# copper bolus?



## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 18, 2020)

I'm getting two doe kids in a trade. I have sheep. I'm pretty confident that my feed will do fine for the goats the same as the sheep but I know I need to give them copper. I grew up with dairy goats so I'm experienced with them but we always fed them for milking and had out mineral. With mainly sheep it'll be much easier to just give the few goats copper. 

Ergo, I know of copper bolus but don't know that I know much..? My assumption was that its copper in a pill form. I'm busy with multiple projects at the moment and not in the brain space to properly research myself so wanted to ask those who have experience with it.

*Are there different kinds?
*How often do you have to give them?
*I've seen a pill gun for sheep/goats before, I'm thinking that'll be a must

Thanks!


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## animalmom (Apr 19, 2020)

Copper bolus is not a pill, like an aspirin is a pill.  Copper bolus is a gelatin capsule that has the copper filaments inside.  You NEED a bolus gun because the goat is not going to want to eat the capsule and you want the capsule to hit the stomach intact to get as much of the copper filaments in the stomach as possible.

In my opinion, it is easier to bolus a goat with two people...even with my wee Nigerians.  I can bolus the girls on the milking stand but not the boys.  It is do-able but the goats will put up a fight... just like you would if someone was trying to ram something half way down your throat.

I get my copper boluses from Santa Cruz Animal Health.  The price is good and they have adult and kid bolus.  Usually once a year if you are in a low copper area is good, check with your Vet because copper deficiency and too much copper can have the same outward appearance.  You can also buy the adult bolus and get gel capsules and split the bolus into two doses.  That might be a better choice to avoid over coppering them.

It sounds like you are going to run the goats and sheep together, yes?  So it would not do to have goat mineral out because of the sheep getting access to it, right?  Would it be possible to separate the two goats from the sheep for a few minutes a day and offer them a goat mineral then.  They would probably go for it when they had the opportunity.  They need access but they don't need to have access 24x7.  Did that make any sense?

Please keep us posted as to what you decide, and how it works for you.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Apr 19, 2020)

Ahh I see. I'll have to see if the local places carry them and see if I can ask the vet.

Yes I'm planning to run the goats with the sheep. I have a bunch of sheep and with just two goats, at least for now, it doesn't make sense to try running them separately. I feed the sheep together and put out some sheep/goat mineral for them but it doesn't have copper so it's safe for the sheep.

I think I understand what you meant. I'll have to see how it works out when the goats get here. I may just end up putting their feed away from the sheep. then I could give them a goat feed or offer them goat mineral while the sheep are eating. But the sheep are nosey so I'll just have to see how it goes. 

The kids are a little younger than my lambs so we shall see how they integrate into the group.


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## Nommie Bringeruvda Noms (Apr 22, 2020)

I don't use a bolus gun. My little Nigoras LOVE bananas, so I cut a banana into chunks about 1 1/2", scooped out a round of the banana chunk, tucked in the bolus, and put the scooped-out 'cap' back on. I only have three, but the hardest thing was making sure my buck didn't steal the doe's chunks out of my hand, before they got them! I do the banana part in the kitchen - that takes the longest, and just carry them up. As soon as the goats see me coming up the hill, they come running, and it's all over in seconds, with them clamoring for more, and me laughing.


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## animalmom (Apr 22, 2020)

I'll have to try that! Thanks.


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## Ridgetop (Apr 22, 2020)

Are these dairy goats or meat goats?   And have they been disbudded?

If they are dairy goats and eventually you will be milking them, you can grain them in the stanchions with a goat grain.  That will be enough copper.  You will need to keep it separated from the sheep grain but if you are milking that won't be a problem.  In the meantime, a copper bolus sounds best for your situation.

If they are meat goats, then you will have to bolus consistently.  Some sheep can take more copper but certainly not as much as goats.  If thee are meat goats you will probably not milk them, and so they will continue eating the sheep ration instead of a special goat ration.  You will need to check and find out what other goat people in the area are feeding, or how often they bolus.  

My friend in Leander is starting his goats on copper.  He didn't realize he had a copper deficiency in his soil. As his goats are all on forage the deficiency resulted in weak kids, slow growing and unthrifty goats, single kids instead of twins, etc.  He put them on a goat ration with copper and he said this year he got all healthy twins.  I suggested selenium as well and he had also added that to their diet.  The soil at his last place was super rich and he never had to give any additional minerals.

As to my question about disbudding - if you have polled sheep, any goats with horns will cause problems.  They do not need to be mean to injure your sheep, and can get caught in wire fences, feeders etc.  They can cause a lot of damage since I have noticed that goat with horns are more prone to butting than those that have been disbudded.  We had dairy goats and Boers and although the show people referred horns on their Boers, I disbudded all mine.  First, because a market goats (what we produced for 4-H kids) cannot have horns in the show ring, and second because I wanted all my does disbudded.  You have to disbud by 1-2 weeks so we did them all.  It is too late to do it after then.


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