|
Managing Goats in Tick Prevalent Areas |
|
Are you in a tick area?
In areas where ticks are prevalent, it will be beneficial to ensure goats have access to sulphur either as a component of a lick or as an addition to a daily feed ration.
Aside from knowing your farming area, ticks are more prevalent in the coastal areas. Often the first signs of tick paralysis will be a goat that has become weak in the back legs and finally will be unable to get up. Death often quickly follows.
Maintenance treatment is easy so don’t wait until you have a goat ‘down’.
The role of Lick Blocks:
Sulphur is secreted through the skin and when goats have regular and adequate supplies, it will assist in repelling ticks and other parasites including lice. However it is only the tick that kills – the lice and other parasites will retard growth and this can certainly be detrimental to your herd.
How much to give is easy if you use lick blocks containing sulphur – check the labels as not all blocks contain sulphur. Goats are smart animals and will not use a lick block if their body does not require the minerals.
Sulphur can be just as effective when given orally in feed. A handful or cup in a bucket of dry feed is a good ratio to begin as you will already be aware of how many ‘buckets’ you need.
Goats that are sulphur deficient are more prone to lice and other external parasites. The deficiency also impedes the ability to digest its feed properly because the goat lacks the necessary amino acids. As a result they will not progress as they should and the expected growth will not be evident. In a mature goat, a lackluster skin and poor condition is often the result of a sulphur deficiency. Another often ignored effect of sulphur deficiency is re-occurring skin troubles as Keratin is the component of the skin and sulphur is a pre-requisite for Keratin formation.
The good news is that sulphur can be administered to the animals at any stage of development and the results should be quickly evident. For a lice infestation on your goats it would be necessary to administer a heaped teaspoon every day until the lice go. A teaspoon of sulphur daily is all that is needed for maintenance.
If you use apple cider vinegar in feed or in the goat’s drinking water, try using the apple cider vinegar with garlic already added - garlic has a high concentration of sulphur and will work the same way.
With large herds this is neither practical or possible, so using the lick is the best option.
|
