Medicated versus non-medicated

[ksj0225]

Let me have um. I won't take it personal... LOL!!!

We have two local goat friends. One with Boers that feeds medicated and one with dairy goats and obviously they feed non-medicated.

We want to feed non-medicated but I would love to hear the pro's and con's.

By medicated I mean the ones that prevent coccidiosis.

We have Boers; one young buck, two girls, and two pregnant girls

 

[Roll farms]

I feed everyone who is under 1 yr old medicated feed.
After that, non-medicated.

 

[()relics]

I feed everyone who is under 1 yr old medicated feed.
After that, non-medicated.

Ditto...with the exception that I also feed my does, medicated feed ,just prior to and for a week or so after they kid. I prefer monensin but also use deconoquinate. Depending on your farm's history with coccidiosis, medicated feed may be all you ever need to control the disease.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

I only medicate my goats when there is an issue.

I do regluar vaccines and health care on them. And I dont use medicated feed. I just dont feel its necessary on a regular basis unless there is a problem.

Some people use it as a preventative...some people use it as needed. I guess its a personal choice.

 

[jodief100]

I feed medicated feed to everyone. I would feed just to little ones and late gestation/early lactation except I don't use enough to warrant buying two different types of feed.

 

[helmstead]

I have dairy goats...and I feed medicated feed. Only if we were to be drinking the goat milk ourselves would THAT DOE being milked for our consumption get a non-medicated feed. These days, ALL of our milk goes right back into the bottle babies.

Medicated feed keeps your soil cocci loads down...which is pretty darned important to me.

 

[Roll farms]

We use a lot of our milk for us (lactose intolerant).
The kids get the rest.

If we didn't, I'd probably consider it for everyone....Our kids don't move to the milk doe (adult) pen until they're close to a year old, so cocci shedding isn't as much of a consideration.

Every farm is set up / does things differently, so you really have to figure out what works best for you.

 

[helmstead]

Exactly.

In GA, the way our set up was (read: convoluted!) we had to walk in every pen to feed, hay and grain...had to walk through some pens to get to others, and due to space issues, had to sometimes turn adult pens into baby pens...etc.

This is where we realized the importance of feeding medicated feeds and keeping loads down - cause we simply walked the 'bugs' from one pen to another every day.

Here, our pens are much more segregated. You don't have to walk into one unless you want to catch a goat. Babies are strictly kept to three specific areas...

But still, for my peace of mind...I stay with medicated feed.

I agree though, to each his own. I will also agree that it's pretty darned important to keep your sucklings to yearling on medicated feed.