My old itchy Saanen doe!

[Coopsmom]

I have an older (unknown age) Saanen doe who has had dry, itchy skin since I got her about 4 months ago. She’s also on the thin side. She has been dewormed orally and treated topically in case she had lice, though I’ve never seen any.

She gets fed nice second cut hay with our other goats and sheep and a 14% ration. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for any other remedies I could try or avenues I can investigate.

Thanks in advance!

 

[cassie]

Chances are she has a fungal infection. Get some BluKote and spray her down. She will look pretty funny for a while but you should start to see improvement in just few days. In any event the BluKote can't hurt. I once had a buck that had been on pasture and when I found him he was almost bald. Treated him and he cleared right up. However, a purple buck is a sight to behold, as will your doe be.

 

[cassie]

As for her being thin, pull down the lower eyelid. The color should be a bright dark pink. If it is pale pink or white it means she is anemic. I think I would have a fecal run to see if she has worms. It may be that the wormer you used is not effective. If it isn't worms, Johnes is a real possibility. Johnes would not cause her to be bald but it would cause her to be thin and anemic.

 

[Coopsmom]

Thanks Cassie, as always!

I had her tested for Johnne’s and CAE about a month ago and she was negative for both, thankfully. I will check her eyelids tomorrow for colour.

I never thought of fungus! I can definitely get some BluKote and try that. When the vet did the Johnne’s and CAE test she did take a fecal, but I’m not sure it was tested for parasites. I’ll call and ask and if not I’m sure it wouldn’t be too expensive to get one done.

I feel like she’s definitely gained some weight and a bit of coat since I wormed her, but she’s definitely still itchy - she will paw me for hours if I just sit there and scratch her!

 

[RiverOtter]

BluKote is fabulous stuff, but you should be able to squeak by with a good bath.

If your weather is warm enough, put 1/4 cup of dandruff or tea tree shampoo (the stuff you use is fine), a tiny squirt of original blue Dawn and a cup of Listerine in a bucket. Add a gallon of hot water, take a big sponge or rag (I use auto sponges, they're about a dollar) and scrub away at her exactly like you'd wash your car.

Let her stay sudsy for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

I have a mare who gets rainrot every spring and this always clears her right up.

I'd also add more fat to her diet. Black oil sunflower seeds are the best, but a bit of corn (not veg, not canola) oil drizzled over her grain will do in a pinch.

 

[RiverOtter]

Also, if she hasn't been checked for mites, which takes a skin scraping, Ivermectin usually takes care of those, even though it's not the most effective for worms in goats.

 

[Coopsmom]

Thanks RiverOtter! We just had a very nice warm spell for April here (Ontario) but it has ended and we're back to temperatures just above freezing for a bit. I will definitely try the bath when it gets warm!

I did give her ivermectin injectible when I was worried about lice - would that take care of mites too? I followed it up with a pour-on a few weeks after that. Her condition has improved but not to the point I'd like it to. I really do need to start feeding her separately; right now everyone is in the same paddock. Free choice, really nice 2nd hay, and a 14% sheep ration once a day because we have sheep in with the goats.

Could she be copper deficient because of sheep feed? Possibly, but she was scruffy looking before I got her...

 

[cassie]

Try the BluKote if you haven't already done so before you do anything else. It can't hurt. The worst it will do is make her purple for a few days. Bathing will get rid of the yucky dandruff and scales and maybe make her feel better but it won't have much affect on the fungus itself. Think about it. If a good scrub would get rid of fungus all you would have to do to cure ringworm and athletes foot is to take a good hot bath.

My bald buck wasn't copper deficient or anything else. Until I treated him he was just bald and itchy with awful looking skin. After the BluKote he grew a full coat. I didn't change his diet at all. I have no idea why he got the fungus in the first place but he was never bothered by it again.

 

[RiverOtter]

Think about it. If a good scrub would get rid of fungus all you would have to do to cure ringworm and athletes foot is to take a good hot bath.

Nobody said anything about hot, but a medicated wash will most certainly cure fungus - including ringworm and athlete's foot. (The actual trick with athlete's foot is to stop re-infecting onesself and to stop recreating the conditions that let it start in the first place, most of us aren't able or willing to throw out all our socks and shoes, go barefoot a week, then go on to not endlessly sweat into our brand new boots )

BluKote will absolutely not hurt, and so long as it has Gentian Violet as an active ingredient, will cure it.
Gentian Violet is an antifungal (just like Listerine, teatree oil, and the medication in anti-dandruff shampoo) and used to always be the main ingredient in BluKote. But then some folks got nervous about it potentially being toxic and now some formulas don't actually contain it.

Pretty much any antifungal will work, you just have to coat the entire goat with it - for me, applying it as a shampoo is the easiest method, but whatever works!

About the copper, I give my goats a copper bolus yearly, twice a year when I lived somewhere more mineral deficient.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I have bought nustick just last week for my goat with a tiny spot of missing hair. Also put it on a bunny that had lice. I was given this tip by a very, long goat owner. She’s my guru. It smells awful, and sticks to your hands. But it will help hair regrowth and help fix any skin condition..I really, in my opinion, think this would be better than blu kite. I ordered mine from Jeffers..but I’m sure you could find it other places.