Hello! and question about hair loss around my goat’s eyes and natural forage

[Farmingscots]

Hello! We are in North Idaho on 10 acres of mostly forested un-tamed land. We started our family’s homemade dairy products dreams with a young Nubian goat (Summer) and a Dexter heifer (Junie) last winter. We started by enjoying them and spending lots of time with them. They are so personable and halter trained. We just completed the work of having them bred. The buck that visited our goat actually left today. I think it was successful. We noticed this afternoon that Summer has lost hair around her eyes. No mites. No scratch marks or swelling. We are leaning toward mineral deficiency and know copper or zinc could be the issue. There are many approaches (minerals, multivitamin shot, etc) and trains of thought (conventional, natural, homeopathic, etc) about it so I’m looking at all those ideas. I lean homeopathic and natural myself. But I’m a newbie to keeping livestock (I had horses as a girl but I was young) so I want to stay humble. It doesn’t make much sense to provide a mineral buffet for just one goat. She does have baking soda and loose mixed minerals and salt available free choice but she doesn’t seem to like it/use it much.
I foraged and dried horsetail from the pond on our property this summer for our own consumption (add a bit to teas for skin/hair/nails, and the mineral benefits) and I thought that might be the ticket for Summer. We let her try a pinch and she gobbled it up. THEN I looked online (of course!) and many university sites said it was poisonous and to keep livestock away from it. I don’t buy that, because I’ve evening seen the goat take a nibble at it in the summer and even tansy and Oregon grape!
I’d love to hear from others on this subject. Please be nice to me. I’m new.

 

[Mini Horses]

Welcome!
A goat will taste things that can be toxic -- in quantity. They will eat a leaf from a thorny blackberry with ease, I can barely pick them without being stuck!

The hair loss could be lice/ mites....has she been wormed recently? That generally takes care of those. Just a thought.

Love my milk goats! Love the milk and cheeses. Always wanted a milk cow, so far I've resisted!

 

[SageHill]

Hi and welcome from So Cal. Just sheep here, but you've come to the right place for advice. We have wonderful knowledgeable folks here.

 

[Farmingscots]

Welcome!
A goat will taste things that can be toxic -- in quantity. They will eat a leaf from a thorny blackberry with ease, I can barely pick them without being stuck!

The hair loss could be lice/ mites....has she been wormed recently? That generally takes care of those. Just a thought.

Love my milk goats! Love the milk and cheeses. Always wanted a milk cow, so far I've resisted!

We looked her over and don’t see any mites/lice. What are some natural de-wormers? These girls don’t want to eat pumpkin seeds -only the chickens will touch those. Wouldn’t her skin be agitated/swollen/have rub marks if pests were bugging her?

 

[Mini Horses]

Hoegger supply sells some....lot of goat care.

 

[Alaskan]

Minerals:

If your soil is deficient in minerals then all the plants that grow there will ALSO be deficient.

You should be able to look up on the internet and see if your area is low in copper (and check for selenium at the same time).

If you can't find it on the internet, then look up your local agriculture extension agent... call them or stop by and ask them.

Copper deficiency does make them lose hair around the eyes,base of the nose, the color of the hair looks washed out.... and the tail looks like a fish tail.

Look up pictures on Google and see if it matches your goat.

But... if you find that your area is low in copper.... then yes, you should supplement.

I always used copper pills/bolus. It works well... and I always saw it as an all natural thing. All it is is a hunk of copper that sits inside them and slowly dissolves.


Horsetail:

Horsetail disrupts the ability of the gut to make b vitamins.

There is lots of horsetail up here. With my horses, if they ate too much horsetail they would get this deep hacking cough. Very distinctive. When I heard it I would start to dose them... I gave them nutritional yeast on their feed.

That worked well. I have heard that if you do NOT supplement when you hear the cough.... that they continue to get worse, and their entire neurological system starts to shut down. They get tremors and have issues walking...

I never had an issue with my goats eating the horsetail... but then I regularly gave my goats better mineral nutrition since they were milk goats...

I also haven't had any issues with my poultry (muscovy, "regular" ducks, geese, chickens, and quail).

As for wormers... I would find a GOOD vet (which yes, might be impossible) and ask what is prevelant in your area... a fecal count is also good. Because, if you do not know WHAT you are fighting, it is hard to fight effectively.

As to worms, easiest and fastest, check the FAMACHA score... which is really just you look to see if the eyelid is pale (or inner lip, but eyelid or eye edge is I think easier to see clearly). If she is pale instead of a nice pink... then there is a high chance that she has a parasite load. So... then you know that a fecal sample is needed.

 

[Alaskan]

Here is a FAMACHA card.

