Old doe- questions

[Smoky73]

I have a doe who is probably right around 9-10. We bought our house in May 2001 and got goats soon after, so she would have been that year sometime or early next.
Anyway, she is just the same as always, active running around, eating well, not skinny or anything but is losing her hair. I did not realize it was like that (hubby usually takes care of the goats) and they are usually in the yard relaxing when I get to see them so not close up. She has much thinning hair over her back, hindquarters and back of where neck meets the shoulder. I am not sure if its from all the flies and mosquitoes (they are bad right now) and she is just rubbing a lot and thats why or if its just something from old age. I tried to look up aging symptoms in goats and got nowhere. I am really leaning toward aging issues, but what else could it be? I did not see lice or mites but have never had a problem in all the 10 years we have had goats, and no one else looks like this. If there is something I could try to narrow down the potential problem, it would be helpful. They get sweet feed and grass hay/alfalfa mix and loose mineral. Three of the other goats in my herd of 5 SHOULD be pregnant and due hopefully next month.

 

[elevan]

Loss of hair can be a mineral deficiency or toxicity issue. It can also be an allergy.

There have been some issues similar to your discussed recently on the sister site www.backyardherds.com Might I suggest that you check out some of those discussion and see if anything might be able to help you.

 

[Smoky73]

well, thanks for the help. I was trying not to join another different forum but I guess I have to. I really think it is more of an age issue, not a disease or bugs, but am willing to treat for parasites if I need to. I looked through a lot of discussions and saw nothing I felt fit so I made my own topic there. Thanks again!

 

[RHRanch]

Maybe try to talk to longtime goat breeders?

 

[shadowpaints]

have you ever checked for lice? lice can cause hair to thin. i de-louse mine 2x a year as a precaution. goats get lice very easy . other than that i would think a mineral deficiancy, do they have access to a goat block?

 

[HorsebackandHappy]

If you do join another forum, The Goat Spot is an awesome goat forum with some really knowledgeable people. Based on what you describe I would say a mineral deficiency, or lice/mites.

I would check into giving her BoSe, and injectable ivermectin.

 

[calgal98]

I would be concerned about a copper deficiency if the goat is losing hair. I bolus with a copper supplement once or twice a year as its pretty standard that they become deficient. Goats need much more copper than most other animals.

 

[Smoky73]

I did join backyardherds, and have visited goat spot as well. So far, I dusted her yesterday, and fed her some flax. put out fresh mineral today and she ate some, and I have copper bolus ordered. I do not want to kill the goats though, what if they are not lacking in copper? Will it severely hurt them?

here are the pics, the black one is the one losing hair, the grey on her back is cause I had just dusted her with DE like 10 minutes prior to the picture. I have been told she does not look as bad as I think she does, more of a hair thinning if you will instead of bald patches which is why I thought old age or rubbing. BTW, the black one and the first white pic are both Toggenburgs, black mother, the white daughter then the last two are mother (black head) and daughter (brown spot) again.

these are my other goats -these should be having kids this month sometime.

 

[elevan]

Giving one copper bolus isn't gonna hurt

and definitely won't kill the goat. Now, if you do it constantly then yeah you're gonna run into a problem. Check with your county extension agent to find out the copper deficiency situation in your area. Here I have to bolus 2x a year due to ground copper deficiency...there are some goats that I only do 1x a year though because they just look awesome and I don't want to mess with that.

 

[calgal98]

I only do the copasure once a year, as we are in a copper deficit area too. I measure and weigh the amounts and give per the goats weight. Its a lot of work, but my goats look awesome. Your old doe looks pretty good for her age. Don't forget she is a dairy goat and not a meat goat. Dairy goats are thinner by design. An individual goat may need more copper than the rest of a herd based on their genetics and the amount of mineral they eat. There are a few websites (do a search for copper for goats) that show what to do to use the copa-sure.