat the bedding as well. I'd just be careful not to get it on anything the goats might eat.

Heavy infestations can really wreak havoc on a goats health. On a side note, a coffee creamer container with small holes drilled in the lid makes a good applicator for the powder.

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feederseaters

· #3 · Mar 15, 2011

There is also a product on the market that works well called Premetherin 10. You can use it on the animals or as a premise spray. You just dilute it according to the use and the directions. It is cheap and VERY effective. I find it better than the powder when it comes to sticking to the goats. Each application can last for weeks or months depending on the use. Thats long enough to beat the life-cycle of nasty lice.
You can find it on line (Jeffers Livestock) or even at your local barn store (Tractor Supply or Agway, Blue Seal etc.)
Good Luck and try to get rid of that bedding. Time for some spring cleaning.

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sweetgoatmama

· #4 · Mar 20, 2011

Make sure you get whatever treatment all over inclluding the belly and between the hind legs. Also,, if you have dogs with your goats or llamas, do them at the same time as they can carry them for a little while till they find another goat to get on. Permethrin is great stuff and we spray the whole stall with it.

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