We are newbies to owning NDG's. We brought our first two goats home on 6/24. I'm going to try to give as much info as possible to hopefully help you give me some good advice.
On 5/19 we moved to a 14 acre farm from the "big city". The farm already had a nice barn that was currently being used by a high school neighbor girl to raise pigs for the fair. The stench was horrible. We knew that could be a problem but didn't want to kick her out before fair. We did let them know that the pigs would have to go after that .
On 7/11 we took them to an animal clinic that handles both large and small animals. Brown Sugar had been coughing since 7/7 and Halle Berry had had a weepy eye a little longer. We took fecal samples in and had some tests done. Here are the results:
Halle Berry: 4 years old on 3/18 approx 54#
Coccidia 700 cyst/g
Trichostrongyle 165 ova/g
Brown Sugar: 1 year old on 6/27 approx 32#
Coccidia 845 cyst/g
Trichostronlyle 4940 ova/g
It was determined that they both had come down with these problems because of the high amonia levels in the barn (we keep all the windows open and open both doors as soon as I get up in the morning 6:00 ish). BS was given an antibiotic injection(LA 200?) at the vets. Halle was given an eye ointment to be administered for five days.
When the test results came back they were each given an injection of Ivomec. We were instructed to give them Corid in a drench for five days. Now they have it in their water for 21 days. We are on day four.
Our barn has cement floors and we are doing deep litter for their stall. They have access to a pasture outside each day. I open the door for that once the grass is dry.
Halle Berry is most likely pregnant. She should be due Aug 4th. This is her fourth freshening and she has only ever had one kid. Previous owner says she hides it well and you really don't know until the last week that she is pregnant. I've been feeling her udder and it does feel more full than when we got her.
Halle's eye is weeping again so I called the vet to see if we could do more ointment. He said yes and that maybe she would need an antibiotic shot. I also asked if we should clean out the stall before kidding because of their wormy poop. (Deborah's book says we should have a clean stall) He agreed but then started talking about giving the kid medicated food and water and keeping it away from Halle since I plan on milking her to keep her udder in high production (with one kid).
My question is why plan that when we don't know what the kid's health will be like? Maybe it will be fine. I'm not a big fan of medication unless it is necessary with my family and I'm not comfortable with it for my animals as well.
I have purchased an herbal de-worming formula from Fir Meadows called DWormA and I plan on giving it to everyone including the kid.
I also plan on doing a copper bolus for both Halle and BS once Halle kids.
So what does your experience tell you we should do when the kid is born?
Oh, and the girl is cleaning out the two pig stalls daily now and the stench is much more tollerable.
Replies
I have goats in a fairly small area, sweep up the poop every day and change the bedding, sometimes only picking up the areas with poop and pee. I have never had a problem with cocci and usually have 4 goats in the space.
I swear by oak leaves - if you have access give them all they want - which they want it all. lol - there was a study done some time ago in Korea, goats were fed condensed tannin-containing plants, after being fed pine needles and oak leaves - after 2 days the cocci count declined by 40-44% - impressive - my goats have never tested positive for worms either. tannins are considered toxic so - dont overdo it - all this info is in Cheryl Smith's book, Goat Health Care under Coccidiosis.
I dumped the water with the Corid in it and filled it up with pure fresh water.
Their coats are nice and soft and shiny. Brown Sugar was thin when we got her and she has filled out a little. They seem happy. Halle's eye doesn't have any blue cloudiness.
There is a vet a little more than twice the distance of the first vet we saw and some of the vets there have their own goats so I think if we need to that is probably the place to go.
Thank you so much for your help.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I only use deep litter in the winter because it keeps the goats warmer. In the summer, the ammonia level can be a problem. I don't really see a benefit to using deep litter in the summer. Ideally, we clean out the stalls weekly.
Someone else just posted about a goat that got a blade of grass stuck in her eye. If you look at his picture, you will see what I mean about blue and cloudy. If a goat has an eye infection, the entire eyeball will have that blue cloudy appearance.
Halle Berry (pregnant) didn't get the injection. That was Brown Sugar and yes, she screamed a lot with that shot.
Halle's eye is not cloudy and is naturally blue. Yes we live on a gravel road.
I do plan on milking Halle along with the kid(s) nursing (depending on how many she has will depend on when I start per your book). I will keep the kids on as long as I can since you say it makes for healthier goats (at this point I really just want healthy goats).
How would we know if the Corid worked? Another fecal sample? I certainly will stop that in the water if they don't need it.
What do you think about the deep litter approach for the stall? Eventually we will have a few small pastures to let them rotate through but right now they are in just one. They have a door from their stall out to the pasture.
It is also a terrible idea to use a drug at a low dose to prevent coccidiosis when it is one of the few drugs used to treat coccidiosis. It would be like us taking a low dose of penicillin every day for 21 days -- if we get sick, then penicillin won't work because the bugs in our body are immune to it because they have been exposed to it daily over time. If you really feel that you need to provide a low dose drug to prevent coccidiosis, then it is a better choice to use one of the medicated feeds.
I am not clear on your plan for milking and raising the kid(s). You will get the most production if you milk AND let the kid nurse. Demand creates supply. Also, I would not assume that she will have a single simple because that is what she has had in the past. Most goats mix it up a little just to keep life interesting for us. :)
As for feeding the kid a medicated feed, I have found that if I keep the barn clean, the kids never have any problems with coccidia as long as they are nursing. The mother's milk provides antibodies that keep the kids healthy while their immune systems are maturing.
When you say the goat's eye is weeping, I would like to know more about that. I have seen some people get worried about nothing when it comes to eyes. An eye infection normally means the eye turns cloudy and blue. A little drainage now and then could be caused by dust in the hay or if you live on a gravel road.
Also, injectable ivomec is a bad idea for goats. It is so painful for them that many goat owners think their goat is having a seizure. Also, it stays in their system for so long that if they were milking, you would have to discard the milk for two months! This is according to the FARAD website, which is run by several universities based upon the latest research, and unfortunately, a lot of vets do not know this. Injectable ivomec should NEVER be used in dairy goats or cows. If your goat really does kid in August, you should not use her milk anyway. Had they given the drug orally, the milk withdrawal would have only been about three weeks.