[grindylo]

This is long to tell you everything and help figure out possible issues. Sorry..

My two girls will be a year old this month and I really wanted to breed them but now I'm glad I waited. The goat I'm worried about was the rounder one last year.

At first I thought it was an optical illusion because she shed so much more than her cousin. She's had dandruff and lots of her undercoat coming out since early February. Her fur isn't as lustrous and the long parts are kind of wispy instead of sleek. I don't know if that's normal or not, but I'm quite sure she's been losing weight as well. Also, her tail has been down mostly, she hasn't wanted to be pet as much, and she doesn't always come out to greet me like usual.

On the other hand, she still gets excited about food. She eats, chews her cud, has normal poos, walks around, plays with her cousin, and her rumen grumbles. I haven't gotten a good look in her inner eyelids lately, but her gums are a nice pink. She doesn't have any nose discharge and her eyes look alright.

Just in case of parasites, I gave them both dose one of IvomecPlus, SQ, a week ago. They had that in the fall and have had ivermectin+praziquantel paste before that.

At first I thought it might be that she wasn't getting enough food and I upped her grain ration. Stopped that when I read about Thiamine deficiency as a possible cause of her weight loss, and being caused by too much grain. Dosed once with ProBios after reading that. Should I give her ProBios again or more often?

Both girls get two meals a day, each of 1 cup of alfalfa pellets and 1/2 cup of Dumor goat feed, not the sweet feed. A few months ago I switched to Dumor from Noble Goat, which is medicated. I also started offering a different but better hay: long fiber timothy and alfalfa blend. That is different from the compressed chopped timothy+molasses. It looks fresh, no mold, and they seem to really like it. Should I add BOSS for her coat? Same as bird seed?

They both are up to date on copper, though I cheat and mix it with treats instead of as a bolus. They get free choice MannaPro minerals. I stopped offering baking soda when their dish broke a few months ago, but have recently started again. Been offering them a bowl whenever I go out to see them.

Any ideas? :whatgoat:

 

[canyontrailgoats]

Remember to repeat the worming in 10 days, so you kill off the next cycle. A fecal can tell you where you're at with parasites.

Have you looked closely at her skin for lice and mites? If you see anything I would dust them and their house after a good cleaning. Daily brushings will help the coat, and yes you can add boss to their diet.

Finally, look into selenium. You may be in a deficient area...

Oh and are these minis or standards?

 

[grindylo]

Thanks for the reply!!! :angel:

I initially bought the injectable ivermectin to use for mites. The same goat had a couple nickel-sized spots on her head that didn't have fur. Not raw-looking, just hairless. Wasn't sure if they were from mites, a fungus, or rubbing against something. I topically put some silvadene cream on them while waiting for the ivermectin to arrive and the spots were gone in a few days... I haven't seen mites but they might be too small. When I first got her she had lice but I treated it and haven't seen more yet. Anyways, I'll definitely repeat the dosage and clean the barn. Do I need to repeat it twice or three times?

They get brushed pretty often. Will look closer for bugs next time. Was worried about brushing too much since it still falls below freezing at night, but couldn't just let the one walk around with so many clumps of fur poking out. She isn't shedding as much now but her fur is much thinner than I've ever seen it.

Is it okay to give goats people-pill supplements, maybe dissolved and mixed with food? On hand are B1 and some selenium with brewer's yeast. I have done that before, like at the same time as giving them copper.

These are F1 mini-lamanchas!

Is boss the same as a bag of sunflower seeds intended for birds, with the shells and all? Does it matter if it's the kind that isn't supposed to sprout?

 

[grindylo]

Found the answer to my BOSS question on the forum (thanks TGS!) and bought some yesterday. Walmart. All they have here is a kind that's fortified with vitamins, which I don't think will hurt.. Vit A and something else and veg oil. I've started giving them two tablespoons with each meal and so far they've gobbled it right up. No changes in poo. Might up it soon for the goat in question.

I checked for mites and lice again and didn't see any. Cleaned the barn anyways.
Her spirits seem up. I know it might be a while before I see any improvement but... she needs to get in shape for da babiees!

I have another question. Months ago I think I read on here that you have to give goats more copper after deworming them. Is that correct or did I misread something?

Edit: That "something else" in the BOSS is iodine. That's ok, right?

 

[nannygoatroper]

I've experienced gloiters in two % Boer doelings after being closed to a winter garden of turnips, cabbage, beets, & collards! All these plants are referred to as "goitrogenic" and inhibit the absorption of iodine! Before the obvious goiters, I was concerned about the dry flakey dandruff on some of my goats, thinking mites! But after researching iodine deficiency I found that this skin issue is also a symptom of iodine deficiency. I ordered kelp to offer free choice as all salts in feed & minerals do not contain iodine! Repeated fertilization of pastures often ties up the iodine thus rendering it useless to grazing animals. Hope this helps!