# Goats wool picking....



## desertshi (Jul 23, 2008)

I run my sheep and my goats together. I only have one ewe with wool, but is a self shedder (barbados cross.) The last week or so the goats have been eating munching on her wool. Mostly just one of the goats though, who is the dominant one. The first time I saw it happen I thought that the doe was just irritated at the ewe, trying to push her out of the way to come and see me. This doe is an ear biter, when she doesn't like what another animal is doing, she bites their ear to get them out of the way. So I thought it was something like that. 

Well, as time has progressed, I noticed that the ewe was getting barer and barer very quickly, and although the days are nice and hot right now, it wasn't "shedding" like it normally does. So yesterday and today I sat out to watch them for a while and the doe will go out of her way over to the ewe to take a couple of bites of her wool!! I have seen two others do it if the ewe is already next to them, but this other one LOOKS for her to take a bite!! LOL. Could this be some kind of deficiency or is it a dominance act as well??


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## Goat-Link (Mar 4, 2009)

This is a mineral deficiency- most typically copper from what I remember.
Was on my way out the door to do chores when I saw this but really quick.. here is an excerpt from an article on this subject:


> Wool eating or wool plucking as a type of allotriophagia occurs in sheep, especially in lambs. It is considered that a deficiency of minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium chloride, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, as well as vitamin or a protein deficiency might be the cause of the disease1-6.
> 
> Clinical signs and abnormalites present in lambs with wool eating disease include growth retardation, diarrhea, poor appetite, salivation, abnormal hooves, swollen joints and stiff gait, hair loss, parakeratosis, and compromised disease resistance7-9. The clinical signs varied with the age of the animals; the younger sheep and lambs are mostly affected, while adults are relatively less affected.10
> 
> ...





> Lambs Eating Each Other&#8217;s Wool and on Treatment
> *
> This study was carried out to determine the changes in haematological and biochemical
> parameters between pre and post treatment, as well as the effectiveness treatment in wool eating
> ...


Hope this helps shed light on this for you.

Additionally from ISRAEL JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE 

Bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxic agents, metabolic disorders, and nutritional insufficiencies are important factors in the aetiology of alopecia in sheep. Among them, deficiencies of micro- and macro-elements are the most important. The animals obtain these elements either as mineral salts or as organic compounds. The need of mineral and trace elements (Cu, Co, Mn) in animals change with age, production levels, condition, climate and the levels of these elements in soil. The Alkali imbalances (Na and K), amino acid and vitamin deficiencies in the body induce allotrophagia or eating inanimate items by the animal. These insufficiencies cause lesions throughout the body and specific skin diseases such as alopecia (1-6).

Nelson et al. (4) reported that obvious parakeratosis and hyperkeratosis in animal skin, alopecia and severe wool eating habit were present in two sheep flocks and one goat flock with zinc deficiency. These workers found that sheep, fed on a diet poor in zinc, began to lose wool and the wool was broken easily, starting from seventeenth day of the experiment. They pointed out that erythrocytes, total leukocyte, haematocrit and haemoglobin values were normal but total protein and haemoglobin values were decreased. In the same study, it was estimated that serum zinc values in two sheep were 0.73 Âµg/ml and 0.64 Âµg/ml, serum copper values were 1.13 Âµg/ml, 1.27 Âµg/ml. In yearling lambs which were in the second experimental group, it was estimated that serum zinc levels was 0.4 Âµg/ml in the first and 0.32 Âµg/ml in the second lamb. Serum magnesium values in yearling lambs were 2.4 mg/dl and 2.34 mg/dl. Furthermore, serum iron levels were 35 mg/dl, 34 mg/dl, and copper levels were 0.84 Âµg/ml, 1.0 Âµg/ml in the experimental animals.

In a similar study, AltÂ¦ntas et al. (7) found that mean serum zinc values were 11.84Â±1.84 Âµmol/L, calcium values 2.04Â±0.24 Âµmol/L, magnesium values 1.00Â±0.06 Âµmol/L, potassium values 3.14Â±0.29 Âµmol/L, sodium values 136.65Â±7.14 Âµmol/L in pregnant sheep with alopecia. The researchers stated that these values were similar to those obtained from healthy sheep suggesting that alopecia could be related to parakeratotic lesions in the skin and physiological changes in the pregnancy period. In contrast Ott et al. (8) reported that acute alopecia and a marked reduction in serum albumin levels were seen in the sheep with zinc deficiency.

It has been reported that when copper levels are less than 0.5 mg/l in lambs, they show copper deficiency symptoms (9). Fahmy et al. (10) determined that serum copper, zinc, manganese and iron levels significantly decreased in sheep which had alopecia and wool eating habit. In another study, Ozan (11) found that mean blood zinc levels were 14.4Â±0.15 Âµg/ml, copper level 63.5Â±1.17 Âµg/ml. Some workers have also reported that zinc deficiency induced experimentally or naturally, causes alopecia and wool eating (5,12,13).

White et al. (13) reported death following a week of watery saliva flow in natural or experimental zinc deficiency in sheep.

Abdell et al. (14) investigated the causes of allotrophagia in goats and found hypoproteinemia and hypoglycemia, while trace element levels were normal.

Suliman et al. (15) found alopecia around the eyes and on the feet, thickness of skin and slowness in growth in lambs fed with zinc-deficient food with low serum zinc levels. In contrast, Morgan et al. (3) suggested that although blood plasma zinc and copper values in sheep with alopecia were normal, the copper values were lower than those of healthy sheep. Baysu et al. (2) examined inorganic phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium and chloride in blood serum of lambs with pica in Sivrihisar and found that inorganic phosphorus values in the diseased lambs were low.

This study was carried out to determine the relationship between alopecia and wool eating in sheep fed with corn silage and report haematological biochemical and trace elements levels.


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