# Dandruff on My Goat



## ETgoatygirl (Mar 23, 2012)

Hi all. I just have a few questions for you.. My first freshener, Honeysuckle, has A LOT of dandruff. And I mean a lot. It keeps falling off of her and into the milk pail. Which kinda grosses me out Why is that? I just shaved her recently, could that be part of it? How can I help her to get rid of it? Would shaving her closer (she has a "long haircut" right now) help? Or make it worse? Should I give her a bath, or would that irritate it more? Sorry about all the questions.. Thank you.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

It may be copper deficiency. One of our girls struggles with that ... one of the first sign is that there are "rings" around the eyes, and then they start getting flaky, and their fur can start thinning. Black goats will have a reddish tint to them. Half of a calf-sized copper Bolus should help if she is deficient. We bought little capsules to put the iron rods in so they go down easier (=


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## Goat Mom (May 1, 2012)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> one of the first sign is that there are "rings" around the eyes, (=


Pardon me for butting in here, but what do the rings around the eyes look like?


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

Goat Mom said:


> Woodhavenfarm said:
> 
> 
> > one of the first sign is that there are "rings" around the eyes, (=
> ...


took the words out of my mouth.....

The other thing is have you checked for lice/mites? that might be the issue...
M.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

@Goat Mom

Hairless. First they loose the hair around their eyes ... it kind of looks like a ring (=


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Not the best picture since we just bolused her and she's improving, but can you kind of see that there's a ring of skin around her eyes?


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks! 
M.


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## ETgoatygirl (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks all for the advice! I have suspected that my goats have a copper deficiency for a while. I am giving them extra selenium right now as well (to make sure it wasn't a selenium deficiency, which I know we are low on as well). And now I think they really have it. I plan on getting some loose copper minerals for them this weekend. Hopefully that should help them all.. And maybe Honeysuckle can get rid of her dandruff too. Gee, I sure hope so


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

When we bought a copper bolus it was ENORMOUS (for calves) so we also bought tiny little capsules to fill with the copper rods so our girls could get it down easily without chewing. Gypsy (the one in the picture) has been improving fast ever since.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

It could be a few different things. I would not assume it is a cooper def. 

If you shaved her, she might be sunburned, and she will peal just like we do. that happes a lot more then you would think.

It could just be pain dry skin. I have a goat like that and she is really really bad. I put oil in her grain to help,. I get a horse oil that is full of Omega 3 and other goodies. It is for skin and coats.


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## Goat Mom (May 1, 2012)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> can you kind of see that there's a ring of skin around her eyes?


Aah. I was thinking on the actual eye. Okay, thanks for clearing that up for me.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Oh dear, haha XDD I wasn't too clear about that, was I? :laugh:


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

My goat, Bandit has a lot of dandruff. I actually brought her to a vet about it and he did skin scrapings. This was about 3 months ago.It was negative for mange and she does not have lice either. I do supplement with a loose mineral mix. They will not eat it free choice so I mix it in their feed. Of course it usually falls to the bottom in their feed trough. I bought a oil supplement for them made for goats also. That helps the minerals stick to the feed somewhat. I haven't seen much of a difference in her coat though. I did change foods because the feed I was feeding had antibiotics in it and I thought that she may have somesort of fungal infection. The vet told me that it was just dandruff and not to worry about it. I was thinking that I wont be able to milk her due to all the loose skin now. I hope she if not low on anything because she is due to kid soon. Should I supplement with copper before she kids? :whatgoat: Now I'm worried. Will it hurt her if I don't?


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## Bambi (Jun 10, 2012)

We also have a doe with dandruff and the veterinarian said it was just dandruff , not to worry. But I sewed her a lightweight cotton blanket she wears in the sunshine so she won't burn. Also the lightweight blanket keeps any debris from contaminating the milk.


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

I am thinking it is just dandruff also because my other ND does not have it at all. They live together. I need to shave her down and develop something to rub all over her to get rid of it.


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## wayne&bernice (Jul 19, 2012)

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? What do we do??? :shrug:


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## Mandara Farm (Sep 12, 2010)

I dont know if this will help at all, but after I started giving my girls Black Oil Sunflower Seeds every morning for breakfast, their skin and coats are GORGEOUS. The natural oils in the seeds are really good for them! Dont know if it could help your girls dry skin, but might be worth a try :shrug:


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

Copper Def can easily be detected by loss of bright coloring and a fish tail. The hair coloring around the eyes would fade. Blacks turn red. Golds turn white ...... Tails split. We give lots of minerals to our guys and I still bolus every 6 months. Be careful, because you have to admin this by weight.

I would also say it could be dead lice. They camp out during the winter and when you shave in the summer they go someplace else but there will be dead ones looking like dead skin.

It's hard to make suggestions without knowing your goat management and seeing them. But I'd lean towards dead lice first.

HTH,


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## wayne&bernice (Jul 19, 2012)

Oh wow, dead lice eh? The lice/flakes I can see are a pale orangey color and are quite large. So do you think it could be a copper deficiency too? We supplement her with soaked in water and bluestone copper sulphate. Her other supplements are flower of sulphur and dolomite mixed 1 part sulphur to 2 part dolomite.

Basically we follow the instructions in Pat Coleby's book _Natural Goat Care...don't know if you've heard of it? Also it is winter so maybe the lice are camping out...though it is quite heavy...

