freemotion
Self Sufficient Queen
OK, experienced goat people, I need help with this one.
I have had minerals available to all my goats and keep it clean. They eat it up in the usual spurts, leaving it for a while, then over a few days, cleaning it up. I check it regularly and empty it if it is untouched for a few days or if the weather is damp for a few days.
The mineral I used for a long time (Purina) is no longer available in my town, but I bought what the feedstore had....the tag is gone now, but I believe it was Poulin. It was a large bag.
It is not red. It is gray.
One of my pygmy-x's did not get pregnant in spite of living with the buck for over two months, and having conjugal visits with him for 2 or 3 cycles before that.
Now I see some hair loss around her shoulders, and coppery hair on her legs. She is a very black goat.
She is around 7-8 years old (a guess, she is a rescue, I've had her for maybe 6 years. She was next door for less than a year before that, was smaller than she is now, and had a single, healthy buckling while living in gross neglect next door. She came to me all but feral.)
The more I read, the harder it is to decide what to do to correct this situation. I am thinking both selenium and copper deficiency, maybe? Why so suddenly after all these years? I wonder if it is the new bag of minerals, purchased last summer/fall. This would mean everyone else is deficient, but she is the only black goat. The others are cream, grey, and multi-colored but with tan legs. No one else has the hair loss.
Due to family circumstances, I have been caring for her after dark all winter, and other family members have been covering daytime chores. With the longer daylight hours, I was shocked to see the changes. She has been acting ok, so nothing caught my attention, other than the surprize that she wasn't preggers. The hair loss at first seemed like fast shedding, as everyone here is losing their undercoats, and she has always been a bit ratty-looking while shedding.
So, do you think I should bolus, inject, supplement, or what? What brand and where do I get any product you may recommend?
Don't say get the vet out, I might as well just put a match to a pile of hundred dollar bills here. We have cat/dog vets and show horse vets. Nothing in between. Although they have shown themselves more than willing to take my cash in exchange for their lack of knowledge and experience with goats. Grrrr.
OK, I think I covered all the details. Now tell me what I should do.
I have had minerals available to all my goats and keep it clean. They eat it up in the usual spurts, leaving it for a while, then over a few days, cleaning it up. I check it regularly and empty it if it is untouched for a few days or if the weather is damp for a few days.
The mineral I used for a long time (Purina) is no longer available in my town, but I bought what the feedstore had....the tag is gone now, but I believe it was Poulin. It was a large bag.
It is not red. It is gray.
One of my pygmy-x's did not get pregnant in spite of living with the buck for over two months, and having conjugal visits with him for 2 or 3 cycles before that.
Now I see some hair loss around her shoulders, and coppery hair on her legs. She is a very black goat.
She is around 7-8 years old (a guess, she is a rescue, I've had her for maybe 6 years. She was next door for less than a year before that, was smaller than she is now, and had a single, healthy buckling while living in gross neglect next door. She came to me all but feral.)
The more I read, the harder it is to decide what to do to correct this situation. I am thinking both selenium and copper deficiency, maybe? Why so suddenly after all these years? I wonder if it is the new bag of minerals, purchased last summer/fall. This would mean everyone else is deficient, but she is the only black goat. The others are cream, grey, and multi-colored but with tan legs. No one else has the hair loss.
Due to family circumstances, I have been caring for her after dark all winter, and other family members have been covering daytime chores. With the longer daylight hours, I was shocked to see the changes. She has been acting ok, so nothing caught my attention, other than the surprize that she wasn't preggers. The hair loss at first seemed like fast shedding, as everyone here is losing their undercoats, and she has always been a bit ratty-looking while shedding.
So, do you think I should bolus, inject, supplement, or what? What brand and where do I get any product you may recommend?
Don't say get the vet out, I might as well just put a match to a pile of hundred dollar bills here. We have cat/dog vets and show horse vets. Nothing in between. Although they have shown themselves more than willing to take my cash in exchange for their lack of knowledge and experience with goats. Grrrr.
OK, I think I covered all the details. Now tell me what I should do.