This morning I noticed my goat was shedding ALOT of hair. I have had goats for 3 years but I have never seen shedding like this before. The other goats are shedding their winter coats modestly. This goat is REALLY dropping hair. There are no bald spots or anything. I picked a small area and brushed and brushed and some hair appeared there to stay but I was a little shocked at the amount I got. It is snowing and in the 3o's here so I didn't expect this so soon. I wondered if there could be a nutrient deficiency? or if some goat's just shed alot some years? They have good quality feed and moderate quality hay. They have a salt and free choice minerals. So I think they are getting all they need. What do you folks think.

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 05, 2001

Answers

When is the last time they were wormed ? Lice ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 05, 2001.

They were wormed recently. Can worms cause this? Wouldn't the other goats have lice too?

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 05, 2001.

Don't know where you are, but we have had some really warm days here. In fact, its in the tall 50's today, and warmer during the week they say. Sometimes, a short burst of really warm weather for the season will do this. Also, if she is near to kidding, she'll be warm anyway... I wouldn't worry unless some bald spots develop.

Now for the second question. Yea, one animal can have a problem and others may or may NOT get it. I had a dog with worms, others didn't have them, same with mange. She was real sickly when I got her, but my other dogs were healthy enough to fight it all off. It could be that an advanced pregnancy has lowered her resistance more than the others.

Like I said... Don't worry too much just yet...

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 06, 2001.

Are they all the same breed? Also my black does have already lost all their mohair undercoat, and I have noticed my dark red does are shedding alot of hair right now, since it is all over me at milking time. I went out after you said this, to feed the kids, and took my brush to my oldest doe, she eaisly filled the brush with hair, to the point if I had wanted to brush her more I would have had to pull the hair from the horse brush, or it wouldn't grip.

I really don't think that you have anything to worry about, whether it is 30 degrees or 70 degrees, it is spring the daylight hours are lengthening and they are going to shed. Swiss breed does will have much longer hair than Nubians will, and when they shed you just notice much more hair. Our LaMancha's had lots of short glossy hair, and with them mostly being beige and strawberry blonde, I think I noticed them shedding much more since it showed on my barn clothes more. If you did have something nutritional going on (like a zinc defficency) it would show up in more than one doe, unless this doe had recently been ill, was the oldest doe in the pen or the youngest.

For Southerners: Really watch the worm burdens right now, with all the grass up in the south with another winter of no freezes, your does arrested larve in them is awakening and your pastures will be full of overwintered larve! Start your fly programs in your barns, and get yourself some sulfa drugs put away for cocci problems this month, hopefully putting them on prevention before cocci ruins the kid! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 06, 2001.