what's up with my bucks hair

JeepGirl

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my young buck looks like he's in need of copper or has some nutritional/vitamin deficiency, but
they all have minerals available AND I copper bolused everyone a few months ago.
Everyone else looks fine, he looks not great.
Is there something that could block copper absorption?
They all eat the same stuff, wh8ch is mostly hay and grazing. The boys get a hand full of BOSS and whole oats, sometimes alfalfa pellets...only a handful, maybe twice per week as a treat.

This guy was born February 2018 - he was BLACK and white - now his black hair looks sunbleached and brown and awful.
Pics are of him as a baby, him now, and he and his father.
You can see he was born with a little brown moonspot on his left hip, but that spot took over!

Any ideas?
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Mini Horses

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He may be a goat carrying a color modifying gene. I have a doe carrying crème and her kids can/do sometimes change color from birth to maturity. Some color genetics do not show for a few months. Like a grey horse.

So this year my doe had twin doelings who both looked black. Now, 8 months later, their colors are one black and one chocolate brown (like your buck). She was bred to a buck that was black. One inherited creme & other didn't

Looks like you may have that. What color was the doe?
 

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I agree with Mini... I think he looks great! Full, healthy, shiny coat of hair. His color changed as he matured. Happens all the time, with humans as well. Kids born with blond turn brown, with red turn mahogany or brown, I had red as a baby that turned brown and now it's turning gray... :hide:old I can't see any bald or thin areas from the pics.
 

JeepGirl

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Interesting, thanks guys!

His mom is the little spotted Doe in the 3rd picture.
she has brown and black markings, very pretty little girl.
Makes sense though, because with her second kidding her babies looked exactly like he did when they were born but I noticed one had started to turn brown after about 3 weeks.
Their eyes also went from blue to brown.

She's going to keep me on my toes!
 

Sheepshape

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I don't know much about goats (but a little about genetics), so forgive me if I'm talking rubbish. I think he's amazing.

Sheep (which I know a bit more about) change colour quite often. Mules (crosses) regularly do so. They often start out as being white with lots of dark brown or even black blotches which gradually fade to an all white coat in the adult.

Are those beautiful blue eyes normal for his breed at that age or are they a marker that he is carrying recessive genes? Most animals which start out with bright blue eyes undergo a colour change with increasing age. Recessive genes may account for coat colour changes that clearly are fairly common in goats.

Whatever, I'd say he looks in very nice condition.
 

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I think he looks good. As others have said, it's not uncommon for goats to change color as they grow. We have some that have had drastic changes, others that look nearly the same as when they were born.

BOSS and oats are very high in phosphorus, which in turn can lead to UC. Just a heads up.
 

JeepGirl

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BOSS and oats are very high in phosphorus, which in turn can lead to UC. Just a heads up.


Yes they only get that sparingly in small amounts.
very paranoid about UC, but sometimes it's all I can do to get them to stop flirting with my girls and get back in their pen!
Thank you!

Sheepshape, his mom had blue eyes, dad had brown.
His 2 full brothers were born with blue eyes, but they turned brown after about a week.
He is just shy of a year so I think we're past his eye color changing...I love those baby blues.
I guess im just ready for him to stop changing color so I can see what he's gonna look like!
 

Sheepshape

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I guess im just ready for him to stop changing color so I can see what he's gonna look like!
The octopus of the goat world......Now what colour is my goat this morning? So his lovely eyes are here to stay and a marker of hidden genes? Are you going to breed him? Think of the possibilities....think of the offspring....think of the COLOURS....:drool
 

JeepGirl

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:gig:gig
Too funny!
Yes, I'd love to breed him next year.
I'm torn between breeding him and getting a stud so I could keep any girls that are born.

We just got a new doeling so maybe next fall once she's older, she is blue eyed as well!
They might make interesting babies...pretty eyes no doubt.

Then again, could just be a whole lotta brown.
I'll love them anyway!
 

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Latestarter

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Why can't you use him as your stud and breed your girls to him? You can STILL keep the girl offspring... You could also use him over his daughters if you wanted... It's called line breeding and is quite common, and no big deal when done sparingly and not continuously over and over again... It's used to reinforce specific good traits from a good buck. The animal world has no stigma over incest... Happens all the time. just sayin.
 
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