What do you think? Maybe I can post a photo tomorrow of her lice/dandruff

Oh and thanks Mandara Farm for your advise about Black Oil Sunflower Seeds! I might give that a try too.._


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

I love BOSS plus it's a good source for Sel/E too. 

A little confused.... you mentioned it's winter but they are shaved? My next suggestion might not work for you then. But I was going to say give them a bath to remove all the flakes so you can monitor better. You can wash with the dog shampoo for ticks/lice if this is ok for you. I know you're trying to go natural. I only go natural when I have the time otherwise if I need a quick fix on something --- it's meds. 

I've also put the dog lice/tick liquid stuff that you put on their backs that works for a month or so on my goats. That seems to work well too. And Ivomec Plus (I give the liquid stuff).

I also treat my goats with Thorvin Kelp. Seems the healthier you can have your goats the less chances of them getting bugs but it's not 100% cure.

For the copper, hard to say. I'd work with the lice issue first. Dead skin is not orange.

HTH,


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## ETgoatygirl (Mar 23, 2012)

*Dandruff and Another Question*

Hello again. Thanks for all the suggestions, and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with a dandruffy goat Anyway, my goat still seems to have a lot of dandruff. I gave her some copper (in bolus form) a while ago, she gets sunflower seeds every day, and doesn't seem to have any lice. Hmm, maybe that's just her... It is very dry here, which might be affecting it, but not entirely, as she had the problem in the spring (when it's much more moist). Also, I had a question.. Can her dandruff mean she has allergies? You know, like people get rashes from allergies. Can goats get a lot of dry skin from allergies? Also, she seems to have a constant runny nose. Very clear, and just a little bit, which made me thing of allergies. Thanks again!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Maybe try a multimin shot? We found out that while copper helped out goat, she needed something a little more.


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## Cleveland_Goats (Jul 5, 2017)

Hello! I have a goat that I need to show at fair next week who has dandruff pretty bad around his shoulders. He had it before I gave him his summer clipping, but it has gotten more noticeable with the short hair cut. He does get a mineral supplement with his food about once a week, and has it free choice when I have him in the stanchion. I don't know if it is a sunburn, but he is dark skinned. (I don't know if that matters?) Is it safe to use sunblock on him? He doesn't have lice, and I have been using a human dandruff shampoo once every other day for the past week. It does not seem to be helping, and I have to show him next Thursday! I need a really fast treatment that will preferably help by Monday for his medical check before fair. I don't think they will hold me out of fair, but the judge will notice and count me down for it. There isn't time for a vet visit, so what can I do?


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Dark skinned goats don't get sunburned. 

I would give him a bath and start him on copper and zinc supplementation.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Now and right before he's expected in the ring spay him down with Scope mouthwash and brush him when dry without rinsing. It will pull all the dandruff off his skin. 
This is the secret owners of shiny black show dogs use.


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## Cleveland_Goats (Jul 5, 2017)

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Will definitely try the zinc and copper, as well as the spray! I'm also giving him black oil sunflower seeds. (It's actually bird food but all my goats love it!) Again, thank you so much for the help!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We deal with it on our red boer goats. Just be sure your goats don't have mites. Check for any scabs or sores in their arm pits, between the back legs/teat area, and especially below their dew claws. I haven't treated our whole herd for mites in a while so I am starting to see some issues flaring up.

Try washing your goat at least once a week with a mixture of Dawn dish soap, Listerine mouth wash and Apple Cider Vinegar. I used this mix today on a red doe that had dry skin, and is fighting an issue with mites. After scrubbing her well with this mix I saw 0 dry skin.
A friend shared this with me and it has worked great on our goats when I've used it. We switched to a goat shampoo, but I'm seriously thinking about using this one again for the rest of show season.
Add equal parts of each, I mix it in an empty water bottle, and wash/scrub the goat really well.

Get a good scrubber to use - we have one of these scrubbers, they work very well:
http://www.chicksaddlery.com/page/CDS/PROD/2500/JS2449

Do you have any conditioning spray? If not, get some, shake the can, and spray over your goat really well. Use a scotch comb or some sort of comb and rub it into your goats hair to get it down in the skin. Make sure the goat is dry. You could use this stuff I believe 2-3 times a week and see if it helps. You can also try giving your goat a little bit of corn oil, or try that stuff called Healthy Goat coat. I think they sell it in pint size bottle at Tractor Supply. That may help as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-Leather-Sheep-Conditioning-Spray/dp/B004T956TI


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Don't give too much BOSS, it coats their intestines and they can't digest nutrients.


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## wndngrvr (Dec 10, 2011)

I was having dandruff problems also. Have seemed to clear up now and this is some of what I did. I added calf manna and sunflower seeds to my Wet cob that I give my goats. Also have a cobalt block in one of the feeders (someone told me that helped them a lot) -several of my goats go to it all the time. I use the best loose minerals I can get and also kelp put out every few days. I only put a little of the minerals out at a time so they don't draw moisture or get dirty with baby feet. The goat in the middle of my picture here was a mess as a yearling. Dandruff so bad it was like cradle cap. We bathed her with warm water and Olay body wash with shea butter. (mine) several times. She cleared right up. I also use copasture COWP a couple of times a year and BoSe orally -I use 1 cc for my Nigerians couple of times a year. The copper -I open a 2 gm capsule and put it on top of their grain to administer it to them. Works fine for me. Also I clip every spring but I put a 1/4 or 1/2 inch comb on my clipper -sunburned a girl once and never had that happen again with leaving a little hair on. Good luck - these little guys can be a challenge.


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