Can lice kill a very small baby pygmy goat?
I’m not trying to beat you up on your husbandry practices, but no newborn goat kid should suffer from that kind of parasite infestation if basic cleaning and grooming is practiced. A lice infestation in your barn indicates that the problem has been building throughout the winter months. While lice is common in livestock during winter confinement, the use of livestock dust and/or application of DE, as well as regular removal of bedding is usually sufficient to control lice or mite issues. If you keep poultry, this is even more crucial to control, as most varieties of external parasites will breed and travel on multiple species, and birds can really contribute to the problem. While a long-term infestation may weaken a kid through anemia, I’ve never heard of lice killing a newborn kid. Coccidia bacteria, CAE symtomatic animals, selenium deficiency or severe internal parasite infestation can kill, though. Was the mother doe given her CDT vaccination prior to kidding? Was she dewormed regul
