Quarantine Questions

Hi all

I'm bringing home 4 bucklings tomorrow - 3 of whom were imported from the US about 3 weeks ago to another farm in Canada.  The 4th was one I'd sold who is now returning with these 3 due to owner's health. 

Any suggestions on how to quarantine from the rest of my herd?  How long? Any special treatment? 

Thanks.

BF

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  • This blog post has some suggestions:

    http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2012/04/quarantining-new...

  • Hello all! I have read all the information you provide on quarantining your new farm arrivals, I have just another question.

    We currently have 2 wethers and 2 does sharing pasture and housing, we will be adding to our herd this summer, a buckling at about 8 weeks and then a doe a couple months later and she'll be 8-10 weeks when we bring her home. We do not have a barn, we have a pasture area fenced in with their shelter. The wethers will be joining the buck in a separate pasture area but I am reading that I should quarantine the little ones when they arrive. I am worried about the buck being lonely when he arrives, he's just a little one- any suggestions on how to quarantine the little ones? I never put them right in together, there is always an introduction period but to leave them out there alone for 4 weeks makes me feel very bad for them. 

    Thanks for any input.

  • Hey Deborah

    Your advice is always invaluable.  And the article in particular was useful.  The kids are in where the buck used to be.  He was on a regular worming regimen so I hope they won't pick up any more.  I also understand that the kids were treated for coccidia (as a precaution the previous owner told me) when they first arrived to her place.  My vet told me what I'm doing should be ok and recommended against any vaccinations or worming for a couple of weeks while they acclimatize to their new home.  Hope that makes sense.....

  • Your question inspired a whole blog post! So, for more thoughts on quarantine . . .

    http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2012/04/quarantining-new...

  • I wouldn't want them sharing a fence with other goats. The only drawback to pasture is that it is hard to "clean" if you have a problem. If they wind up having a bad case of worms, it could take a couple months for the pasture to be fairly safe, but they say that a pasture is not considered "clean" if there have been animals on it within the past year. That also means that your current buck has left his parasite eggs on the pasture, which could increase the load for the new kids, and you don't want to do that either. I view quarantine as a way to protect both the new and old goats. Coming into a new place, the new kids don't need any more stress. If you have some type of temporary fencing (cattle panels, ElectroNet, etc), could you set up a little paddock for them somewhere where you don't normally have goats, like a side yard or something? The point of quarantine is to make sure they've adjusted to their new home and are healthy before putting them in with everyone else. If they have worms or lice or whatever, you want to get that treated and be sure that they're over it before letting them join the rest of the herd.

  • No, wait for Deborah to answer that! Get her specifics because I am not sure what is really best. I do know that is to close, one place I read said fifty feet minimum distance. The last thing you want to do is expose babies. I don't think she meant they HAD to stay inside. If you don't already have a pen that meets the need you might consider just using a few stock panels to put them up a pen. You could use 4 with a temp. shelter or even 3 beside a building as the fourth side maybe. But you do not want them adjacent to or sharing a fence line with anything. I would not even want a shared solid surface, like plywood wall etc. 

  • Hi Deborah

    That's hugely helpful.  Though leads to a couple of other questions.  Are you saying they need to stay inside?  I was going to put them in the buck pen I'm currently using because it has access to an outside run.  And I was going to move the buck and wether to another place for the 4 weeks.  This pen (where the bucklings would be)  is adjacent to a new mom and her babies.  And the run shares a fence with some of my does.  Do you think that's too close?

    And if worms are the issue, do you suggest worming before putting them altogether after the quarantine?

    Thanks

    D.

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    Four weeks is usually a good amount of time to figure out if they're in good shape. It takes three weeks for coccidia to go through its cycle, so you'd catch that. It would also be easier to deal with worms, if they wind up with an overload from the stress of moving, especially since they've been on another farm for awhile. This situation reminds me a little of the fourth buck I ever bought. He spent a couple weeks at another farm before coming here, and I didn't quarantine him when he arrived. I just put him in with my other bucks. Not only did I have a dead buckling in two or three weeks, I also had a pasture covered with dewormer resistant worms that he had brought from the intermediary farm. It was the first goat that ever died here, and it led to the death of two other bucks. It was another one of those lessons learned the hard way.

    If they're bucklings, there is no point in doing CAE testing because it's not accurate until they've been weaned for at least six months.

    I'd suggest keeping them in a stall in the barn. It's a pain to have to feed hay this time of year, but if they do need to be dewormed, at least they're dumping their massive egg load into straw that will be composted.

  • Four weeks is usually a good amount of time to figure out if they're in good shape. It takes three weeks for coccidia to go through its cycle, so you'd catch that. It would also be easier to deal with worms, if they wind up with an overload from the stress of moving, especially since they've been on another farm for awhile. This situation reminds me a little of the fourth buck I ever bought. He spent a couple weeks at another farm before coming here, and I didn't quarantine him when he arrived. I just put him in with my other bucks. Not only did I have a dead buckling in two or three weeks, I also had a pasture covered with dewormer resistant worms that he had brought from the intermediary farm. It was the first goat that ever died here, and it led to the death of two other bucks. It was another one of those lessons learned the hard way.

    If they're bucklings, there is no point in doing CAE testing because it's not accurate until they've been weaned for at least six months.

    I'd suggest keeping them in a stall in the barn. It's a pain to have to feed hay this time of year, but if they do need to be dewormed, at least they're dumping their massive egg load into straw that will be composted.

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