Also... I am all for organic/natural. But I really think that many parasites need quality full bore chemicals.

I think the best thing if you want to use few or no chemicals is to 1. Have individuals that are naturally parasite resistant. And 2. Help the animal stay in peak health.

But... there are many times that the ideal everything doesn't happen. Simply being pregnant and birthing can be enough stress to increase parasites. Then there are all the other things that can go wrong (constant rain for one). When everything goes wrong, strong chemicals at high/proper doses are what are needed.

 

[Farmingscots]

Minerals:

If your soil is deficient in minerals then all the plants that grow there will ALSO be deficient.

You should be able to look up on the internet and see if your area is low in copper (and check for selenium at the same time).

If you can't find it on the internet, then look up your local agriculture extension agent... call them or stop by and ask them.

Copper deficiency does make them lose hair around the eyes,base of the nose, the color of the hair looks washed out.... and the tail looks like a fish tail.

Look up pictures on Google and see if it matches your goat.

But... if you find that your area is low in copper.... then yes, you should supplement.

I always used copper pills/bolus. It works well... and I always saw it as an all natural thing. All it is is a hunk of copper that sits inside them and slowly dissolves.


Horsetail:

Horsetail disrupts the ability of the gut to make b vitamins.

There is lots of horsetail up here. With my horses, if they ate too much horsetail they would get this deep hacking cough. Very distinctive. When I heard it I would start to dose them... I gave them nutritional yeast on their feed.

That worked well. I have heard that if you do NOT supplement when you hear the cough.... that they continue to get worse, and their entire neurological system starts to shut down. They get tremors and have issues walking...

I never had an issue with my goats eating the horsetail... but then I regularly gave my goats better mineral nutrition since they were milk goats...

I also haven't had any issues with my poultry (muscovy, "regular" ducks, geese, chickens, and quail).

As for wormers... I would find a GOOD vet (which yes, might be impossible) and ask what is prevelant in your area... a fecal count is also good. Because, if you do not know WHAT you are fighting, it is hard to fight effectively.

As to worms, easiest and fastest, check the FAMACHA score... which is really just you look to see if the eyelid is pale (or inner lip, but eyelid or eye edge is I think easier to see clearly). If she is pale instead of a nice pink... then there is a high chance that she has a parasite load. So... then you know that a fecal sample is needed.

Thank you! Now I know some steps to take. Thank you so much for being so clear and comprehensive.

 

[Farmingscots]

So I lo

Minerals:

If your soil is deficient in minerals then all the plants that grow there will ALSO be deficient.

You should be able to look up on the internet and see if your area is low in copper (and check for selenium at the same time).

If you can't find it on the internet, then look up your local agriculture extension agent... call them or stop by and ask them.

Copper deficiency does make them lose hair around the eyes,base of the nose, the color of the hair looks washed out.... and the tail looks like a fish tail.

Look up pictures on Google and see if it matches your goat.

But... if you find that your area is low in copper.... then yes, you should supplement.

I always used copper pills/bolus. It works well... and I always saw it as an all natural thing. All it is is a hunk of copper that sits inside them and slowly dissolves.


Horsetail:

Horsetail disrupts the ability of the gut to make b vitamins.

There is lots of horsetail up here. With my horses, if they ate too much horsetail they would get this deep hacking cough. Very distinctive. When I heard it I would start to dose them... I gave them nutritional yeast on their feed.

That worked well. I have heard that if you do NOT supplement when you hear the cough.... that they continue to get worse, and their entire neurological system starts to shut down. They get tremors and have issues walking...

I never had an issue with my goats eating the horsetail... but then I regularly gave my goats better mineral nutrition since they were milk goats...

I also haven't had any issues with my poultry (muscovy, "regular" ducks, geese, chickens, and quail).

As for wormers... I would find a GOOD vet (which yes, might be impossible) and ask what is prevelant in your area... a fecal count is also good. Because, if you do not know WHAT you are fighting, it is hard to fight effectively.

As to worms, easiest and fastest, check the FAMACHA score... which is really just you look to see if the eyelid is pale (or inner lip, but eyelid or eye edge is I think easier to see clearly). If she is pale instead of a nice pink... then there is a high chance that she has a parasite load. So... then you know that a fecal sample is needed.

Well, I looked at her eyelid and it’s bright red. Her poops look fine. Her coat looks great and fuzzy. So it’s just her eyes at this point. She still is not interested in her loos minerals or garlic Redmond salt. I’m planning to have the vet out to meet both my cow and goat. Maybe do a blood test or a fecal test. She if they are pregnant. Check with me for mites. I’m thinking it could be zinc because the skin around her eyes where she lost hair seems a little bit dry. I will put some calendula/comfrey salve on it.