Copper Deficient

[bethh]

Hey All,

I'm looking for a little advice. We recently got 3 new ND, 2 bucks and a doe, almost a year old. I was taking some online courses trying to learn more about our little ones. One of the courses was on copper deficiency. I was out later that day and noticed that one of the bucks, Wille, looked like he had fish tail and he is very thin on the top of his head. The baldness on the top I attributed to rubbing it on everything. I took some pics and sent them to the person who had the courses. She asked for clearer pics. I went back out and was hanging out with everyone and realized that all 3 new goats exhibit some extent of having fish tail. I also realized in the sun that our chocolate doe, Dolly, seemed to have a reddish cast to her coat. We've only had them for 2.5 weeks so I don't know if the coloring is her normal or if it is changing. I will attach all my pics here. I then reached out to the breeder to see if she is on well water because of the possibility of having high sulfur, calcium and iron contents. She is on well but said that it couldn't be copper deficiency as her goats are on sweetlix.

She said that it is probably lice which I don't like the sounds of either. I want to give them copper oxide wire particles but she warns against for fear of copper toxicity. Y'all have way more experience than I do so I'm looking for some direction. I was looking at Cash, he's the other buck today, and as I was rubbing my hand along his spine I noticed a few things, flaky skin/dandruff but also he's a black and white buck and his under coat looks brown. I mentioned to the breeder today that the ends of his ears are brown and white yet the rest of him is black and white, she said his ears are dirty. They maybe dirty but that isn't going to make the hair look brown. There aren't as many pics of Dolly as she is much more skittish than the boys, although she is improving.

Have you had experience with copper deficiency? Have you used COWP? Also, what about lice? Dolly, the new doe, is expecting end of April/first of May.

Everyone seems okay. They eat and drink well. They get Bermuda hay and I also have chopped Bermuda hay that I give them. The girls get a grain. I give the boys a sprinkle of it cause they love it. Everyone has access to sweetlix mineral all the time. Thanks in advance for any and all help. I want to breed my girls but want to make sure that everyone is on the mend. By the way, we aren't on well water. No sulfur, iron or calcium issues here.

thanks again,
Beth

 

[Baymule]

Not a goatie, don't have goats, never had goats, so I am not much good to you. You have only had them for a couple of weeks, I wouldn't get too worried. I'm sure you have them on a good goat feed and mineral mix. I looked up fish tail and it is an indicator of copper deficiency. IMO I would continue on with what you doing. Spring is around the corner, the winter coat will be shed out and new hair will grow in. That would be a good time to access coat color. If you continue to be worried about them, you might consider a blood test analysis by your vet.

Once again, I am not a goatie, just taking a stab in the dark here. Perhaps someone with real experience will chime in.
@frustratedearthmother @B&B Happy goats

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Hello Bethh, the east coast of the US is low in copper. ... here in Florida I give my goats a copper bolus yearly, I have seen a overall improvement in my goats since I started using the copper bolus. It's not difficult to do and I believe it has been helpful in my goats health.

 

[D and L Meadows]

They do look a little ruff. We use to feed sweetlix, but wasnt really happy with it. We switched to Duraferm and had tremendous results. Highly recommend it. But since our area is very deficient in copper and our goats are high in selenium, we still have to give 4 grams of copper every 3-4 months. The selenium bonds to the copper and therefore it becomes insoluble. And yes, sure signs of copper deficiency are black goats turning brown, red goats turning orange (that especially looks terrible), and fish tails. Every area is different, so you will just have to experiment on how often you have to give copper. The under coat cashmere does tends to lighter than the outer. That's normal.

 

[bethh]

Hello Bethh, the east coast of the US is low in copper. ... here in Florida I give my goats a copper bolus yearly, I have seen a overall improvement in my goats since I started using the copper bolus. It's not difficult to do and I believe it has been helpful in my goats health.

Thank you. I thought they looked like they may have beginning signs of copper deficiency.