# What causes dry flaky skin? like dandruff



## draykesmom

I have a doe and she has recently developed "dandruff" really bad all over her body. It has come on suddenly. But she has A LOT of dandruff, even with brushing.. And that seems to make more... Any ideas? No one else here has this problem. She is also very scratchy... Could it be lice?? And if so, what do you suggest? She is in milk and I am using it to feed babies.


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## liz

How long has she been in milk?

I have 2 does here in milk, one is 8 weeks fresh, the other is 4 weeks fresh...both have dry flaky skin though they get good feed and minerals...I had been mixing Black Oil Sunflower Seeds into their grain ration up to 3 months ago but stopped and had to start adding it again, the added fat and Vit E is good for skin and because they are in milk, I think they need the extra to keep conditioned asd none of my dry does even get grain and they don't have a problem nor does my 6 week fresh doe who does get grain.


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## freedomstarfarm

if it is lice you should be able to see them or the eggs along the topline is the easiest spot. Part the hair and look for any evidence.


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## Willow

I have a doe who gets dry flaky skin. I make sure she gets enough copper and vitamin E,A,D, paste. That has helped. She also has a chronic runny nose and occasional cough. The vet says she has allergies. My vet suggested bathing her with a mild children's lice conditioner [not shampoo]. She said that some goats are extremely sensitive to lice and have a big reaction to just a few - so they are hard to find. I never did bathe her but the copper and vitamins have seemed to help.
She has some flaky dandruff now - I'm just giving her the vitamin paste because she is at day 146!


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## Burns Branch Boers

Two of mine have horrid flakey skin right now. We did have lice a few weeks ago and today I re-treated them for it-although I don't "see" anymore. 

I have been adding BOSS to the feed and all 6 of my others are fine..just the two. I have been using a topical conditioner called M-T-G (you buy it from horse supplies) it workes good--but it is a band-aid and does not "fix" the dry skin. I clipped both of mine that are like this so I can monitor the situation better (my buckling has been so itchy he has got tiny sores where he rubbed himself w/his horns!) 

I have been wondering about putting some vegtable oil in the feed for these two. Did I read here that vegtable oil would work? If so does anyone know the dose?


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## draykesmom

My feed has boss in it.. I do not see any lice, or eggs but Im not ruling it out.. because it could be that i just dont know what im looking for exactly.

would it hurt just to treat for the lice on a precautionary measure? and would it hurt the milk? as she is feeding babies? 

and WHAT should I use to treat the lice? 

Thanks so much for all the help


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## draykesmom

and willow I will look into the copper vitamin paste.. thanks


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## nubians2

I have had alot of dry flaky skin on a doe and my buck lately. I had the vet look at it when he was out a couple of weeks ago. He said no lice just normal dry skin for this time of year. I just keep brushing and it is getting better. They are still losing alot of their undercoat along with it.


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## Sunny Daze

I have one who is terrible! I shaved her and bathed her when we had a good warm spell and it seemed to help for a few days but now she is just naked and flakey :shrug: She has been dusted/sprayed and injected with several rounds of ivermectin which didn't seem to help so I am thinking maybe a mineral thing...no lice on her, i thought maybe mites but its not really crusty, just real dry and flakey. She is out with about 10 other does and the only one having this issue. Gave her A&D, BoSe last week and ordering more copper since I ran out. Going to give her a little time to see if that helps before having the vet out. She is one of my mini nubians and has always been more "sensitive" than the nigies.


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## packhillboers

It maybe just this time of year. All our does are shedding their winter coats and the flakiness will hopefully go away like it did last year.


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## freedomstarfarm

Draykes you can treat for lice many ways if you are consuming the milk I would be sure whatever way is safe. You can inject Ivermectin but that has a withdrawl time. DE dusting is suposed to work but I would wonder if that might irritate the skin more if it is being caused by something else. I like Permethrin oil applied on the topline with a needleLESS syringe; I think that it is safe since they use it as a backrub on dairy cows but make sure. It is also good for ticks and this time of year around me ticks are starting to come out in numbers.


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## Burns Branch Boers

Freedom star--what do you use as the oil? I had heard of this, sounds like a marvelous idea. But I did not know what would be safe or in what mixture?


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## milkmaid

I think it's caused by time of year, maybe shedding. I have one particular goat that did it last spring and is doing it again this spring. May be partly due to a deficiency, but not sure what.

As to lice, only treat for them if you see little bugs on her skin. If your weather is warm, you can buy wettable dusting sulfur, mix in water (1lb sulfur for every 10 gallons water) and dip the goat, head and all. ONLY DO THIS IF THE WEATHER IS WARM (and not too terribly hot either). I did this to my buck who was infested with lice and a week later the lice were all dead.  The sulfur is perfectly safe, even for milking does - no milk withdrawal - and it doesn't sting their eyes. You should dip again in a week or two to take care of the newly-hatched lice.


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## Oakmarsh Nigerians

Ditto Nubians2..one of mine has fuzz and dry flaky skin. The vet said it was normal for the time of year (and strange weather we've had). It gets better with brushing..


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## freedomstarfarm

I use this http://www.tractorsupply.com/gordon-s-reg-livestock-backrubber-pour-on-2-1-2-gal--2213528

I also have used Skin-So-Soft on kids for lice with success.


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## RowdyKidz

I would say it is lic :sigh: Sorry! I went through the same thing with one of my wethers a few years ago. Vet diagnosed it as lice and we have to treat him constantly. He's the only one who seems to get them!

Best of luck!


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## wayne&bernice

Hi there! We have a goat and about three weeks ago, a friend came round who had her own goats and told us that our one had lice. She said to rub sulphur all over her skin to get rid of them. So we did that, but now we've noticed she has really BAD dandruff... Literally, she's covered in it. I was wondering if it might have anything to do with the sulphur, like maybe it burned her skin or something?? Does anyone know anything about that? :?


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## draykesmom

Just for the record, it was not lice, just normal flaky dry skin from winter.. after her first bath, and shave, it all went away. :clap: :stars:


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## ksalvagno

Great that the flaky skin went away. Another thing you can give is Wheat Germ Oil. I have a female that always gets dry flaky skin after winter and I give her Rex Brand Wheat Germ Oil until it goes away.


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## cmsnde11

freedomstarfarm said:


> Draykes you can treat for lice many ways if you are consuming the milk I would be sure whatever way is safe. You can inject Ivermectin but that has a withdrawl time. DE dusting is suposed to work but I would wonder if that might irritate the skin more if it is being caused by something else. I like Permethrin oil applied on the topline with a needleLESS syringe; I think that it is safe since they use it as a backrub on dairy cows but make sure. It is also good for ticks and this time of year around me ticks are starting to come out in numbers.
> [/QUOTE


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707

Flaky skin is a tricky one and it can have a lot of causes! When I don't know the cause, I do:

Zinc & Copper - either human zinc pills, or if the goat is also copper deficient or I deem it safe for them to get extra copper, I like TruCare4.
Vit A/D - Cod Liver Oil - 0.1cc per 2.2lbs twice daily for three days then twice a week for two weeks.
Vit E - Wheat Germ Oil - daily. 2-4cc for goats under 50lbs. 1 tsp for 50lbs to 100lbs. 7.5cc over 100lb.


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