[laurelrus]

CarolineJ - I haven't had a good look there, but I will now!

[hafod]

I have no donkey experience but itchy bum/back legs in horses can be a sign of pinworm.
My horse gets feather mites which make him itchy. It generally effects lower legs but I have found scabs on upper legs and his chest before .
As someone has already said it might (no pun intended!) be best to get a vet to do a skin scrape so you know what your dealing with. There are loads of treatments/lotions & potions out there but if you don't know what the problem is you can spend a lot of money and not get anywhere!

[Buttermilk]

A lot of donkeys get itchy towards the end of winter.  They only moult once a year and grow a thick coat, not a double coat like a pony.  Anything which works its way down to skin level can create an itch.  It could be my luck but every donkey that has arrived in winter has been itchy and some do itch every spring before the coat starts to come away, I blame them getting too hot for it.  Do not be surprised if you ever clip your donkey if it has what look like whip marks all over the hind quarters, having brought one up from a foal I know that it is due to itching on blackthorn hedges and not cruelty in a past life.

[OhLaLa]

Re it being too early for Sweet Itch, just thought I'd update/hijack this thread as my girl for the past few days has now started showing signs of Sweet Itch. Sudocreme always on standby so is now in use.

laurelrus how is your chap doing, has the Sudocreme helped?


 

[laurelrus]

OhLaLa  - the Sudocreme definitely seems to help!
I've definitely not seen him scratching and rubbing nearly as much. I'm keeping a close eye on him though.
I was at the farm stores the other day and looked at the aisle full of products for itchy horses - there are just so many options and I could end up spending loads of money because the labels claim they're the holy grail of anti-itch products!
I'm trying to groom him more vigorously to help get the winter coat out and hope that is helping as well.
I really appreciate your input and everyone's suggestions and advice 

[shygirl]

just a thought, my gsd gets itchy every spring and after multiple flea treatments we worked out it was from her running through stinging nettles as our place is quite wild.
vet told us to give her piriton.

[laurelrus]

That's a good thought, Shygirl.
We've had to give Piriton to our dogs occasionally, the Labrador's tummy gets inflamed and red in the summer which is obviously some kind of allergy, and once the littlest dog needed it for stinging nettles hurting her paws. It's always very effective. I'll ask the vet about giving Piriton to a donkey.

[Tattymacintosh]

Are there any raised lumps on the skin? Have a really good look in the eyes, anything "blobby" ? What's your worming schedule like?

I suspect onchocerciasis especially with the donkeys drinking from ponds.

Worm them all with ivermectin and see if it clears up.

[laurelrus]

Tattymacintosh - there are no raised lumps and I've had a really good look. His skin looks completely fine where he's rubbed the fur off, it's just really smooth.
His eyes look good, clear and normal.
I wormed them with Equest at the end of February (a couple of weeks after we got them).
I'm not seeing him rubbing or biting anymore. I don't know if it was the Deosect, the Sudocrem or if he would have stopped anyway. I am grooming him as much as I can to help get rid of the winter coat in case that was the problem
What's your theory?!

[Tattymacintosh]

Sorry I modified instead of replied duh see above. My little section A gave 6 vets the runaround with this condition. They had never heard of it because with modern worming programs it rarely surfaces x

[laurelrus]

I'll look that up Tattymacintosh, thanks!

[laurelrus]

Tattymacintosh - I've looked it up, it sounds awful. We don't have any ponds so the donkeys just drink the water I replace every day. It's a real learning curve though and I appreciate all the input 

[Tattymacintosh]

It really is nasty. It's becoming more prevalent Because everyone is worried about ivermectin tolerance these days and switching to other wormers. Glad you are getting on top of the problem, hope donk  get better soon x

[sabrina]

My Shetlands are rubbing and rolling a lot. They do this every year when there winter coats are coming out. I have one who is always bothered with hay mites and I use a spray from Barrier H which works well. Maybe a shampoo would help.

[Drummournie]

Our donkeys had a bad reaction to a pour on product a few years ago, never to be repeated, it took off a load of hair and left angry, sore skin.
Sudocreme as previously mentioned and a skin scraping if you suspect any mites. Also a vet the understands donkeys is a boon, ours is very good and understnds the differences from horses.

Ours love a roll in the dirt usually as soon as we brush them! Also as previously mentioned they get a bit manky when the shed their winter coat for summer. If you are regularly running your fingers through there coat when having "donkey time" you will see their coat has a "dust" in it and this comes off on your fingers like a lanolin type substance, it's just the natural oils in their coat.
Also they do occasionally have a wee nip of each other and can pull a bit of hair out when they do that!

Hope that helps.