# Hairless Goat?????



## thingrizzly (Dec 10, 2009)

Friend had twin kids born a feww weeks ago.  One was normal but the other was weak and only had hair on about half of its body.

Was wondering if anyone had heard or seen anything like this.  
Hoping the pic shows up.


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## Roll farms (Dec 10, 2009)

Not sure if this link will work, but the *only* thing I could find was this:

http://74.125.95.132/custom?q=cache...ts.pdf+hairless+kids&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Basically says it's caused by iodine deficiency....


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## ksalvagno (Dec 10, 2009)

Boy, that sure doesn't look good. I hope the little one does ok.


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## FarmerChick (Dec 10, 2009)

IODINE DEFICIENCY

Iodine deficiency in goats is a disease of the thyroid gland. Under the chin behind the larynx on the front of neck, the thyroid gland enlarges to form a goiter when the goat is deficient in iodine. A goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland.

Goiters are not "bottlejaw," which is anemia that is almost always caused by a heavy wormload and occurs directly under the chin. Goiters are not Caseous Lymphadenitis abscesses; CL abscesses occur at lymph glands and when located in the neck area will be under an ear, downward towards the chest, or along the jaw line.

Goiters are often nutritionally related. Much of the northern part of the USA has soils that are iodine deficient. Plants of the Brassicas family interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. This includes plants in the mustard family such as cabbage, broccoli, and turnips. Supplemental iodine will not help correct iodine deficiency in goats eating these plants. The producer must eliminate them from the goat's' diet.

The tendency to produce goiters can be inherited. Some Swiss breeds that have been linebred tend to carry abnormalities in thyroid function.

The Boer goat is a breed that is more susceptible to iodine deficiency that results in goiters. Goiters can exist in newborn kids and have been reported by Boer breeders in the USA in recent years. Thyroid deficiency can cause stillbirths or kids can be born weak and hairless or with very fine haircoats. These kids are sluggish and grow poorly. They may or may not develop skin lesions. Cobalt deficiency and its accompanying Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause goiters.

Treatment for iodine deficiency that isn't caused by plants that prevent iodine uptake is to add iodized salt to the goat's diet. Many prepared goat feeds use non-iodized mixing salt because the particles are small and have better mixing qualities. The amount of organic iodine (EDDI) put into prepared feeds is controlled by the U. S. Food & Drug Administration. Severe iodine deficiency can be treated more quickly by painting 7% iodine on a hairless part of the goat's body such as the tailweb. Free-choice feeding of kelp -- dried seaweed -- is probably the best method available. Kelp isn't always easy to find and is expensive but consumption per goat is small so overall cost should not be a major concern. A 50-pound bag of kelp lasts a long time and can be mixed with loose goat minerals to encourage consumption. Feed stores can special order kelp.


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I don't know the future of this kid but it is probably not great.
But it is a deficiency in the doe that produces a hairless kid so steps need to be taken to correct further problems.

hope this might help


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## thingrizzly (Dec 10, 2009)

Well Duck (as in ulgy duckling) is about 6 weeks old and growing.  
He's not quite as active as his brother who seems completely normal.  There's no sign of goiter on him or his mother (who was pregnant when bought, kidded 4 days after purchase).  

Biggest problem he seems to have is the sun.  The white portions of his skin turn pink when he spends much time out, he then goes inside for the rest of the day.

Thanks for the info about the deficiency, I'll pass this along, maybe it'll help the little feller.

Kenneth


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## FarmerChick (Dec 10, 2009)

we can only hope the goat does OK.....lol

maybe genetic? or do you know all the kiddings etc from the mom and dad?


what about more extreme cold?  no hair means no protection?

poor critter!


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## thingrizzly (Dec 10, 2009)

Only thing known is its twin was normal.  The mom was bought at an auction.

My friend has bought it a doggie sweater, LOL.  I have an idea that if weather becomes a problem, Duck will be brought into the house.

They were thinking genetics also.  They were talking about line breeding to see if they could get a totally hairless goat, but the issues with the sun and now the cool weather seems to have changed their minds.

