Goat hair dry and brittle?

[Cashs Cowgirl]

I have a little boar cross that was given to me by a friend since she wasn't thriving there. All the others picked on her and she let them. Anyways. She does have an overbite, but it doesn't seem to affect her eating any. She has gained a good bit of weight since she's been here, but her coat has never been quite right. It's always been dry, coarse and brittle. She doesn't seem itchy (no more so than goats normally are) and she has no hair loss patches. My goats do have access to loose minerals, red and white salt licks, browse all day and get fed goat pelleted feed that has some chopped alfalfa mixed in, in the morning (a full scoop shared between the four since they aren't lacking in the weight department ).

Is there anything more I can give her to help her coat...the others are LaManchas and are soft and shiny.

[fishhead]

What kind of minerals are you feeding? What's the copper content?

[trnubian]

I would get a fecal run on her and find out if you are dealing with tape worms. They tend to make the coats dull and rough.

Copper def. can so the same thing. Is the loose mineral for Goats, or cows? If so it should be fine. If it is for sheep and goats or just sheep there isn't enough copper in it.

[Cashs Cowgirl]

The minerals purchased were strictly for goats. It said to not give it to sheep.

I plan to call the vet in the morning and run a fecal on all of them, although all their lower lids and gums look pink.

[stacygoats]

Once you rule out worms, try adding some BOSS to your feed mix.

I had the same problem with some of my goats, but now they have really shiny coats. It seems like some goats are more prone to dry skin/coat in the spring.

Good Luck!

[DocM]

You can put minerals out, but that doesn't mean the goats will eat them. A better way is to use copper bolusing. It could be worms, since you describe the goat as "little" and most boer crosses are larger boned animals. If you have a fecal done, be sure to test for cocci too. She may not have thrived because she already has a compromised digestive system.

http://www.u-sayranch.com/goats/copper.html

[Cashs Cowgirl]

Stacygoats-I've not heard of BOSS, what is that? Thanks!
My goats actually do eat the minerals, but I've not seen her do it regularly like the others, so I actually add hers in her own bowl of feed. She eats behind the shed while the other three share a rubber pan.

When I said she's small, I guess I should have specified a little better: Here's a pic. She's as big as my Lamanchas and they are all about the same age.


Thanks for the help!

[full sun]

Originally Posted by DocM

You can put minerals out, but that doesn't mean the goats will eat them. A better way is to use copper bolusing. It could be worms, since you describe the goat as "little" and most boer crosses are larger boned animals. If you have a fecal done, be sure to test for cocci too. She may not have thrived because she already has a compromised digestive system.

http://www.u-sayranch.com/goats/copper.html

Thanks for the link!! I have a wild ND that hates to be messed with. On Sunday, we went through 3 boluses (is that a word?) 7 attempts and we ultimately failed. I finally drenched her with some copper sulfate and that barely went well. I am going to try to put her rod dosage into syrup and drench her. Hopefully, it will go well and I won't have to do it again for months. Wish me luck!

Jennifer

[stacygoats]

BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, which I can buy at the feed store in a 40 lb bag.
It's great for their coat and I don't have any goats with dry skin since it was added to the feed mix.

[Cashs Cowgirl]

Thanks Stacy! I'll look into that when I head to the feed store! I'm sure they'll love it...they love everything else! LOL!