Not sure...

[Kala]

After some research I'm debating weither or not our Saanan/La Mancha mix has a copper deficiency. We live in southeastern Ohio and just got Emily in March. She is all white. She is feed free choice alfalfa hay, grain at milking twice a day and has a free choice mineral. They graze almost daily or are given leaves, branches etc if we are not able to get them out to graze (currently working on fencing).

Progressively since then her coat has gotten drier and is starting to turn a light brown in spots. And its starting to spread more and more. She does not have the fish tail splitting and she has normal poos, no diahrrea. She also does not seem lethargic nor has she lost any appetite.

Would it still be possible for her to have a copper defficiency? Almost all of the other posts I have read here through the search engine for copper def. have had multiple signs of a def. and all she seems to be having right now is problems with her coat. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[elevan]

Copper deficiency sounds like it COULD be her problem. And we are deficient here in Ohio. I bolus mine 2x a year regardless of showing symptoms or not.

Oh, and I like her name

 

[Kala]

Copper deficiency sounds like it COULD be her problem. And we are deficient here in Ohio. I bolus mine 2x a year regardless of showing symptoms or not.

Oh, and I like her name

 

[Ariel301]

Emily is on my list of future names for goats, it's one of my favorite names.

It sounds like she could benefit from some extra copper, and likely selenium and vitamin E as well. I would also check her for lice, as they can make the hair look pretty bad. Internal parasites is another consideration.

You could also top dress her grain with something to give her a little extra nutritional boost in minerals, vitamins, and fat--calf-manna, sunflower seeds, or stabilized rice bran are all used in livestock for getting a soft, shiny coat.