Kenneth


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## FarmerChick (Dec 10, 2009)

oh yea could be the line that you don't know about etc. and being an auction it is just a crapshoot sometimes what is being bred out there and nothing ya can do about that.

oh yes you don't want a hairless grazing animal for sure.  their life is spent in pasture to graze in full view of sun and cold etc.   Hair has ALOT of importance on animals actually.

A doggie coat?  LOL...I bet that little goat loves the warmth from it.

best one can do is just give it good care and see where it goes, but don't be breeding it again.  I wouldn't for that "just in case" factor.


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## foxywench (Dec 19, 2009)

having hairless dogs i can tell you hell need sunscreen year round for any exposed areas, yes even in winter, the white areas whill burn quick (and the dark skin can burn too but isnt as noticable) skin cancer will be a risk.
baby safe sunscreen in a high spf (50 is good) every couple of hours when exposed to full sun.

in the winter, layers, a thiner fleece sweater with a blanket coat over the top will help but even then exposure to the cold will need to be kept to a minimum.

my dogs are naturally hairless (cresteds) so i dont know how iodine  issues and hairlessness works, if this is actually an iodine issue...
im not sure if incresgin iodine would make the coat grow back...

if not hes going to need a very special home as an "indoor" pet, someone whos going to be willing to keep up with sun skin care and "dress" him in the winters.

i will say however, hes awefully cute and if i had a farm id offer him a home as a wether, hed fit right in with my nekkid dogs


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## Roll farms (Dec 19, 2009)

The difference in your dogs and that goat is that your dogs are meant to be hairless, due to genetics...that goat isn't.
That's where the iodine deficiency comes in.
It may NOT be that...but I've never heard of any other cause.


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## helmstead (Dec 19, 2009)

I might suspect selenium or zinc deficiencies - both of which can cause hair loss.  In this case it would be congenital, which means it will take a lot of supplementation to correct.  A small dose of Bose and some zinc tablets (say, 1/8 of a 50 mg human pill daily for 2 weeks) might clear it up.

Very interesting, to say the least.  I had a buck, Oreo II (a rescue), who was zinc deficient and lost hair in LARGE patches, but not nearly that badly.  He cleared up after 2 weeks of getting 25 mg of zinc daily.


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## thingrizzly (Dec 22, 2009)

Well I thought I'd give an update on Duck.  He's growing, though still behind his twin.   Holding his own with the other kids in the pasture, though not as lively.  Other than his "goat sweater" he not getting any special treatment.  On cold or sunny days, he eats, plays for a little while and then heads for the shed.  

They just got a grown billie for their nannies and it's cute as all getout when Duck walks up to him, and seems to puff out his chest as though to say "I was here first".  But then when their herd billy beds down, Duck curls up beside him.

Kenneth


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## FarmerChick (Dec 22, 2009)

glad he is doing ok
he will never be the top dog of health when you get a birth problem like this.....but as long as you enjoy him and he is doing good, congrats!


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## ksalvagno (Dec 22, 2009)

Glad the little guy is doing ok. Hopefully he will continue to do fine.


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## foxywench (Dec 22, 2009)

if it is a deficiency...
will increasing those minerals help the goat grow back eventually?  or will he always be a nekkid goat?

it sounds like hes adapted well to his condition so thats good atleast


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## cmjust0 (Dec 22, 2009)

I'd at least paint a little iodine on the bald spots, just to see if that helps..


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## Roll farms (Dec 22, 2009)

If you do, use Gentle iodine...I'd imagine that skin would be prone to irritation.


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## Anny (Dec 27, 2009)

Wow, that is so interesting. Nude animals are normally caused by a Mutation in a gene. That's how they started to feed hairless mice and other animals. 

 I wonder if  that was the cause rather then the iodine.  

Best luck with your little naked goat.


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## nightshade (Jan 2, 2010)

please keep us updated. I have never seen one that was hairless but we did have some that were all from the same gene line who's hair was terribly thin and they did not get winter coats like our other goats did.


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