What should be in my goat medicine cabinet?

[savingdogs]

So my numbers of goats are increasing and I live away up on a mountain, far from town. Sometimes we get snowed in.....

What should be in my goat medicine cabinet? I have read so many comments from all of you regarding giving this or that and wonder what would constitute a full cabinet of "goat stuff" you all feel you should have to be fully prepared.

I have dairy goats and will be having kids in the early spring. I will be milking although this is their first freshening so we are not expecting much.

Also what wormers and supplements do you all feel are essential to have on hand....I realize this will be different regionally, so there will not be any right or wrong answers here, I just want to know what you feel is important to keep supplies of and why.
Thank you in advance for all of your thoughts on this matter.

 

[Shootingstars]

So my numbers of goats are increasing and I live away up on a mountain, far from town. Sometimes we get snowed in.....

What should be in my goat medicine cabinet? I have read so many comments from all of you regarding giving this or that and wonder what would constitute a full cabinet of "goat stuff" you all feel you should have to be fully prepared.

I have dairy goats and will be having kids in the early spring. I will be milking although this is their first freshening so we are not expecting much.

Also what wormers and supplements do you all feel are essential to have on hand....I realize this will be different regionally, so there will not be any right or wrong answers here, I just want to know what you feel is important to keep supplies of and why.
Thank you in advance for all of your thoughts on this matter.

Thanks for starting this topic as I am new to goats and it will be wonderful to see the answers.

 

[babsbag]

I live close to a vet and it seems that I always need them when they are closed. I too raise dairy goats and my list of things to have on hand is growing.

So far I have Banamine, Epinephrine (sp), PenG, Duramycin, and mastitis med. I also have some BoSe, but that isn't really an emergency drug.

I made a last minute trip to TSC for the mastitis treatment. Don't want to do that again.

I will tell you though that the scariest time I have had with my goats was the day after kidding when my doe got hypocalcemia, of course on Mother's Day. Thank goodness my vet is my friend and I had her home number and she answered my plea for help.

She started her on an IV of calcium glutonate and saved her life. But I don't have any of that on hand because if you give them too much you can kill them. My vet monitored my doe's heart rate the whole time she was on the IV. But I will tell you that I will be ready this time and I will have my vet on standby in case we go down this road again. But then again there is the attitude that you might as well do the calcium because if you don't they will die anyways. I will say that it caught me by surprise and I was terrified, I was sure I was going to lose her and she is my herd matriarch and my favorite, of course.

Kidding brings more supplies to be ready. I don't have all I need, and I pray I never have to go in and turn a kid. But the minimum you should have is gloves, and iodine for dipping the umbilical cord. There are many sites that will give you a good list to be re ady for kidding season.

I have been meaning to ask my friend for a list for my own use so I will do that and share what she says. She donates a goat first aid kit every year to our clubs raffle at our show so I know she has a list.

This is a great question

 

[ksalvagno]

There is actually a thread on here already. I think it is titled goat medicine cabinet but not positive.

 

[glenolam]

Medicine Cabinet

This thread has TONS of information on what people have in their goat medicine cabinet.

Of course, not everyone needs everything on these lists....you take the list and apply it to yourself - what makes sense and what doesn't?

As for wormers, you can search for "worming" or "wormers" in the Diseases-Goats or Birthing, Raising and Weaning young goats and get a bunch of info too.

Good luck!!

 

[glenolam]

Goat Starter List

These should really be stickys!

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

I agree on the sticky's glenolam, I keep going back to them.

 

[KinderKorner]

Well everyone pretty much covered it, but I will make a list of everything I have used. I didn't have anything on hand, so I had to go get it everytime, but now I've built up quite a bit, and have an entire drawer in my fridge of medicine. lol

CDT Vaccine

CD Anti-Toxin/entrotoxin

Banamine (helps pain and fever. Works well. But only use if have too. It stings very very badly.Our doe screamed and bit at herself like she was dying.)

Ibprophen (pain and fever)

BoSe Shot (if your area is defient in selinium)

Lots of 16 and 18 gauge needles

Syringes

Hoof Trimmers

Nuflor/Tertradure (some kind of resipitory medicine)

Gatoraid (for hydrating)

Vitamin B Complex (good for helping digesting, and adding pep when ill)

Pen One/G (general medicine)

Blood Stop (you need it)

Disbudding Iron

Iodine

Gloves

Ivermectin (wormer)

Pepto Bismal (same use as humans)

Themometer

Probios or Yogurt

Stomach Tube (for feeding medicines, releasing bloat, feeing weak kids)

Udder Balm

Di-Methox (for coccia)

Red Cell (it replaces iron if they loose a lot of blood)

I know I am missing many things. I've used so many medicines I've forgotten quite a few. But these are the 'must haves' or the ones I have used commonly.

 

[savingdogs]

OMG, that is a lot of stuff! I can see it will take me awhile to acquire even half of this........

I see I should have done a search first for medicine cabinet, did not realize the wheel had already been invented I guess.


Thanks for this wealth of information!

 

[babsbag]

That is an impressive list and I have been collecting as I go. Just make sure that you check expiration dates and rather or not they need to be in the 'fridge. It is sad to buy the expensive meds and then forget and leave them out where it is warm.

My vet puts together a goat first aid kit as a raffle item every year and every year I spend most of my alloted money on tickets for that and the ton of hay that is donated. So far no go, maybe this year.