# Oh, no! My goats have lice!



## sriston (Mar 30, 2013)

I have had most of my goats for a few years. Last week I discovered, purely by accident, that they have lice on them. I was appalled; I have never, ever had any kind of bugs on my animals. Although I have many barn critters, I have closely examined all of them and the goats are the only ones with lice. I have no idea how they got them, but they definitely have them.

Through Google (God bless Google!), I have identified them as biting lice. My goats do not itch, and they have no bald spots or any other indications of lice. I saw the lice when I was petting and cuddling one of the babies.

I plan on using Ivermectin pour-on on my adult goats. I have two goats that have babies and are nursing, and I was unsure as to whether or not I could, or should, use the Ivermectin pour-on on them?

Thanks so much for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and experience; I really appreciate it!


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

The ivermectin will not hurt the babies when the dams are dosed. Supposedly ivermectin crosses the blood-brain barrier in young stock more readily but I have personally used it at proper doses with no problems, given orally, to young goat kids - I'd be even less worried about absorption through the skin causing issues. Just make sure you use the proper dose. I haven't used ivermectin for lice or anything in a long time - so my info on them is outdated. Its been a longggg time since I've had lice here. Purely luck, IMO.  

Lice are very common and very rarely cause any issues on well managed animals, that's probably why you haven't noticed anything until recently.  

If you treat the adults, be sure clean their housing and generously sprinkle a pyrethrin dust (or similar) on the bedding.


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## sriston (Mar 30, 2013)

Thank you! The first thing I did was clean everything out, scrub everything down with soapy water, and then the fresh bedding was dusted with Sevin dust. I did this to all of my barns, not just the places where the goats were, just in case. &#9786; It still make me itch to think about it, LOL.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Cylence.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e076d7-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

What is the dose for cylence? Does it work well against flies? I always see mine kicking in the pasture to get flies off, but fly spray neither worked well nor was cleared for lactating animals...


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

This time of year all they need is a good shave.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

It's all part of a multi-faceted bug control plan.

The dose for Cylence is on the bottle. I'll have to see if there's enough of the label left. You dribble a bit on their back.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I put on a mask and rub some DE into their fur along the top of their backs, neck, head and sides.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I agree on the CYLENCE for Lice & it will help with flies too. For full size goats I'd dribble an once or two down their backs for mini's or Nigerians I'd just do 1 ounce.
It is safe for pregnant & nursing does' & also kids.


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

southerngurl said:


> This time of year all they need is a good shave.


This^^^^^


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Doug, I think that dose is HIGH. Here's the spec sheet. Its in KG and ml.

http://www.bayeranimalhealth.co.za/scripts/pages/en/livestock/cattle/cylence.php


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## sriston (Mar 30, 2013)

My goats would be bald if I shaved them, LOL. I'm assuming that advice is for goats that have longer hair?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Basically 1 cc per 25 pounds.

There are 28 cc per ounce, so if you are pouring on an ounce, you are treating for a 700 pound goat. :shocked:


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

You don't shave them with a Bic razor. You get an animal shaver and use one of the blades that leaves them a nice clean coat.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

I use an $11 Andis for people with a 1/2" or 1/4" guard depending on how I like the length the first go over and then dust Diatomaceous Earth on them from the rump forward and work it in with my hands. Repeat for 3 days. Apply to fresh bedding too.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

I do love my Andis, I use it for the giant schnauzer (salon groomer wanted to charge $70, so I UTUBed it, got some advice from a Petco groomer - and never looked back)... its still going strong after 4 years....

not sure why people shave their goats though, other than for show?
sorry to be off topic--

kinda wondering though, why people dont use Frontline drops on their goats- is it more expensive?


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

I've just made the same sad discovery. I happen to have Ultra BOSS on hand (permetherin-based fly/bug killer--not black-oil Sunflower seeds). It is indicated for lice control in lactating/non lactating goats. 

Anyone have any *poor* luck using it?


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## harvestmoonfarm (Nov 24, 2012)

I tried the permethrin-based products and saw no results. Cylence, however, is a miracle drug IMO. My doe that was affected the worst with lice is now the prettiest goat in my herd; her coat just gleams. I treat them every 30 days to help with flies and ticks, and to also be sure the lice don't strike again.


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

few years back my goats got lice from the mare I had just got from a friend. I was treating the mare with an equine spray for flies, skeeters, and lice and went ahead and treated my goats with the same thing. Only had to do it twice. Haven't had lice since then.
KNOCKING on wood....
though the chickens I bought at auction came with their own mites so treated that area with DE and sevin.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Some of us just shave our goats so they look snappy...my toggenburg I shave because she will overheat in our hot, humid summers. And, sometimes you shave if you've had lice in the late winter and want to get them wiped out good. Shaving helps keep them cool and clean.

Another product you can use, along the natural route, is equisect. It is a horse spray made with pyrethrum (the natural product that permethrin is a synthetic copy of). 

Frontline is not tested or approved in goats. I'm not sure if it's even safe for them. Goats, being livestock, are potentially eaten or their milk is consumed so people use only things approved for livestock.


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## Carolinablue (Jun 6, 2014)

We use diatomaceous earth on our goats. We put it on them, on their bedding and in their food. We also use it on our chickens. It's an all natural pesticide and wormer. I even take a couple of teaspoons in a glass of water myself.
If you have a Tractor Supply around, you can get it there. It will help keep the lice in check once you get them taken care of. A good dose of baby oil down their back will do wonders in killing them.


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http://www.redlakeearth.com/red-lake-diatomaceous-earth-us.html
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## Olivia67 (Mar 6, 2008)

My Angoras have terrible lice, or had. I bought the book Natural Goat Care and the author recommends yellow sulfur powder-among other things-like maintaining proper copper levels and my lice problem is much less noticeable. Now, all Angoras get sheared twice a year so I already do that but lice just love Angora goats anyway. I have used Frontline (Walmart generic version) on my goats and it does work. I don't think I would drink the milk while the goat had ongoing treatment. You have to use it on all the goats for 2 full months and I'd always forget to use it the second month and now I have so many goats and I don't think I could afford to do them all anyway. Plus anytime I brought home a goat or goats, I'd have to retreat. So if you have a couple of goats, Generic Frontline does work. I'm still trying out the sulfur powder but so far that seems to be doing the trick and it's a natural method that I'm comfortable with too. 

A trick for getting copper into the goats is to use the marshmallow trick. They don't chew the copper rods and the marshmallow does stick in the rumin and the rods are absorbed slowly.


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