Is there anything else we should be doing if we are no longer vaccinating?

Hello,

After a very traumatic season last year with vaccinations, abscesses, and one with a very bad reaction to the vaccine we would like to no longer vaccinate. I know that many people do not vaccinate, but I hope we're making the right decision. We are extremely careful with how our goats are kept in every aspect and all are very healthy, but my question is this: If we no longer vaccinate, does that mean not only the CD&T vaccine but also Selenium/VitE and nothing for the kids as well? Are there any certain recommendations for pregnant does and new kids regarding the "not vaccinating" matter or any alternative product we should have on hand? Does anyone know what the people who are completely natural/homeopathic do for pregnant does and new kids? Thank you!

CDT is the only vaccine that people use regularly. BoSe is a supplement, so it's not in the same category and doesn't cause abscesses and such. However, as a vet professor once told me, you should never supplement with a syringe. If you know you have a problem with deficiency on your farm, you need to figure out how to get the minerals into them orally on a daily basis. We have had free choice selenium-E available for our goats for five years now, and it's been working great. I get it from Caprine Supply. It comes in a 12-pound bucket and looks like sawdust. I put it out in its own dish just like the Sweetlix Meat Maker mineral. I don't see it going down nearly as fast as the mixed minerals, which makes sense, unless the mixed minerals run out. Then the selenium disappears more quickly.

As for CDT -- it's for clostridium type C and D and clostridium tetani. C&D cause enterotoxemia, and tetani causes tetanus. It seems that you either have tetani on your farm or you don't. It seems some people have a problem with it. The other possibility is that some animals may be immune to it naturally. I've heard some say that if you've ever had horses on your property, you're more likely to have a problem with tetanus, but our farm used to be a horse farm, and we quit vaccinating about 10 years ago and never had a case of tetanus. I will also add that our goats have almost never had any type of injury that caused bleeding. Hoof trimming is about the only thing that comes to mind, and we haven't accidentally made one bleed in a few years now.

MANY people incorrectly assume that the CD part of the vaccine prevents bloat. It does NOT! Bloat is merely a symptom, which occurs in the stomach. Enterotoxemia happens in the small intestine. It basically starts to eat up the small intestine, and the goat winds up with bloody diarrhea and dies rather quickly. The goat may or may not have bloat when it has enterotoxemia. The CD part of the vaccine is actually not very reliable, which is why you will see recommendations to revaccinate the whole whole herd if one animals gets it. Like many other goat maladies, it happens when the goat's rumen is upset. Regardless of whether you vaccinate, you should always be very mindful of what you are feeding your goats because you can wind up with a lot of different problems, many of which can kill a goat, if you feed them something that messes up the normal pH of their rumen -- bloat, acidosis, goat polio, enterotoxemia, and even just diarrhea.

I'm not much into finding natural cures for everything. Instead, my focus has been on proper nutrition and good management so that my goats don't get sick. Genetics may also play a role, and it's one reason I finally gave up and sold all my la manchas. I'm not saying that all goats in that breed are difficult to keep healthy, but the line I had seemed impossible to manage without regular inputs of dewormers and coccidiostats. I even had two la manchas get bloat and two others get meningeal worm, and none of my NDs have ever had either of those problems, and I have had about 10 times as many NDs.

For baby bucks, we use the Burdizzo to castrate rather than banding, as tetanus is a potential problem with banding because it creates an anaerobic environment in which tetani thrive. The Burdizzo does not break the skin, so can't cause tetanus. Some people worry about tetanus with disbudding, but we're up to 450 kids and it's never been a problem.

Replies

Donna Peck January 25, 2016 at 7:34pm

Wow! Thank you so much for the information and helpful tips! It's much appreciated.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle January 24, 2016 at 11:17am

CDT is the only vaccine that people use regularly. BoSe is a supplement, so it's not in the same category and doesn't cause abscesses and such. However, as a vet professor once told me, you should never supplement with a syringe. If you know you have a problem with deficiency on your farm, you need to figure out how to get the minerals into them orally on a daily basis. We have had free choice selenium-E available for our goats for five years now, and it's been working great. I get it from Caprine Supply. It comes in a 12-pound bucket and looks like sawdust. I put it out in its own dish just like the Sweetlix Meat Maker mineral. I don't see it going down nearly as fast as the mixed minerals, which makes sense, unless the mixed minerals run out. Then the selenium disappears more quickly.

As for CDT -- it's for clostridium type C and D and clostridium tetani. C&D cause enterotoxemia, and tetani causes tetanus. It seems that you either have tetani on your farm or you don't. It seems some people have a problem with it. The other possibility is that some animals may be immune to it naturally. I've heard some say that if you've ever had horses on your property, you're more likely to have a problem with tetanus, but our farm used to be a horse farm, and we quit vaccinating about 10 years ago and never had a case of tetanus. I will also add that our goats have almost never had any type of injury that caused bleeding. Hoof trimming is about the only thing that comes to mind, and we haven't accidentally made one bleed in a few years now.

MANY people incorrectly assume that the CD part of the vaccine prevents bloat. It does NOT! Bloat is merely a symptom, which occurs in the stomach. Enterotoxemia happens in the small intestine. It basically starts to eat up the small intestine, and the goat winds up with bloody diarrhea and dies rather quickly. The goat may or may not have bloat when it has enterotoxemia. The CD part of the vaccine is actually not very reliable, which is why you will see recommendations to revaccinate the whole whole herd if one animals gets it. Like many other goat maladies, it happens when the goat's rumen is upset. Regardless of whether you vaccinate, you should always be very mindful of what you are feeding your goats because you can wind up with a lot of different problems, many of which can kill a goat, if you feed them something that messes up the normal pH of their rumen -- bloat, acidosis, goat polio, enterotoxemia, and even just diarrhea.

I'm not much into finding natural cures for everything. Instead, my focus has been on proper nutrition and good management so that my goats don't get sick. Genetics may also play a role, and it's one reason I finally gave up and sold all my la manchas. I'm not saying that all goats in that breed are difficult to keep healthy, but the line I had seemed impossible to manage without regular inputs of dewormers and coccidiostats. I even had two la manchas get bloat and two others get meningeal worm, and none of my NDs have ever had either of those problems, and I have had about 10 times as many NDs.

For baby bucks, we use the Burdizzo to castrate rather than banding, as tetanus is a potential problem with banding because it creates an anaerobic environment in which tetani thrive. The Burdizzo does not break the skin, so can't cause tetanus. Some people worry about tetanus with disbudding, but we're up to 450 kids and it's never been a problem.
Donna Peck January 23, 2016 at 7:22pm

oops! I put this in introductions-darn! Sorry!

This reply was deleted.