How to properly and safely administer a drench to a goat...?

ksalvagno

Alpaca Master
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
7,899
Reaction score
47
Points
263
Location
North Central Ohio
So far my goats have not brought anything back up and spit it out, the alpacas on the otherhand.....

I don't think it was a matter of going in the rumen or not, I think it was a matter of going down the esophagus or going down the windpipe to the lungs.
 

patandchickens

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
781
Reaction score
7
Points
89
I don't know about goats but what I am learning the hard way about drenching sheep is that

a) it is amazing how much they can squinch their lips shut so you can't easily get the tip of the drench gun *into* the corner of their mouth, and

b) do not stand with your head *above* the sheep's head (e.g. b/c you are straddling it) as this is a good way to get clonked real hard in the jaw when little miss sheepie goes rapidly upwards :p

Pat
 

cmjust0

True BYH Addict
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
3,279
Reaction score
9
Points
221
Head level.. I've seen people tip goats' heads back to drench, but since the goal is to make them SWALLOW...it defeats the purpose.

To illustrate, tip your own head back as far as you can get it...now swallow.

Hurts, doesn't it?!!?? :gig

Ok, so with the head level, stick the nozzle of the drench syringe in the corner of their mouth up to the bend (with the end of the nozzle pointing toward their throat, obviously).. That basically puts the end of the nozzle right on the back of their tonge. Push somewhat slowly.. When you start pushing and they feel/taste/sense the liquid, they really have no choice but to swallow. It's more or less an involuntary reaction at that point.

Here's a little tip: OIL.

Make sure you OIL THE O-RING on the drench syringe before you drench. Rubber doesn't slide well on dry plastic, and some of the meds we give are a bit....astringent, shall we say?...by which I mean that they don't exactly provide any lubrication to the o-ring.

What you want, of course, is a smooth push of the plunger; what you end up with is a herky-jerky drench where you have to push kinda hard on the plunger until it squirts a few MLs out -- sometimes at a fairly high velocity -- and the process is repeated over and over again until the med's all gone.

Lubricating the o-ring with a little oil goes a long way toward a smooth drench. I just grab the corn oil or veggie oil out of the cupboard...nothing special. Just takes a drop or two on the tip of your finger to go around the o-ring, and then you push it down the barrel and pull it back up a few times to give the walls of the barrel a light coat.

That one teeny extra step makes all the difference in the world. :)
 
Top