Lice or dry skin?

celadon · #1 04/11/10, 09:12 AM

How can you tell? One of my boys looks to have dry flacks but the others do not. If it were lice they would all three have it? How do goats get lice. I have no other animals near them. I have no chickens. Just horses and they do not have lice. Thanks.

kwagner21 · #2 04/11/10, 09:35 AM

someone else will know better, but i actually saw one of the lice on my girl. you have to look really close. i just noticed a piece of dry skin moving. and i was told the lice stay to one species- don't jump from goat to horse, that it has to do with the fur and so it is species specific, but i got a new horse and she had lice when i got her, and not long after i found them on the goat. if she didn't get them from the horse i don't know where they came from.

Minelson · #3 04/11/10, 10:35 AM

I have the same situation except all three have the flakes. I am wondering if it's just a part of the shedding season because it seems to happen every year. Although...Frankie is worse. He has an actual bald spot and thinning hair on one shoulder. They don't seem as itchy as they have in the past. I don't know what is going on.

Backfourty,MI. · #4 04/11/10, 11:33 AM

Could it be dry skin too? Having to do with weather change & losing there winter undercoat maybe? I always thought you could see lice & Thank goodness I have never seen anything crawling on any of my goats before.
I have had one get mites before but when th buck had them his wethered buddy never did, not sure about lice.

I wonder if dry skin if you spray them with a mix of Avon's Skin So Soft & half water & massage & rub into there skin to see if that helps. Also works great to keep flies & mosquitos off of them too.

celadon · #5 04/12/10, 12:37 AM

the horses are not by the goats. Completely different barn. So they can not get anything from them. I really think it is dry skin. I will try the skin so soft. I started brushing them to get rid of the winter hair and already it looks better.

Laverne · #6 04/12/10, 02:38 AM

My goats are shedding and have good size skin flakes, around 1/8 inch. I looked for lice and couldn't see any.

Backfourty,MI. · #7 04/12/10, 05:54 AM

I just read on another thread & I think it was Emily from Ozark Jewels said you usually can't see lice. Mine are all shedding there winter undercoats too though.

I would try to keep brushing them & the Skin So Soft for a few days & see what happens.
They do have a cattle pour on at TSC that's called Lice No More that I use in the summer because it works on the flies really well too.

southerngurl · #8 04/12/10, 08:18 AM

Lice are hard to spot. Longer haired goats seem to have the most trouble with them. Shaving the goats as soon as the cold weather is over helps. Then brush daily for a while, stimulates the skin and irritates the lice.

deetu · #9 04/12/10, 08:37 AM

Yes, you can see the lice. They look like bits of hay but they move O.o
There was a deer buck hanging around my does (nice rack on this guy too) and I thought, "he can't hurt anything" Well, I was wrong because I've been fighting lice ever since. Think I've got them gone and then... there they are again.
I've tried every natural remedy first, because I have chemical problems. Then found they were biting lice, not sucking which are treated different.
Ever try shaving twelve goats that don't want to be shaved by yourself? Once you get finished with the last one, the first one's got a good growth back.

Jay27 · #10 04/12/10, 09:21 AM

Probably just shedding coupled with a little dry skin.

southerngurl · #11 04/12/10, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetu

Ever try shaving twelve goats that don't want to be shaved by yourself? Once you get finished with the last one, the first one's got a good growth back.

Like I would have help

After I shaved Toggy yesterday (have to shave her or she gets overheated easy with all her hair plus she eats a ton) I found I had a small piece of togg hair stuck between my teeth.

jBlaze · #12 04/12/10, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetu

Yes, you can see the lice. They look like bits of hay but they move O.o
There was a deer buck hanging around my does (nice rack on this guy too) and I thought, "he can't hurt anything" Well, I was wrong because I've been fighting lice ever since. Think I've got them gone and then... there they are again.
I've tried every natural remedy first, because I have chemical problems. Then found they were biting lice, not sucking which are treated different.
Ever try shaving twelve goats that don't want to be shaved by yourself? Once you get finished with the last one, the first one's got a good growth back.

I have same problem, but it was a "good deal" goat, not wildlife.
I have learned so much since then.
Free is usually not a good deal!
I have been told to use cylence. I have a hard time getting ALL of the goats treated at the same time.

Pony · #13 04/12/10, 08:08 PM

Right now, my two adults could be used in the "before" pictures for a Head-n-Shoulders Shampoo advert. They are REALLY flakey.

I've been using the rubber curry comb on both of them, and it's helping to get out that undercoat.

I'd like to go ahead and shave them, but I've not yet searched this forum to see how to do it. Don't want my goats looking like a 5 year old went at them with blunt scissors.

Then again, the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is what? Two weeks?

Minelson · #14 04/12/10, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

I'd like to go ahead and shave them, but I've not yet searched this forum to see how to do it. Don't want my goats looking like a 5 year old went at them with blunt scissors.

Then again, the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is what? Two weeks?

Here is a video of me doing my cat...maybe it will help

garyh141 · #15 04/12/10, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

...Don't want my goats looking like a 5 year old went at them with blunt scissors.

Then again, the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is what? Two weeks?

I have pics to show you the difference in a good and bad haircut (if I can figure out how to post them). And, NO, 2 weeks does NOT get it! Hate to admit it, but I did it and it's been a long, long time since I've seen age 5. In my defense, they would not stand still. Looks like a bad bowl cut.

Trust me, the pic does not do the "bad" cut justice. I was trying to cut off the sticky/stinky peed on look. I didn't get anything besides the front leg portion done.
Sandra