Frostbite

[michickenwrangler]

I have a small meat herd of Boer-cross males. Their enclosure is partially in the woods (pine and cedar), along with calf-hutches and a 3-sided shed shed for shelter. All of these are bedded with straw. WHen I did chores tonight, one of the males-one that I plan to use for breeding--has some frostbite on the tip of his ear. He has the pendulous ears common to his breeding and they probably got wet while he was drinking.

What can I do to alleviate whatever pain/discomfort he has?

Will it affect his fertility like it does with chickens?

Again, it's a small spot at this point, smaller than a dime, but I don't want it to get worse.

Like the rest of the Upper Midwest, it has been in the negative temps here all week but it has been dry. Their pen, being partially in the woods, is protected from winds, I've noticed a big difference in the wind chill in their pen compared to the dairy doe pen (does have a totally enclosed barn to go in).

Thanks

 

[ThornyRidgeII]

Get some salve on there.. I personally would rub some bag balm on there.. watch for infection of course.. I have never had a problem with goats and frost bitten ears even on my floppy eared nubian.. what I would personally suggest is look at the height/location of buckets and water level in buckets.. also recommend heated water buckets ( my goats will not drink cold water when it is freezing out!!!) I am NE Ohio and it has been verrrrry cold here! lows at nights 0 with windchills at -15 or more.. I don't even let my goats outside all are in barn where it is still very cold but they are out of elements. One other thing you could try before extreme cold sets in to protect is coat vasoline on tips of ears.. I do this with my roosters and hens who have large wattles and combs and it helps with preventing frostbite!

 

[Royd Wood]

Cattle here not goats but frostbite can be nasty - I have seen cattle with only half ears due to severity which yours doesn't sound like. It looks like a few more really cold days to come around here so I would be inclined to get him in. If he's a potential breeder then also watch out his scrotum doesent get frosted as in the case with bulls they are done as far as breeding goes
Good luck

 

[michickenwrangler]

They do have a water heater in their tank.

I checked the ears and scrotal sacs on all the males (I hope the neighbors weren't watching! ).

He is the only one with frostbite on his ears. He has a rough spot on his scrotum, more like toughened skin, but isn't it just the really BAD frostbite that causes stuff to turn black? His ear hasn't gotten worse. The rough spot on his scrotum is maybe the size of my thumbnail and only on the right side. Again, I'd need to look at it again with someone restraining him to get a better "feel" for it.

And yes, I do plan on using him as a breeder. Once spring/summer comes, will there be a way to check for fertility in him?