Copper Bolus Dosing Question??

[ksalvagno]

You buy empty capsules to put the rods in. For the Nigerians I buy 00 capsules. But you could probably buy a bigger size for the full size goats. It is a little bit of a pain but not that bad. I have to admit that I just used my finger and shoved it down their throats. I'm going to try and see if they like marshmellows and then put the capsule in a marshmellow.

 

[helmstead]

I don't fuss with capsules.

I do 1 cc per 60 lbs...cut off the tip of a luer slip syringe, pull the plunger down to where I need it for that goat, pour in the rods right out of the capsule, cap the open end of the syringe with probios paste...and shoot it into the back of their mouths.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

I don't fuss with capsules.

I do 1 cc per 60 lbs...cut off the tip of a luer slip syringe, pull the plunger down to where I need it for that goat, pour in the rods right out of the capsule, cap the open end of the syringe with probios paste...and shoot it into the back of their mouths.

That sound easiest!! And if you miss a few..they just become ineffective correct???

I think "down the throat goat" method should work for my guys!! Also you wont have a dry capsule to concern yourself with!!

Great idea!! Thanks!!

 

[Mo's palominos]

I am very new to goats and was just wondering at what age do you bolus them for the first time ? Can you bolus them while they are preggers? When is the best time of year to bolus? Or does it really matter? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to mess it up.

 

[ksalvagno]

Helmstead - don't you have to worry about the rods getting into the right chamber of the stomach? On another thread it was really stressed that the rods had to attach onto a certain part of the stomach.

 

[helmstead]

Horsepucky! Myths: A) you can't let them chew the rods or it changes some critical part of the rod - horsepunky! The rods aren't manufactured to some specific size, if you look, they're all different sizes. Chewing affects little. B) well, I've never even heard that one about a specific stomach. Ever noticed how quickly a capsule dissolves? The rods are expected to disperse throughout all 4 chambers, as well as it is also expected a great many get pooped out. They will do their job no matter what chamber they get caught in. The copper is absorbed directly through the lining as it degrades...not through any special digestive process. Most rods will, by default, settle into the rumen and reticulum.

 

[ksalvagno]

Good! I thought giving the copper bolus was such a big deal and worrying about if it went into the stomach before the capsule dissolved. Putting it in the syringe would make life so much easier.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

How often do y'all give the copper bolus?

 

[cmjust0]

Horsepucky! Myths: A) you can't let them chew the rods or it changes some critical part of the rod - horsepunky! The rods aren't manufactured to some specific size, if you look, they're all different sizes. Chewing affects little.

Disagree.

They're manufactured to have a "specific gravity" that causes them to lodge in the folds of the abomasum, and they're very brittle.. Chewing changes the specific gravity and allows more of the dose to pass through the animal without being utilized.

B) well, I've never even heard that one about a specific stomach. Ever noticed how quickly a capsule dissolves? The rods are expected to disperse throughout all 4 chambers, as well as it is also expected a great many get pooped out. They will do their job no matter what chamber they get caught in. The copper is absorbed directly through the lining as it degrades...not through any special digestive process. Most rods will, by default, settle into the rumen and reticulum.

Yes, the capsule will almost certainly dissolve in the rumen, but the rods are designed the way they're designed so that they'll keep travelling through the GI until they reach the abomasum, where they'll become trapped in the folds and dissolve slowly.

If you can dose copper oxide wire particles without the animal chewing them up, that's fine...it's the same as a bolus that way. But if there's any chewing, they're making copper oxide wire POWDER and it's just gonna go right through the animal.

 

[helmstead]

Sorry CM...HORSEPUNKY. Specific gravity isn't related to size...or they'd be uniform in size. And, really, if it goes from mouth to rumen with or without a capsule cannot possibly make enough difference to matter.

Anyway, for 2 years+ now...it's worked for me.

As far as how often...in GA I needed to bolus them every 6 mos. Here, in Indiana, it's looking like I can go more like 8-10 mos.