[Sholder22]

Hello, I’ve got four goats all a range of breeds and this is my second winter with them. I’ve noticed as the weather has changed three of the goats have started with nasal issues, symptoms being:

snotty discharge
sore black crust scrabs

One having developing them around the eyes and between the horns.

The one with the worse case had it last winter and I treated with antibacterial spray and during spring/summer it went away but as soon as the weather has changed it’s come back.

We’ve had the vet out recently and they said it was lice, they gave her a shot but hasn’t seemd to have worked. Now two more have started with it.

I’ve got two sheep in with them and they absolutely fine.

Has anyone an idea what this could be?

I’ve tried to research online but it refers to a range of ailments and just gets conflicting.

Thanks in advance.

[cans]

Are you able to post a picture or two so we can see what the problem looks like?

[harmony]

I'm not sure why lice would cause a snotty nose.


I am assuming they are housed now so I would look at feed, bedding and ventilation as possible causes for snotty noses.


And treat the whole herd for lice.

[Sholder22]

Hi, I’ve attached some photos. 3/4 have crusty/scraps around and inside of their noses. 1 goat and 2 sheep are totally fine.

Their bedding is straw and on the same pellets they’ve been eating all year, which in the summer they are fine and no issues with their noses.

[Christian]

Hi Sholder22,

are you sure your vet suggested lice? It does look and sound lot more like mites to me. Every winter, one of mt goats gets problems and needs treatment; others look fine (they probably all have them). If your goat does have mites, some repeated vet treatment should help.

Christian

[landroverroy]

I agree about mites - especially as it's a winter problem. I get them in my cattle every year if they are housed on straw, and treat them with Ivomec pour on. The dosage per weight is higher for goats than cattle. Standard goat dose is 1ml/ 34lbs of live weight, which is approx 2ml/30kgs.