# Nigerian Dwarf With scaly skin and thin hair please help!



## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

My 3 year old Nigerian dwarf gets dry scaly crusty skin when it starts to get warm out and well because we have had such a mild winter here in Pa it is worse then I have ever seen it ...... his hair is thin now ... any ideas on what causes this? He eats sweet feed , hay, and has free choice minerals .... I occasionally give the probiotics mixed with the water!! They are wormed once a year!! I'm not sure why he is the only one out of my five goats that this happens to ..... is there something I can put directly on his skin? Coconut oil? Mineral oil? I saw those on another post just not sure about putting something oily on his skin as he loves to sun bathe ... worried his skin will burn! Please help he is so itchy!!


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## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

*Try delousing*

Have you tried treating him for lice? I used Cylence recently because one of my does was itchy and flaky. Upon clipping all the does' hindquarters prior to kidding, I discovered that underneath all of the winter fuzz were lice. It's that time of year. You might be able to take advantage of this nice warm spell and give him a bath and then clip the ridge of his spine to apply a delousing treatment.


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Thank you .... I will try that!! Should I do all of them? He is the only one that gets like this every year when the weather gets warm!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

What do they get for minerals? Anything other than the loose minerals?


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Just loose minerals


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Start him on copper bolus every 2-3 months, top dress ZinPro daily, and selenium/e gel monthly and see how he does.


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Thank you so much ..... I will try all of the above Suzanne_Tyler I greatly appreciate your feed back!! I will update on how he is doing as soon as I can!!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Check for lice by parting the fur and looking closely for bugs - you can see them with the naked eye! Some types of tan colored, others are darker.

Are you able to post a photo of him? Maybe a few of the other goats too? I agree that it is probably a mineral issue. Loose minerals are fabulous but a lot of goats need more supplementation beyond that! Copper bolus, ZinPro, and Selenium gel would all be great - or you could try Replamin Plus oral paste given weekly.


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Sorry the pictures aren't the Best they wouldn't stand still ..... they wanted to chew on my phone LOL!! The first pictures are of Blaze second pictures are of Bishy the goat with the bad skin problem!! The third pictures are Corabell my female who is pregnant and in the pen with Blaze and Bishy!


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

This is Blaze one of the goats in with Bishy







This is the parting of Blazes fur


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

This is Bishy







This is the parting of his fur







His eye


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Corabell my pregnant goat due in April














She won't let anyone touch her I assume because she has babies in her belly!


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

I did find lice on Blaze which is weird because his skin looks fine .... Bishy wouldn't stand still long enough!! Ok so new question what's the best way to treat this and can I treat Corabell?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Boy - Corabelle and Blaze don't seem to exhibit any classic signs of mineral deficiencies but poor Bishy's skin does look uncomfortable. 

Since you identified some lice, I like Eprinex or Cylence pour-ons for treatment, both are safe for Corabelle while pregnant. Another option is injected ivermectin (it stings like the dickens so be prepared for their reactions!)

Based on Bishy's skin & eyes, I would guess he is Zinc deficient. It could be skin mites but it doesn't look quite as irritated or scabby as when mites are present. You can use zinc tablets from the human pharmacy, or ZinPro pet/livestock supplement (order online) , or Replamin Plus oral paste (also order online.)


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## manda1078 (Jul 15, 2016)

Thank you!!


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## Joyful Meadow (Jan 23, 2018)

Did you end up figuring out what it was? My goat has something similar. I did 2 skin scrapings under the microscope and only saw dry skin, no mites, and she doesn’t have lice. She’s the only one with it so idk.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Joyful Meadow said:


> Did you end up figuring out what it was? My goat has something similar. I did 2 skin scrapings under the microscope and only saw dry skin, no mites, and she doesn't have lice. She's the only one with it so idk.


Joyful - are you able to post a few photos of your goat? We can probably identify if the problem is a mineral deficiency. What do you offer for minerals?


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## Joyful Meadow (Jan 23, 2018)

SalteyLove said:


> Joyful - are you able to post a few photos of your goat? We can probably identify if the problem is a mineral deficiency. What do you offer for minerals?


I will take a picture tomorrow. Not sure if it will show up well though since I oiled her today (based on a study that 0.4% eucalyptus essential oil killed 100% of the mites that came into contact with it in 1 hour).

They have a dairy goat blend. Unfortunately I don't remember the nutrient amount. It's the "store blend". They also have seaweed meal and replamin plus every 10days. I looked at it today, and replamin plus has a lot of zinc, so idk if that would be the cause. I wish I knew what I was dealing with. When I did the skin scrapings, I took a few samples from different areas, and did this twice, about a week apart. I only found skin. It looks exactly like dandruff under the mocroscope (as found on google).


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## Joyful Meadow (Jan 23, 2018)

So I was able to take pictures. It looks different because she was oiled. Before, it looked pretty identical to the pictures above for Bishy. It was white before and more flakey instead of clumpy yellow, which was caused by the oil. Now it seems like they are no longer stuck to her skin, but kinda loose. I want to try cleaning her tomorrow and see if they come off. When I took skin scrapings, the skin under the flakes is nice and not scabbed or anything. The pink isn’t irritation, it’s partly because her skin is pink in many places from her white fur, and partly because when she runs, they turn darker pink.

I will post the pictures in the next comment because I need 3 to post links.


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## Joyful Meadow (Jan 23, 2018)

http://imgur.com/y3QbY


It doesn't itch or seem to bother her at all.


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## BearBrookFarm (Feb 12, 2018)

I am experiencing the same thing... bare spots, no lice. I thought it was mites, but now I am thinking it is a mineral deficiency- I noticed that the goats really havent been eating thier loose mineral. Maybe because it absorbed to much moisture or wasnt fresh.. I have been putting "fresh" minerals down every day now and they eat like its going out of style. I have also been oiling the bare spots with neem oil and olive oil. It helps remove the flakey skin and it must feel bettter! I am FINALLY noticing hair growing back in bare spots, but she is still losing some hair. I am going to try the replenish plus. Hopefully that gives her a boost. My wether isnt having any issues.. so it is strange..


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Replamin Plus should be given for 5 days then once a week. 5cc for a full size goat.


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## Joyful Meadow (Jan 23, 2018)

Today I tried cleaning the flakes from her ears. There are still some stuck in her fur, but I got some off. They aren’t stuck to her skin, only in the fur. Hopefully I got enough off to be able to see if it comes back or not. I might try cleaning them more tomorrow. Her skin is nice under it. Also, it’s only on her ears and around the eyes, but inside the ears is normal. Only the base of the ear, from the outside, has crust. And between the ears and the eyes, nothing. 

Could cold do this? It started after a very cold spell. Cold the skin have lightly frozen and is now flaking off?


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## Noma’s Kids (Dec 30, 2017)

Joyful Meadow said:


> http://imgur.com/y3QbY
> 
> 
> It doesn't itch or seem to bother her at all.


I'm interested in seeing what you discover with the dry skin area. One of mine had it it one spot but vet scraped it down and didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. Said to try putting mineral oil on.


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