[Fraggle422]

Hi
We have an ageing British Saanen(?) billy goat who is losing hair, mainly from the tops of his legs but is looking a bit rough all over.
Does anyone have any ideas on what the cause might be or what may be a treatment we could try.
Were not sure how old William is but the suggestion from the vet is that he may be 8 - 10 years old.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Chris

[ballingall]

Make sure he is getting the vitamins and minerals he needs. Its not uncommon in older male goats, so there may not be much you can do. If you feed sheep or horse food to him, make sure you supplement it with goat minerals. Have a copper rockie available all the time, and maybe see what other rockies you can get as well. You can always ask the vet to give him a vitamin injection too. A bath on a warm day to encourage his skin into better condition.

Make sure he doesn't have any creepy crawlies- ie lice, fleas or even mange. A dose of "Spot On" will get rid of all three of those things.

Is he a entire billy goat? He's made a good age, so you are obviously doing something right.

Beth

[Fraggle422]

Hi Beth
Thanks for that, I'm not sure what you mean by entire but I would have a guess and say no!!
I wondered about a bath but how on earth would you do that? He is pretty friendly but doesn't have a great sense of humour!!
I will ask the vet for vitamins tomorrow, I have not noticed any bugs on him but will take a closer inspection.
As a matter of interest, what do you reckon his life span should be? We don't really know how old he is, he's been moved around the islands over the years and no one seems to remember where he started out, and when!
Thanks
Chris

[Roxy]

MY two castrated male AN's have both got big bald patches on the hip areas, and at this time of year they always get the same.  I have treated them both with organic lice stuff, but get the feeling they are rubbing their winter coats out on something, but better to be safe than sorry, and assume its lice.

Castrated males can live a good lifespan - most of mine have got to 14.  Females usually 15 plus, and one a Toggenburg called Hannah, made it to 17.  Intact males tend not to live that long.

[ballingall]

Well that depends on if he is a breeding male, or a castrated one. If he is a breeding male, then 10 years is a great age. For a castrated male, if he has been treated reasonably well and looked after, then he could live to be as old 17-18 years. 

For a bath, I have an adult breeding male who weighs 23 1/2 stone, and I wash him sometimes! Tie him up, using a collar and lead, or a collar and strong rope, to something strong. Fence posts are always good! Pour a bucket of warm water over him, shampoo him with whatever you want, horse/dog/animal shampoo- even human shampoo. I would steer clear of washing up liquid as his hair obviously isn't in good condition and washing up liquid is quite harsh. Rinse him off with a couple more buckets of warm water, and finish off with a cooler rinse. You could rinse using a gargen hose if you want to, it makes life easier. Bear in mind, you probably will get wet yourself unless you wear waterproofs.


Beth

[Roxy]

Blooming heck, Beth, that Billy of yours is some weight.  I will not offer to carry him outside if he snuffs it!!

I do wonder about intact males not having good coats, which I have noticed on some.  Probably thats due to the fact they spend a lot of time indoors, and not getting natural sunlight?  I wonder if Paddy would like a bath, may give him a bath one sunny warm day and see what he thinks!!

[ballingall]

Well friends of ours had a retired adult breeding male until just before Christmas this year. The cold snap may have contributed to him going I suppose. He was 10, and was nearly completely bald, and had been for a year or so. Although, that said, even from the age of about 4, he struggled with his coat. It took until August every year for him to look respectable for a show with his hair grown in.


Beth

[Fraggle422]

Thanks for you interest everyone, bath time and vitamins coming up!!