# Flaky, dandruffy skin, itching goats, lice??



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

My 2 Nigerian dwarf goats have flaky, dandruff like skin. Is there anything besides lice that can do this? I got these 2 goats in late March, and the place where I got them from had several goats get lice pretty bad the week or two before I got mine from her. All of her goats were hanging out in a barn most of the time during the winter, probably about 12 goats in close quarters with one another. And she didn't keep the bedding really clean. One of the goats I got from her had signs of lice quite bad a week or so before I got my goats and the previous owner treated that goat for lice just before I took ownership of the 2 goats. Within a few days of having them at my place, the second goat started losing hair and had signs of lice infestation. I treated them both with Cylence, 2 times about 3 weeks apart since the vet said they would have eggs on the goats that would hatch about 3 weeks after the first treatment and he told me to reapply after 3 weeks.

I have read that lice usually is not a problem during summer, is that true? They aren't losing hair now like they did in March when it came out in big patches down to the bare skin. Just really flaky and looks like bad dandruff. I dusted them with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) a couple days ago and might do it again. Has anyone had good results with DE for treating lice?

thanks


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

DE has never worked for me. You have to be aggressive about getting rid of lice. Cylence works and it is put on along the spine. Then dust their shelter heavily with Sevin Dust. Do the Sevin Dust every 10 days for 3 times. Do the Cylence at 1cc per 20 lbs every 28 days.


----------



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

ksalvagno said:


> DE has never worked for me. You have to be aggressive about getting rid of lice. Cylence works and it is put on along the spine. Then dust their shelter heavily with Sevin Dust. Do the Sevin Dust every 10 days for 3 times. Do the Cylence at 1cc per 20 lbs every 28 days.


thanks! so do you think some of the lice or their eggs survived the other 2 treatments that I did on April 8 and April 30 and now they have hatched and the lice are getting to the point where there's enough lice that they are showing symptoms again? So I never really took care of the problem completely in the first place?

thanks


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Good chance they weren't fully gone from the first time.


----------



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Are your goats shedding? ours tend to get dry/flaky skin, especially colored goats when they are shedding. We have some that are really shedding out right now. My kids have one little doe that I usually brush every day because she is shedding so much, and has had dry skin. I noticed between brushing, and adding some rice bran oil into her grain that the dry skin isn't nearly as bad.

If you can check your goats coat really close, see if you can see any lice. If you truly believe you may have an issue, I would treat them.

We never had much luck with Cylence as a once every 28 day treatment to keep lice gone, can't remember exactly but I think we dosed it every 10-14 days.

We use Ivermectin Pour On, and really like it. I haven't seen lice on ours since we started using the Ivermectin, so far the only problems I've noticed are just ear mites in young/untreated kids, and currently we 'might' have 3 young does with mites on their bellies <still not sure what it is, could be gnat bites>. I am treating them for everything right now. 
For lice we treat every 10 days for a total of 3 treatments. For mites we treat every 5 days until signs of healing <usually 3-4 treatments>, but mites are harder to kill.

We use Ivermectin off & on through the year as we think we need it, I'm actually shocked that we haven't seen any signs of lice in so long.


----------



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

no they aren't shedding hair. they lost a lot of their hair when they had lice bad back in April. It's grown back nice and shiny now. 

Is it possible to have lice when its hot and sunny like it is now, and the goats are outside much of the time, and I move their little hut shelter once every week or two?

I also read that they might be low in fat in their diet. Is that a likely cause? I've been feeding them black oil sunflower seeds, just introduced a few days ago. Hopefully that will help if that's what they need.

thanks


----------



## gonegoaty (May 15, 2015)

I haven't had this problem myself, but I've heard that goats can have trouble getting rid of parasites if they are copper deficient. You may want to do some checking into that and see if copper bolusing or something might help, in addition to treating for lice. Copper itself won't get rid of parasites, just makes them stronger and less susceptible to parasitic infestations.


----------



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

So I brushed their hair back with my hands/fingers to take a close look at their skin and to check for lice. I noticed that there are red scabs scattered over their skin. Kind of like what you would get a couple days after you get a cut on your skin. But the scabs on the goats are like small little red specks, most of them about 1/16th inch in diameter. Some are a little bigger. And the worst area on both of the goats is on the rear side, inward side of the front legs, kind of what would be like the side of your arm just below your arm pit, on the inside of your bicep. They have started to scratch and rubbed the hair off in some areas there, and the skin looks pretty raw and scabby. 

the skin is still quite flaky all over their bodies, but I can not see any lice, unless I'm missing them? 

Could this possibly be mites? Or most likely lice? any other parasites that it could be?

thanks


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Either way you treat with Ivomec. You definitely need to treat them.


----------



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

ksalvagno said:


> Either way you treat with Ivomec. You definitely need to treat them.


I'm assuming you mean the Ivomec pour on, and not the injection? Is there any chance the pour-on can get into the milk? If so, how many days after using pour on can I use the milk again? If I just apply 1CC/20 lbs like it says along the top line, will that take care of the lice or mites under their "arm pits", or should I apply some near their "arm pits" as well?

thanks


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I use injection. I don't know what the pour on dosage is.


----------

