# Zinc dosage help!



## jessabunny22 (Jan 30, 2016)

I am trying to give my 3 year old doe, Nigerian Dwarf a zinc supplement. Currently I am using Zinpro care but I think she needs a higher dose. Recently she started losing her fur in clumps and her skin is dry and crusty. I have tried everything from treating her for mites, giving her a sulfur bath per the veterinarian and it has only gotten worse. When I first noticed it was mainly around her eyes and snout. I started giving copper boluses and have been good about giving them to her every six months. Recently her fur loss got a lot worse. I brought her to tufts and the veterinarian checked her for mites... she was negative. I believe it is a mineral difficiency. I currently give kelp free choice, BOSS, copper boluses and zinpro, a fatty acid supplement called Goat Coat along with a vit E/selenium paste. These goats are pampered. Does anyone know a safe dose for the chelated zinc (human grade) or any other way to give her a bit more zinc? Her coat is very dry and rough. Please advise. Thank you!!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How much are you giving now?


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## jessabunny22 (Jan 30, 2016)

shes around 85 pounds and I give have been doing 50mg of chelated zinc. Prior to that one scoop a day of the zinpro care but it doesn't say the amount of zinc in that. Thanks


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm not sure on dosage but have you tried adding wheat germ oil to feed?


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## ZinproGoat (Feb 11, 2016)

jessabunny22 said:


> I am trying to give my 3 year old doe, Nigerian Dwarf a zinc supplement. Currently I am using Zinpro care but I think she needs a higher dose. Recently she started losing her fur in clumps and her skin is dry and crusty. I have tried everything from treating her for mites, giving her a sulfur bath per the veterinarian and it has only gotten worse. When I first noticed it was mainly around her eyes and snout. I started giving copper boluses and have been good about giving them to her every six months. Recently her fur loss got a lot worse. I brought her to tufts and the veterinarian checked her for mites... she was negative. I believe it is a mineral difficiency. I currently give kelp free choice, BOSS, copper boluses and zinpro, a fatty acid supplement called Goat Coat along with a vit E/selenium paste. These goats are pampered. Does anyone know a safe dose for the chelated zinc (human grade) or any other way to give her a bit more zinc? Her coat is very dry and rough. Please advise. Thank you!!!


Hello,
Try feeding ProCare Zn (from Zinpro Corporation) at 15g/hd/d or 1 full scoop will provide 81 milligrams of Zinc (Zn). You can very safely double that level of feeding if the goat seems to be suffering (feeding 30g or 2 scoops). The challenge is that the feeding of high levels of copper (Cu) can actually induce a zinc insufficiency or deficiency as the copper causes the zinc to be bound in the lining of the gut during absorption and is then lost in the feces before complete absorption or transfer into the blood. 

The recommendation from our goat specialist would be to get the goat on a complete mineral that is properly balanced to provide at least 50 mg of Zn, 35 mg of Mn, 10 mg of Cu, 1 mg of Co, 1 mg of Iodine and 0.3 mg of Se. The mineral should also contain sufficient Vitamin A, D and E.
Thanks,
John


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## jessabunny22 (Jan 30, 2016)

so the goat coat supplement I have has a high vit E content so i think its similar to wheat germ oil. any other ideas?


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## jessabunny22 (Jan 30, 2016)

thanks so much for the great info. She is such a picky goat i wish she just eat one mineral. but she eats certain things on their own like kelp. so I have to give her all the others separately. I will copper bolus her maybe just once a year and do 50mg of zinc a day until her fur grows back. thanks again!!!!


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