flaky patches on calves

[chrisnev]

We have a couple of calves that have dry,bumpy,flaky patches on their heads. One has a patch above his eye and the other has one on his face and forehead..We have tried bag balm,blue coat.and nothing seems to help..they are healthy other than that..It doesnt seem to affect anything else at this point...Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance Chris

[JeffNY]

Sounds like ringworm. Is it a small gray patch, raised from the skin? Tea tree oil seems to work, it soaks in. Apply it once a day for a week, and it should help. It wont effect them growth wise, it is itchy to them, and looks unpleasant. But it doesn't seem to effect them otherwise.


Jeff

[Celtic Herritag]

You can use a heavy iodine, 7% iodine, and take the spray nozzle from another bottle and spray it on the scab (better application method then trying to pour it on, or dabbing it which just spreads it), make sure to cover their eyes though. Pull the scabs off as soon as they start to flake off, if you have a large herd you may want to quarantine the affected animals until the fungi clears off.

[Alice In TX/MO]

If it was spring, I'd say that it could be lice. Don't normally have much of a problem with them at this time of year. In the spring, they all get itchy and rub hair off in patches. Ivomec kills lice as well as intestinal parasites.

For fungus, you can get powdered sulfur at the feed store and mix some with water. Bathe the affected area with it.

Had one calf that we had to wrestle down and soak all over with it.

[milkinpigs]

Sounds like lice.Lice can infest any time of year.You can use ivomec or any other type wormer or just dust them with a fly powder, rub it in good on the affected areas.