# Fluff? Copper deficiency



## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

This is on one of my does and my buck... I have heard this is copper deficiency, so they got a copper bolus on the 24 th. But is it copper deficiency? Or is it just winter fluff??
Thank y'all
Nigerian dwarf goat


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

Looks like the winter undercoat fluff to me.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

To me it looks like your goat is shedding its cashmere, but I'd need to see the rest of the coat.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

A few of my goats who had thicker winter coats are shedding their under coats because of the warm weather we've been having and it looks just like that. Of course Texas is supposed to get slammed with a cold front starting Saturday 
Well, darn it it hit early and it's now 24* with a windchill in the teens....


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Looks like winter fluff to me. We have a red Boer doe shedding and she looks ridiculous (lol). She gets it every year which is why her nickname is 'Sheep.'


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

GoofyGoat said:


> A few of my goats who had thicker winter coats are shedding their under coats because of the warm weather we've been having and it looks just like that. Of course Texas is supposed to get slammed with a cold front starting Saturday
> Well, darn it it hit early and it's now 24* with a windchill in the teens....


Yeah, yesterday it was in the '90s here and i was sweating my butt off clipping feet!!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> To me it looks like your goat is shedding its cashmere, but I'd need to see the rest of the coat.


It is pouring here right now, but I will see if i have any pics that have some of the fluff on them.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> It is pouring here right now, but I will see if i have any pics that have some of the fluff on them.


We have freezing drizzle and everything is coated with a thin layer of ice. I'm so glad I turned on the heat lamps in the barn last night before bed it's taking the edge off. Just now on the news they said there was a 10 car pile up on one of the roads. Texans sure don't know how to drive in this stuff.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

This is my doe as of January 5th... I don't have any full body pics of my buck, but as soon as it stops raining, I can try to get a picture of him. does it look like she needs any minerals @mariarose ? specifically copper


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

GoofyGoat said:


> We have freezing drizzle and everything is coated with a thin layer of ice. I'm so glad I turned on the heat lamps in the barn last night before bed it's taking the edge off. Just now on the news they said there was a 10 car pile up on one of the roads. Texans sure don't know how to drive in this stuff.


They truly dont  I remember once on 290 there was a semi truck and those tiny little smart cars got in a wreck. That smart car was plastered all over the highway . It was over a bridge on a 20 degrees day... It was probably the worst wreck i have seen in our small town forever.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Don't know about her needing anything ...but she's sure a pretty little thing!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

GoofyGoat said:


> Don't know about her needing anything ...but she's sure a pretty little thing!


Thank you! Cricket is my favorite girl! Such an easy keeper! I'm a sucker for the black and white goaties!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

I have 3 black and white girls so I'm right there with you  though my Andromeda just had tricolored trips and they're pretty cute too.
How's Baby doing? Has she gone back into heat or did she settle?


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

I agree with others that it looks like just releasing the winter fluff to get ready for warmer weather. My wether does the same thing and it's like one day he is just covered with the stuff and a few days later he looks like a completely different goat! He just did it this last week and now he's shivering


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Thank you @GoofyGoat for thinking about my baby girl! Baby is getting HUGE! It's hard to believe she is due in only 2 more months! She is getting so big, it's hard for her to get on and off the milk stand! I had to help her yesterday! Im gonna have to build her a ramp!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

They better get the uploading pic problem resolved I wanna see baby's baby pictures!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

The buck








The doe









The first one is the buck, and the black and white one is the doe... These are as of today... Finally got done rainin, but it's still biter cold


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

The fluff seems totally normal to my eyes, especially at this time of the year! If you look carefully at your friends towards autumn, maybe you will se a similar shift of "clothes" then.


GoofyGoat said:


> We have freezing drizzle and everything is coated with a thin layer of ice.


But it IS difficult to drive on such a slippery surface! Here, we must do certain turns on a slippery way (within fence!!) before we can get our driving license. Nevertheless, there are such "piles" on the roads. Every year!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

HoosierShadow said:


> Looks like winter fluff to me. We have a red Boer doe shedding and she looks ridiculous (lol). She gets it every year which is why her nickname is 'Sheep.'


