Sick goat

[Bubblingbrooks]

We have a young doe that is not quite grown.
I am puzzled as to what is wrong and what to do about it.
She is slowly going bald, has very dry skin, and is chewing herself all the time.
Her nose is totally dry and cracked and swollen.

Any help would be appreciated.

She eats browse, free choice hay, barley and BOSS in the morning, and free choice loose minerals.

 

[freemotion]

Wow, could she have mites that you can't see? Ivomec, injected sq, is supposed to do the trick. PM farmerchick or someone over on byh? I'm clueless.

 

[glenolam]

Is she dehydrated at all?

The dry nose is what gets me there.

But for the bald spots I'd wonder about lice/mites too. I inject ivomec subq at 1cc/50# and redo in 10 days. If that doesn't work (and you don't want to consult a vet just yet), get some safeguard and hit her with that. The safeguard, while not really useful against most worms, has actually brought a goat back to life for a friend of mine. I don't know how much she dosed - I'm sure it was 4x the label or so, but the doe had some worm that was completely immune to the ivomec but not safeguard.

Is it still cold there? If not, you could try shaving her completely and then rubbing her with oil, I'm thinking baby oil, and see if that helps the dry skin if it's not mites/lice.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Is she dehydrated at all?

The dry nose is what gets me there.

But for the bald spots I'd wonder about lice/mites too. I inject ivomec subq at 1cc/50# and redo in 10 days. If that doesn't work (and you don't want to consult a vet just yet), get some safeguard and hit her with that. The safeguard, while not really useful against most worms, has actually brought a goat back to life for a friend of mine. I don't know how much she dosed - I'm sure it was 4x the label or so, but the doe had some worm that was completely immune to the ivomec but not safeguard.

Is it still cold there? If not, you could try shaving her completely and then rubbing her with oil, I'm thinking baby oil, and see if that helps the dry skin if it's not mites/lice.

I will try the ivomec. Does that come from a vet?
Its not getting over 50 during the day yet. Still snow on the ground.

She does drink water

 

[Javamama]

Ivomec is over the counter. I am thinking it could be mites too, but I also read about something like this once and it was( if my memory is right) a zinc deficiency. I'll have to double check that and see what I come up with.

My white goat rubs her nose bridge raw sometimes and our breeder said to keep an eye out for skin cancer on light skinned goats. But I don't think that would occur all over the body like yours has.

Edit to add: forget the zinc - they ended up treating with Ivomec and it worked

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Is she dehydrated at all?

The dry nose is what gets me there.

But for the bald spots I'd wonder about lice/mites too. I inject ivomec subq at 1cc/50# and redo in 10 days. If that doesn't work (and you don't want to consult a vet just yet), get some safeguard and hit her with that. The safeguard, while not really useful against most worms, has actually brought a goat back to life for a friend of mine. I don't know how much she dosed - I'm sure it was 4x the label or so, but the doe had some worm that was completely immune to the ivomec but not safeguard.

Is it still cold there? If not, you could try shaving her completely and then rubbing her with oil, I'm thinking baby oil, and see if that helps the dry skin if it's not mites/lice.

oh...baby oil=petroleum
its not hydrating at all. It creates a waterproof barrier instead...

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Ivomec is over the counter. I am thinking it could be mites too, but I also read about something like this once and it was( if my memory is right) a zinc deficiency. I'll have to double check that and see what I come up with.

My white goat rubs her nose bridge raw sometimes and our breeder said to keep an eye out for skin cancer on light skinned goats. But I don't think that would occur all over the body like yours has.

So is it oral?

 

[Javamama]

Can be given orally or injected. I've given it orally for worms, but I haven't dealt with mites/mange so I'm not sure which would work best. I'll PM you the link.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

ok, mites seem correct. She hasblack skin and I cannot see any, but I know I saw some on the others.
Looks like I will treat all of them.
So how do I treat pregnant and lactating does?

 

[glenolam]

Sorry on the baby oil - I forgot that.

To highjack for a minute, I read the back of the baby oil I've had for little g that I never used...it said the ingrediants were mineral oil and aloe extract and then something I can't pronounce or remember....?

I'd inject the ivomec at 1cc/50# and repeat in 10 days. It's safe to use on the pregnant goats.

If/when you have kids on the ground, check them over at about a week old. If they present signs of mites do the same treatment. I had to do that with Opi's little kids at a week old and they were fine. It was hard to dose 0.05ml, but I did it.

ETA - some people toss the milk from lacating does that you've given the treatment to. Either use it for soap or give it to the chickens. I'm unsure of the withholding period as I've yet given it to lacating does, but I want to say it's around 3-4 days??? Might want to check on that, though.