skin problem

lonelyfarmgirl · #1 02/09/08, 09:17 PM

I recently bought a couple does from a large herd situation. one has been handled very little. I managed to actually get ahold of her yesterday, and upon close inspection, I noticed she has some knid of skin issue that somewhat resembles..cradle cap? maybe?
what is this, and how do I take care of it? is it contageous?

Loda Farm · #2 02/10/08, 02:11 PM

I also would like to know this. I bought a bred doe as well. I noticed when I got her home she had the same thing you are describing. Now that she has kid she is getting worse. I started her on LA200 and gave her a sub Q Ivermectin shot. I want to try that before calling the vet. i too would be interested if anyone has run across this. So far none of my other goats have shown any signs.

Laura

waygr00vy · #3 02/10/08, 02:22 PM

i have had one doeling with something like that, although i was pretty sure she had lice to begin with, she has been deloused and haven't seen any in weeks. Still has the weird skin, also tried ivomec, didn't see any difference. She is the only one who has it....??

DQ · #4 02/10/08, 04:34 PM

I don't know what it is but if they were mine I would treat with an antifungal such as Tinactin (for althletes foot) I have had that clear up funguses in horses that have similiar symptoms. usually flakey skin and "crusty chunks" that you can pick off and often come with a small wad of hair. cleared up nicely using any treatments for athletes foot, if it afflicted a relatively small area. larger areas required daily bathing with betadine washes. I'm sure your goats would be none to happy with you if you used that treatment!!! if your milking and want to go a little more natural you could use tea tree oil products. though I have found that to be more effective for preventionin animals prone to the skin problems, than treatment of acute cases.

lonelyfarmgirl · #5 02/10/08, 07:59 PM

so are you suggesting spray her with athletes foot treatment? it is exactly as you describe, flakes or crusty skin, and when you pick it off, chunks of hair come with it.
but it is over her whole body. I am not milking. I bought her and her daughter bred. she is due in may. her daughter doesnt have it.
is there something I can give her internally to take care of it? it is freezing. I cant put anything on her skin, and since she is borderline unhandleable right now, I dont think I actually could.

goatkid · #6 02/10/08, 09:51 PM

It sounds like ringworm to me. I would not give a bred doe oral or injected meds for it. Athletes foot spray and Bluekote both combat ringworm and don't take that long to dry. I've used it on my goats in winter.

lonelyfarmgirl · #7 02/10/08, 11:23 PM

its not ringworm. ive dealt with that on dogs before. bluekote is great, but she would need to be full body dipped, and I dont feel like being blue for the next month.

that stuff stains everything.

Loda Farm · #8 02/11/08, 11:20 AM

Mine isn't ringworm either. I handle her alot, and neither her 4 week old kid or any of my other goats have it. She is now geting spots of skin with no hair at all. I am giving the antibiotic and ivomec a week to ee if I notice a difference, then off to the vet we go. I just hate spending $100.00 on something that might be cheaper to treat. LOL

Laura

dkdairygoats · #9 02/11/08, 12:23 PM

My goats got a skin problem last summer, crusty patches and hair loss. I had the vet out and he said it looked like some type of pox. He gave them a vit. A&D injection and we just had to wait it out. It took 6-8 weeks to go away completely. It completely botched the show season, but they did get over it and seemed to be fine. A couple goats never got it but most of them did and it spread over their whole bodies.

DQ · #10 02/11/08, 02:03 PM

if it is over her entire body I would hesitate on the athletes foot treatment. maybe if you took a sample to a vet a look under a microscope and they might could tell you if it is a fungus. unknown territory for me there though, I don't know if it is possible, might be worth a phone call to find out. it would be alot cheaper than an exam. and if it something that can determined you will know whcih way to go with treatment.

there are oral treatments for fungus in humans but it would surprise me to find out one for goats, maybe cattle????

keep us updated. I'm curious.

holleegee · #11 02/11/08, 02:14 PM

we took in a goat that had a similar problem. She had lice when we got her so we treated her for the lice, at the time she had very little hair. about a week after we got her her skin started to flake off in big chunks, like big dandruff. Our vet suggested boss and brushing her daily. (He checked her for several things and decided it must have been from the lice or med for the lice.) It took about a week and her skin started to look better and eventually her hair started to grow back in. Now you would never know she had a skin problem.

moonspinner · #12 02/11/08, 04:36 PM

I confess my ignorance - what is cradle cap?

Loda Farm · #13 02/11/08, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonspinner

I confess my ignorance - what is cradle cap?

I used to call it "Cradle CRAP" LOL

Newborn (human) babies tend to get it. It is dry flaky skin on their heads. Kinda resembles dandruff in a bad form.

Laura

chris30523 · #14 02/12/08, 05:18 AM

Sounds like the rain rot one of my horses had. We used a topical product with sulfur and oil. It cleared but he had greasy patches for months till it was warm enough to bathe him.

waygr00vy · #15 02/21/08, 04:26 PM

just wondering if the goat's skin issue was every resolved? I am still having problems with mine, and now a couple other does are having the same issues...

lonelyfarmgirl · #16 02/24/08, 03:35 AM

no, not resolved. I read some in a livestock vet book I have. all the symptoms point to lice, but I cant actually see any lice on her. so what do you do for lice?
surely not purchase 20 tiny bottles of 14$ lice shampoo.

waygr00vy · #17 02/24/08, 05:57 AM

i thought I was dealing with lice but have been researching like crazy and think it is mites. I bought a goat back in the fall and think she was the culprit that brought them in. I can't see ANYTHING on them right now other than the scabby, flaky skin. I dusted all mine with seven a few days ago. I only have 2 does that have actually lost some patches of hair (they kidded recently so i think the stress made it worse). Every one is going to get Ivomec SQ today, and then i am going to either redust/spray them all again 10 days after last treatment, and again in 10 more days. They have pour-ons for lice, although I had used that and it didn't seem to help. ivermectin is also supposed to help for lice. Plus a variety of dusts and sprays....

lonelyfarmgirl · #18 02/24/08, 06:07 AM

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of mites. you may be right. Is seven safe to use? I confess, its been so long since Ive used a chemical substance, I am out of touch with how it will affect everything. she is pregnant, in a pen with her pregnant daughter, who does not have the skin problem. they came from the same herd. will she lick it off? will it get in the hay/water? how do you dust her underneath?

also, I have used ivomec many a time, but what is ivomec SQ. are you injecting? will it affect pregnancy? I hate to wait to deal with this until kidding, she isn't due until May.

waygr00vy · #19 02/24/08, 07:46 AM

I know sevin is what they recommend dusting kittens and puppies with, so I think it should be safe for her. Mine is actually called something different but same chemical in it, it is the 5% strength....I dusted my entire herd, babies, preggo moms, everyone. I am sure there is a more efficient way to do it, it was my first time dusting..but i put some gloves on, grabbed each goat, got the "dust" a handful at a time and rubbed it in everywhere. I stopped at the ears... i don't think enough would get in the hay and water to be an issue. I originally only had one doeling that had the skin thing and thought it was isolated, but used a pour-on on everyone (which obviously didn't work). I am trying to really get on top of it now though, since i saw the two other does with it...thank goodness all the new babies are in a brand new pen isolated from the rest of the herd. yes...injecting ivomec under the skin. regular ivomec (not the ivomec plus) is safe for pregnant does

lonelyfarmgirl · #20 02/24/08, 11:58 PM

I guess I will do that this week. no sense in waiting. Upon reflection, I think, back before I knew the dangers of insecticides and such, I used to dust the dog houses with seven dust. I will report in with any progress.