Sharing our copper / selenium problem ...Sept. update / pics pg 8

[Roll farms]

OK, so it's not ringworm, most likely.

I just googled, and I don't think it would be scrapie, she doesn't have the other signs and is producing milk like mad. The vet never mentioned it so I don't think he thought it was an issue.

I just happen to have Zinc (I take it when I feel a cold coming on) so she's getting 3 tablets tomorrow...they're currently dissolving. I'll give her 1 a day after that and see what happens.

I have made the "Witches Brew" (at a cost of 30$ for a quart, vs. the 99$ they charge) and used it on one side of Penny. I want to see if that helps at all or if she's just 'getting better' on her own / w/ the zinc.

If that side seems to be improving more rapidly than the other, then I'll spray her all over w/ it.

Both Penny and Patch were given boat loads of Red Cell over the winter so that, plus the boluses, probably contributed to their levels (they are the 2 highest, even though Patch isn't 'over the limit' like Penny is.

Sooo....maybe Penny's issue is chemical burn PLUS selenium / copper overload....
OH, and the vet DID say today, "Maybe her problem is hormonal", between the oxytocin / lutalyse she was given after her kidding/ uterine issue....?

Patch....maybe overzealous grooming x mites x coat blowing?

 

[poorboys]

SOUNDS LIKE YOUR GOING CRAZY LIKE ME YOU THINK ONCE YOUR THRU KIDDING SEASON EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY AND THEN ALL H... BREAKS LOOSE. AND ALL THIS RAIN DOSEN'T HELP ANY OF US, PLUS THE HAY GUYS!!!! SORRY ROLL, HOPE SHE GETS BETTER.

 

[Goatmasta]

cyclence does not kill mites. How far apart were the 3 rounds of ivermectin? To rid your herd of mites the entire herd has to be treated 3 times 12 days between treatments. The dry flaky skin can be mites.

 

[Roll farms]

Goatmasta, I appreciate your input. I agree / have posted some of the flaky skin stuff *could* be mites. Patch def. had at least scaly leg mites, and maybe body mites.

Penny was given ivo orally the day she kidded. Injected 2 days post kidding, on a Friday. Injected again this past weekend (14 days later) and will be getting another shot a week from Saturday (another 14 days).

Dazzle's had ivo the same times / doses as Penny, and Patch started her doses 3 wks earlier and has had 3 rounds. Still trying to decide if she needs a 4th.

(I actually wondered if the mites left Patch and ran over next door to Penny's pen....)

I've dusted the rest of the goats w/ 7 dust, dusted the pens after cleaning them, and have dusted 1x a week 2 times. None of the other girls seem to have mites...if they do show signs, I fully intend to give them ivo, too. When I shaved the Toggs last week, not a one of them (buck in another pen or the 2 does in w/ Dazzle / general population) had any flakes, dry skin, or bare patches (except where I slipped w/ the trimmers.)

We've had mites before...but never in 15+ years have I seen EVERY goat have them at the same time. I can't imagine the horror of that...lol.

BUT...I started this thread, and wanted the bloodwork ran, because mites alone aren't that girls problem. (Mites don't cause the butt hair to turn red, or weak-legged kids, which is another problem we've had w/ our last 3 kiddings).

I needed to know if she was under or over on copper / selenium so I'd know if I needed to do more. This thread is *mainly* about copper / selenium issues a lot of us are having...and how much it has to do w/ our hay / feed / etc.

So yes, mites may be part of this...but I don't want it to distract from the thread's purpose, which was to share our experience dealing w/ what *looked* like classic copper deficiency issues (rough coats, red butts, etc.) and selenium deficiency issues (weak-legged kids, hair loss), but turned out to be (in Penny's case, at least) too much copper and selenium.
I tried too hard to 'fix' what wasn't broken to begin with.

Guess I wanted to say, "Hey...don't go all nutso w/ the BoSe, Red Cell, and Boluses because you *might* just screw things up worse..."

 

[jodief100]

Just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks here.....

My dog had a similar looking issue several years ago. We took him to a doggie internist thinking it was Cushings Disease. There was a doggie dermatologist at the same office who took one look and said, nope- skin infection.

Two weeks of antibiotics and it cleared up.

Good luck, I hope you track it down. They are all nice looking, except the coats.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Don't feel bad... this person looks like they are having the same issue.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=507358&p=7

 

[Roll farms]

Ugh....

Penny's pretty much stopped eating her grain or drinking much water. She is still eating hay w/ her normal gusto, though...
No fever, doesn't act like she's in pain, and her poop's fine. She only produced 6.5# of milk in the last 24 hrs...so down about 4#.

She's a smart girl who can pout for days over an injustice...she still runs from my DH and it's been over a year since he gave her a shot and made her mad....so I'm not overly worried, but I am concerned.

I know DMSO puts a funky taste in our mouths if we get it on our skin, wondering if it gave her a funky taste and that's why she's not touching her grain (even on the stand) or drinking much water.

It also got pretty cool last night, the 'shock' of being hairless may be part of it.

I didn't spray any Witches Brew on her tonight.

 

[currycomb]

not to add worry roll, but hubby had a goat necropsied several years ago (before we met), they told him the goat was high in copper levels, and the brain was "mushy". hope nothing like that happens to your goats

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

not to add worry roll, but hubby had a goat necropsied several years ago (before we met), they told him the goat was high in copper levels, and the brain was "mushy". hope nothing like that happens to your goats

Omg!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

That's very strange about the hair loss. Do you think she may have had a fever at some point after kidding maybe? I know in sheep fevers cause wool breakage. My ewe must have had a fever at some point after she lambed (rough lambing, prolapse, stitches, etc) and the wool around her neck and face started peeling back.

Definitely not ringworm, I agree. I'm not sure about the copper bolusing thing. I bolused my doe June this winter for hte first time, and her hair coat got all rough and curly like the one doe of yours has. I finally clipped her so I didn't have to look at it anymore.