a few questions

[glenolam]

It is super easy to give them the shots yourself. I am not crazy about needles, but suck it up every 12 mos for the CD&T. I actually never gave anything a shot before I gave my goats theirs and I did fine.

ksalvagno is right - everything is at TSC and not that expensive ($8 or $9 for a 50ml bottle of CD&T). Just make sure you buy small syringes (6ml or 6cc - cc and ml are the same thing) as the goats never need more than that. I use a 20 guage needle, too - all of that comes in bulk so you just grab a bag of syringes and a bag of needles, the CD&T and you're all set for shots.

If you choose to worm your goats you should also buy IVOMEC, but it is very expensive (around $30-$40 for a 50 ml bottle). The box doesn't say to use it on goats - it only gives instructions for cattle, but all you have to do is suck up 2ml of the liquid with a needle and syringe, take the needle off and give it to the goats orally. They do not like the taste of it, so if you've ever given a cat or dog you do the same thing: close their mouth and rub their throat to get the stuff down.

Here's a link to what I buy for deworming:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...ectin-injection-cattle-dewormer-50-ml-2207551

I did buy Safeguard for goats at first, but after reading up on it I decided that spending more in IVOMEC was probably a betterthing for me to do.

 

[oxdrover14]

so the the stuff i get them is called bar vac cd/t 50 ml boehringer ingelheim cattle vaccine is that correct?

 

[Roll farms]

Any CD/T vaccine will work, but Bar Vac is a very common one....dosage is 2 cc / 2 ml sub q, regardless of age / weight of the animal.
TSC also carries one specifically labeled for goats, smaller amount (I think 10 doses).
I order mine, called essential 3+T, through Jeffers Livestock Supply (but only in winter, I don't want my vaccines getting warm).

 

[cmjust0]

I am not crazy about needles, but suck it up every 12 mos for the CD&T. I actually never gave anything a shot before I gave my goats theirs and I did fine.

Over time, you get over that. Trust me.

The new goat owner looks at 18ga needle and goes "OH MY GOD "

Someone who's owned goats for a while looks at an 18ga needle and goes "Hmm.. I could push thick meds faster with that."

If you choose to worm your goats you should also buy IVOMEC, but it is very expensive (around $30-$40 for a 50 ml bottle). The box doesn't say to use it on goats - it only gives instructions for cattle, but all you have to do is suck up 2ml of the liquid with a needle and syringe, take the needle off and give it to the goats orally. They do not like the taste of it, so if you've ever given a cat or dog you do the same thing: close their mouth and rub their throat to get the stuff down.

The dosage for Ivermectin is based on weight, actually, and lots of folks use different dosages. We use 3ml/100lbs or thereabout. A full adult doe gets 5 or 6ml dosed orally.

As for rubbing their throat...if you shove it far enough back in their mouth, you don't have to rub. They don't like it, but...well, I'm at a point where I don't really care what they like anymore.

 

[glenolam]

Thanks, cmjust0!

I thought I did all the reading I could on that stuff - this is another reason I'm very glad to be on this site and a part of this group.

All of my goats are under 120 lbs and live in an area that is largely wetlands (with rocks to jump all around on). I have never seen them get worms, but only had them for a year, do you think I should up the dosage?

cmjust0 : As for rubbing their throat...if you shove it far enough back in their mouth, you don't have to rub. They don't like it, but...well, I'm at a point where I don't really care what they like anymore.

I'm sooooo not there yet!

 

[oxdrover14]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...pplements/goats-prefer-probioticpower-2200208 so this is what i give them to get the rumen going how much?

 

[Roll farms]

I use the "Probios" paste probiotics on kids / sick adults...it's labeled for cows and or horses but works fine w/ goats.

I also top dress the feed w/ OptiZyme probiotics on the days I deworm the entire herd or vaccinate (anything that might stress them) or if they're on fresh green pasture.

It not only jump starts the rumen, it helps regulate the entire digestion system.

I bet it's literally been years since we've seen a goat w/ diarrhea here. Can't swear it's the probiotics, but it sure ain't hurting them, either.

 

[oxdrover14]

Probios Bovine One Probios 60GM Bovine One from tractor supply will this work if so how much do i give the babys and mama

 

[Roll farms]

It will work fine, the one for horses is a smaller tube...same stuff.

I give adults 3-5 grams, kids 1-2 grams.....but only as / when needed.

There's no use wasting it if they're not stressed or sick...it's a good idea to have it on hand though, b/c you never know when it'll come in handy.

 

[cmjust0]

I'm sooooo not there yet!

"Yet" is the keyword there, hopefully, because it basically becomes a requirement at a certain point..

Like this morning, for instance, as we were yanking a breech baby out by the tail...followed by yanking a 10lb buckling out despite the fact that his shoulder was hung up and his leg was turned backward.

If we break the doeling's tail...oh well, nothing else you can do. She's gotta come out, and that's the only way it's gonna happen.

If we injure the buckling's shoulder...oh well, he was too big to get a hand in to get it pulled forward.

If we pull too hard and rupture something in the doe...oh well, the kids have got to come out or she's dead anyway.

If don't get to a point where you can continue pulling despite the fact that you feel the doeling's tail popping as you pull...or turn around and look at the doe's wild eyes and listen to her SCREAM as the buckling's shoulder comes sliding out practically bone-on-bone with her pelvis...then all there is to do is stand there and watch as everything dies.

But, if you genuinely enjoy keeping goats and are committed to it...you get there. Somehow. And if you're not, you have a couple of really bad experiences, decide they're not worth the trouble/heartache and sell out, then try to forget you ever owned a goat in the first place.

That's just kinda how it is with goats.

All that said...don't think for one second that my heart wasn't racing this morning...it was. And don't think for a second that me saying "oh well" means my heart isn't breaking as these things happen...it is. You just gotta do it, though, regardless of how unpleasant it is. It's all just part of the deal.