Hair loss along the spine

[maggiea]

Good Afternoon,

I'd like to know if a nutritional deficiency could cause hair loss along the spine of a Dexter, or is this a sign that the animal needs to be dewormed, or that it needs more protein?  Other than bald patches along the spine, this bull looks great.   Thank you!

[otf]

My first thought would be to deworm, my second thought would be lice, but on my own cows that seems to show up along the shoulder, neck, rump very suddenly in late mid-late winter -- and a pour-on dewormer usually covers that quite nicely. Along the spine? I'm not sure. Is the animal in good condition weight-wise, have access to loose minerals, young, old. What feed does the bull receive? Can you call your vet and ask, or take a photo and send it to the vet. I'm curious what you find out about it.

[maggiea]

Thanks so much! We just bought this bull, and even though I stood right in front of him before he was loaded in our livestock trailer, we didn't notice the hair loss until we were on our way home--stopping for coffee we peeked at him and it was obvious. We were so excited to see him that we focused on his face more than on his body before he was loaded. We had a long drive before us, so we were too eager to get him loaded and begin our drive. In talking with the breeder prior to loading, this animal has not been dewormed. He will soon be 2 years old. He looks to be in good condition, but the very highly reputable owner doesn't vaccinate or deworm routinely. We will deworm and we will vaccinate. With us he will have alfalfa pellets/cubes in addition to our pasture native grasses. He will also have hi-mag. He is a very mild mannered bull and comes from excellent stock. Wish I could post a photo on this forum, but I don't see a way to do that. This bull has had more winter than our animals. He comes from a northern state. Previous owner says the bull had access to minerals with selenium, since the soil was deficient in selenium. He is a bit small for his age, we think, but we have confidence that he will continue his growth and be a fine herd sire after we get the hair loss cured. Testing and inspection by the vet was negative, but it's hard to believe that the bull's coat was normal one week earlier. I am sending photos to the seller to see what he would recommend and get his comments. Thanks for any other comments!

[otf]

maggiea, my guess is that he should be dewormed (it's difficult to imagine that he hasn't ever been before). If that is the cause of the hair loss along his spine, you should see positive results within a couple of weeks. It has been my experience that a health certificate prior to travel is usually just a visual inspection by the vet, unless specific testing is required by the destination state (to my knowledge fecal testing for worms) is not required to cross state lines). Like you, I believe in vaccinations for cattle; check with your vet, but this animal will probably require an initial and a booster several weeks later. (Somehow I doubt that the seller, having never vaccinated or dewormed in 2 years, will recommend much of anything; maybe I am wrong.) Will you be keeping him in quarantine for a while before turning him out with your cows?

When I post photos here, I use Photobucket, which used to be a lot more user-friendly than it is these days.....maybe the "help" section would assist you? Would love to see a picture of your new bull!

[maggiea]

Could the shedding of hair down this bull's spine be ordinary shedding of his winter coat, since he is fresh out of a norther part of the country? The question is now, what does a Dexter's coat look like when shedding his winter coat? Thanks!

[otf]

Mine seem to shed from the neck down, then toward the rear and down; they appear a bit blotchy. It seems to take some time, then all of a sudden they appear slick and shiny (though in my opinion it seems that duns don't get as slick as reds or blacks).

[cddexter]

Hi: my first thought was he's starting to shed his winter coat. Animals with excellent hormone balance will often shed along the spine. Lice usually show up on the neck, and the animal spends a lot of time rubbing the itch, so I don't think it's lice. Worms are not likely to cause shedding...at least in my experience.

Once he's fully into his summer coat, look at him grazing, from the front. If he looks like he has a greasy spine (sort of darker and more oily looking along the top of the neck compared to the rest of his coat, it's definitely hormone balance. Hormone balance gives you earlier maturity, better gain, quicker rebreeding (cows), and usually better condition on less feed. If this is the case, then good buy, and lucky you!!

Let us know how you make out. Cheers, c.