Has anybody tried to spin yarn from that winter fluff?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Trollmor said:


> Has anybody tried to spin yarn from that winter fluff?


hmmm... no i have never tried!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Looks normal.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

She's very cute! The hair is totally normal winter fluff. We don't see it as much in our traditional colored Boers, but have in the red does. We have one that gets it so bad, as I said her nickname is Sheep lol
She was already starting to shed some of it out in this pic from 2-13










When she was almost 1yr old










She gets a dark, sleek coat in the summer. One thing about her, she always gets a fish tail if she needs copper, and seems to need a bolus sometime between Feb-Mayearly June if she does. Her tail tip is a big indication, or if she doesn't shed to a sleek coat. 
Right now we have our winter invasion of mites that I've been treating the whole herd for, so I'm waiting to see if some of the tail issues is mites. I am scared of overdosing copper, so they have to show me they need a bolus.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

An extremely pretty "sheep"!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

LOL, Trollmor. :haha:

Yep, I have winter fluff color goats now, it looks like sheeps wool. :heehee:


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

lol! @HoosierShadow do you put her up on the milk stand and brush that ''sheep wool'' out!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Trollmor said:


> An extremely pretty "sheep"!


Thanks  She is super sweet, and a wonderful mama. 


toth boer goats said:


> LOL, Trollmor. :haha:
> 
> Yep, I have winter fluff color goats now, it looks like sheeps wool. :heehee:


LOL! Yep I almost forgot you've gone mostly color! I need to go check out your webpage! I usually look at it several times through the year, love your goats!



Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> lol! @HoosierShadow do you put her up on the milk stand and brush that ''sheep wool'' out!


We use a scotch comb:








And brush randomly in the barn. Sometimes we have to separate a doe if we want to brush her, because they will push each other out of the way to be brushed lol! It's pretty comical! She is one that will gladly push the others out of the way and let you brush her all day long with the comb. We only have 1 doe that absolutely does not like the comb, she will run out of the barn and hide. But yet... she actually does love it once you get started, she is a dork! But has been that way since she was little! I couldn't figure out why she was so scared, and it was because she saw me with the comb lol
The only goats we groom more routinely are the ones my kids show. Usually start brushing them out in April/May when it's warmer, it's too cold to start brushing them right now.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Trollmor said:


> Has anybody tried to spin yarn from that winter fluff?


Yes, it is called cashmere.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> does it look like she needs any minerals @mariarose ? specifically copper


The very first picture shows a bit of a bent tail, which MAY mean the START of a selenium thing, but it might just be that one picture?
The second picture (in a different post) shows more than black, white, gray (gray from the cashmere coming out) I see browning. If that is true, and she is supposed to be only black and white, then that could be a copper thing. But again, it could just be that one picture?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> The very first picture shows a bit of a bent tail, which MAY mean the START of a selenium thing, but it might just be that one picture?
> The second picture (in a different post) shows more than black, white, gray (gray from the cashmere coming out) I see browning. If that is true, and she is supposed to be only black and white, then that could be a copper thing. But again, it could just be that one picture?


@mariarose , I am working on her selenium problem, as I am aware of it and is getting better, and giving selenium gel every month on the second (tomorrow!) and replamin + gel every month, ( yes i know im supposed to give it every week, but its SO expensive, i like to conserve it for if i actually need it for a doe that just had a kid or another emergency)...

I gave her a copper bolus on the 24th, so if there was any copper problems, they should (hopefully!) be getting fixed!


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## Kkenn (Apr 23, 2018)

mariarose said:


> The very first picture shows a bit of a bent tail, which MAY mean the START of a selenium thing, but it might just be that one picture?
> The second picture (in a different post) shows more than black, white, gray (gray from the cashmere coming out) I see browning. If that is true, and she is supposed to be only black and white, then that could be a copper thing. But again, it could just be that one picture?


So this bent tail thing? I'm new here and maybe I should start a new thread but what is this? I knew about the fishtail thing but not the bent tail.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Kkenn said:


> So this bent tail thing? I'm new here and maybe I should start a new thread but what is this? I knew about the fishtail thing but not the bent tail.


Check out my post on this section about Copper and selenium, you can see a doe I posted with a bent tail.


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