Ok we have tick central.....now what?

[allenslabs]

My poor goats are having a HARD time with the ticks. We have 9 guineas running loose but i think we could have 900 and still have ticks. We live in the woods and the goats run in the woods and come back covered in ticks. What should I put on them? I feel sorry for them but not sure how to help them. Thanks!

[Backfourty,MI.]

Last year some folks here were having some trouble with ticks also & there was some talk about using the Frontline Plus on the goats, the same thing used for dogs to take care of fleas & ticks.
I remember Minelson was going to check with her vet since she works there & I thought she said it was alright to use on the goats but I could be remembering wrong?

[Nancy_in_GA]

Depends on how many goats you have. We use a cattle rub with Permectrin II.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livesto...ticide-2167036

[Energy Rebel]

I don't know enough about livestock, to recommend it, but for my poor wife, sulfur powder has been a Godsend.
A little dust around the ankles, hems of clothes, and paths to those "sensitive" places and she's been spared from the chiggers and ticks while in the garden this year.
It's an old Boy Scout trick.
Probably not long lasting for use on your goats, but might help to save your own skin this year!

[fishhead]

I wonder if you couldn't hang a bag of sulfur in a place where the goats would walk under and get a light dusting each time like they do with cattle?

[nehimama]

Didn't someone here suggest that sufficient copper levels in the goats' systems helped them to be tick resistant? Ticks are bad here, too. All my goats get regular copper boluses, and I really don't see many ticks on them at all. Just the occasional freeloader.

[allenslabs]

Sulfur powder like you get in the garden section? I just hate it for these poor goats. It's crazy. THere are 12 of them out there all itching....I go nuts with just one bite so I can only imagine. LOL!

[allenslabs]

I just gave them copper boluses last month although didn't get them their BoSe with it so maybe I need to get that done and it would help.

[Heritagefarm]

Originally Posted by nehimama

Didn't someone here suggest that sufficient copper levels in the goats' systems helped them to be tick resistant? Ticks are bad here, too. All my goats get regular copper boluses, and I really don't see many ticks on them at all. Just the occasional freeloader.

I do not think that is true, and I do not think there is any research on this aside from some anecdotal evidence. We are having lots of tick problems as well; I think the solution will be many more chickens.

[allenslabs]

LOL..... we would have to have enough chickens to fill a Tyson barn and then.....instead of ticks I'd be over run with chicky poo. LOL!

[Heritagefarm]

No, I mentioned before that roughly 7.5 chickens take care of most ticks on one acre (for us).

[southerngurl]

Equisect spray: http://www.jeffersequine.com/equisec...QU/cp/0031584/

A daily spraying at milking time. Takes a few days but it seems to build efficacy and you just don't see many ticks. I don't get many ticks on my goats, but this works for the horses.

Yes, I would say copper deficiency can contribute as any deficiency is going to keep the animal from having that vitality of an animal in prime health and parasites prefer that.

I would not use frontline on any food animal!

[allenslabs]

HeritageFarms- I agree, chickens would be good. But at present, the goats have run of around 25-30acres of woods....that would be a lot of chickens. LOL! I wish I could though....I like seeing them run loose. Right now ours are in a coop because of dogs, coyotes and hawks. Plus of not knowing where they lay to gather them. Had the roosters loose for a while till they thought the best place to roost and poo was on top of the wood pile. Makes for some messes.
Southerngurl- never heard of that. Would that be similar to as good as skin so soft?? I do have some of that around.

[Minelson]

I looked into using Frontline Plus on goats last year. My vet had no clue if it would work on goats or what the dose would be. So I sent an email directly to the company (Merial) And they said that there was no testing on goats they can only refer to their directions to be used on cats and dogs only. So..> I got no-where. This year it is VERY cool and damp..perfect for ticks. So far we have only found 2. I have never found a tick on any of the 3 goats...I picked hundreds off my dogs. Weird. The goats are n the higer grasses and woods more than the dogs. That is my tick stoey so far this year...I am starting to feel a bit itchy!!!!!now thanks!!!!

[francismilker]

5% seven dust is helpful if used in moderation. I put it in an old sock and use it as a dust bag to pat them down with. I don't use it on the one I milk, but all the others get a good weekly dose of it. So far, even with the little ones, I've not had any probs.

[allenslabs]

Ok, I found somethere here called Python Dust. It is a powder for dusting animals so I guess we'll see if it works. I have some weird looking critters out there that's for sure! LOL! They all snorted and acted like I had just tried to kill them LOL!

[BethW]

Originally Posted by Nancy_in_GA

We use a cattle rub with Permectrin II

We do the same thing. Mix it up and spray it down their topline. It seems to work well.