Lice and shearing

[pharmerwife]

Here's the situation...I have two angoras ready to kid in May/June. It is wet and really cold here.(Ontario, Can.) They are due to be sheared. They are scratching although I can't see any critters. Do I treat for lice now? wait until sheared? Suggestions on what to use here in Canada. What about the lice, if any, in the fleece? Thanks for your help and suggestions. Tricia D.

[deetu]

I don't have experience with fleece goats but will share what I have been through with my Boer goats. Mine were biting lice so any treatment with Ivermectin orally or injected didn't work. DE also did not work for me. And it was hard to find sulfur (I ended up getting some used for plants)and that did not work either. Sucking lice can live in bedding, biting lice are passed by animal contact only.

What did work, was shaving them, then applying Sevin Dust. Probably the shaving alone would have worked because there wasn't hair for the lice to hold onto but I couldn't get them all shaved in time before winter (another story about dull clippers and goats doing gymnastics to get away) If you do not have Sevin Dust (sold for garden pests in most garden centers) then a flea dust for cats would problably work just as well. I have problems to chemicals and held out until the last possible moment. A natural spray or shampoo is called DeFlea but it is a spot killer and doesn't leave any residual chemical.

Considering it will be near impossible to reach their skin at this time if they need to be sheared so dusting wouldn't work well. It is also not good to use these chemicals when the goat is pregnant. It is also possible your goats have a rain itch or fungus going on since you can't see through the hair.

So I, personally, would wait until after shearing to see what exactly is going on before doing anything since it is so close. Also, lice can only live on a living creature so some time without body heat and they will either die or leave the fleece.

Oh, by the way, you cannot get goat lice.

[Ken in Maine]

Hi Tricia,
We have lots of experience with Angora goats. We have been raising them since 1989! First of all, when their fleece starts getting to shearing length, they do automatically get itchy. The fleece starts pulling away from their skin and makes them rub more and more. It's their natural way of eliminating the heavy fleece. You will want to wait until shearing to treat for lice. Please use Ivomec Pour-On. It is the most effective, least dangerous method of dealing with lice, if the goats indeed have them! You will be able to tell when you shear because all of a sudden they will appear on the surface of the skin and start moving around. We use Ivomec Pour on at shearing (about 9 cc's per 25 pounds of body weight) and again 3 months later. Our darlings are completely lice free.
As for the lice in the fleece, the lice need the body to continue to live, so they will die in the fleece. They will wash out very easily when you process the fleece.
Ivomec pour-on is completely safe to use on pregnant goats.
If you have any other questions, please use my private email kenjan@tds.net I do have some info on our website also www.mainegoats.com
Janice, wife of: