Middle TN accidental goat owner, new BYH member :)

[Mrs1885]

Hi everyone! I stumbled upon the forum tonight when doing a search to find out what the tiny black bugs on one of our baby goat kids is. Still not sure. Assumed lice, but it sure doesn't look like the pictures I'm finding! I do love forums though, so I decided to join.

We have four goats from two to three years old and three baby goats around four months old. Two pigs, about 40ish chickens and ducks, seven dogs, three cats and an aviary full of budgies and cockatiels. We are in middle TN, sitting right in the middle of a triangle formed by Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, just how we like it.

Home is just hubby and I, happy empty nesters. We have five kids, two kids in law and our eleventh grandbaby is due late this year. My hubby is retired and I work from home. Our world revolves around our small farm and our grandkids. We ran a pet rescue for the first five or six years we lived in TN, but it closed for good in 2012, thus most of the dogs.

We are in the process (hopefully) of expanding the farm, clearing and fencing more land, adding a barn and a pond and bringing in more goats and adding some sheep and several types of fowl. Hope to meet some new friends and learn more about these little furries that share our life.

 

[Southern by choice]

Welcome to BYH!

Lice is generally a yellow orangy look. Is it possible they are seed ticks? Or fleas?

 

[Mrs1885]

Welcome to BYH!

Lice is generally a yellow orangy look. Is it possible they are seed ticks? Or fleas?

I don't think so. Definitely not ticks. And they don't jump, so I don't think they are fleas. I've got my cell on the charger right now, but will go track little Schmoopie down on a break and get a picture.

 

[Mike CHS]

Hi neighbor. Seed ticks have been really bad around us this year.

 

[RollingAcres]

Hello and welcome to BYH! Looking forward to hearing more about your animals and your farm.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Welcome glad you joined us!

 

[Mrs1885]

I had to really zoom in, but once I did, lice. Gah! Is there a good topical treatment? I did vaccinations and IV SubQ fluids on dogs and cats for two decades and never thought twice about it. For some reason Im nervous about injecting livestock. My brain knows it is stupid, but I cant help it.

Thoughts? Also noticed they didnt show up while he was outside. He had been in the house a few minutes before they came out on the fur (they still have a pen in the house at night) so Im wondering if that has anything to do with it?

Also noticed the left side of Schmoos face is swollen. I think one of the adults head butted him from the side. He is eating and drinking normally and doesnt seem bothered but it killing me! My poor lil Schmoopers. Stupid mean adult jerk goats.

 

[Southern by choice]

I think you posted in the other thread... I prefer topical as it kills burrowing and non burrowing and I see no need to use Ivermectin for such things. Ivermectin is so overused and has such bad resistance now for deworming why use it. If it still works for you as a dewomer than save it for that.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us. Sorry about the bugs and bruise issues for your goat. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

There are others here from TN and I'm sure you'll get to "meet" them. It would be helpful if you could (PLEASE) put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[Mrs1885]

So far we havent had to use anything, with the exception of something the vet gave us when one of the babies got coccidia. The only reason we have the ivo is for the dogs. They get dosed orally once a month for HW prevention. So I will keep it just for that. Just trying to figure out the best way to treat everyone.