Sulfur water, copper, etc

Hey guys...my doe who just gave birth four days ago is getting pale again.  I had this problem with her before, she was kinda of chronic, but I finally got her color up after I found a dewormer that seemed to work for her.  Actually the three I had at the time all got pale.

 

At any rate, she was kinda chronic for a bit, especially during a time she was attacked by a dog and nearly died.  It was a rather intensive recovery, she got vitamin injections from the vet and I was giving her red cell every day.

 

I have heard that that sulfur water can cause copper deficiency & anemia, if I got that all right.  I am wondering if I should deworm her or give her a bolus.  She has the kids nursing of course and I don't know how that affects anything.

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  • That doesn't sound like a lot of copper. There is 15 mg/ml in MultiMin90, so that's about 450 mg/ounce. You're not supposed to give MultiMin more than once a month, and that's only in cases of severe deficiency. So, if your number is correct, it's probably not a good idea to give her the Red Cell for more than 10 days tops, but since you've already given her the COWP, I'd probably give it for less. If you've taken care of the problem, you should see improvement in her eyelids in a few days tops.

  • Okay I gave her the bolus on Friday.  She ate it right on her gran just like you said, Deborah.  Thank you for sparing me the aggravation of trying to get it in her some other way.

     

    There is supplemental copper in the Red Cell as well.  I would like to continue giving that to her till her color is good again but I am not sure if that might be too much copper?  We are talking 36 mgs per fluid oz (I hope that is correct, I got that off the internet, not the bottle).  I give her 2 mls at a shot, so unfortunately my math is not good enough to know how much copper that is :(

     

    Any ideas here from you ladies who are far more brilliant than I?  Red Cell is primarily an iron supplement, of course.

  • I've never used Red Cell, but I know a lot of people do, and if you have it on hand, it doesn't sound like it could hurt.

    As for the copper, if you have sulfur water, you will probably wind up using that copper faster than you think. After buying the small container twice, I bought the big one this last time. It's copper oxide wire particles, so they won't lose their potency or anything like that. Start with the goat that seems to need it. When I first got the COWPs, I only did the goats that had obvious coat problems, and within two weeks I couldn't believe the difference between the ones I had bolused and the ones I thought didn't need it. I got my husband out there and put two goats in front of him and asked him which one he thought had the softer coat, and he chose the one that had been treated, even though I had previously thought the other one had a perfectly fine coat.

    I use the COWP as my post-kidding dewormer and give it to all goats the day they kid.

  • Deborah she is not white, just pale but still there is some pink.  I ordered the copasure last night and paid through my teeth to get 2 day shipping because the last time I ordered from Jeffers it was really slow.  It will be here Friday.

     

    should I give her Red Cell till then?

     

    But if they are sleek, shiny and good color I do not need to worry about the copper, right? Or should I just bolus them all since I ordered a lifetime supply lol.

  • This actually all works together -- copper deficiency can look very similar to iron-deficiency anemia, AND the copper oxide wire particles can be used as a dewormer for haemonchus contortus (barberpole worm), so you can't really go wrong with the copper bolus. You should see an improvement within 2-3 days. If not, then go for additional treatments. If her eyelids are white already, you might want to simultaneously do other treatments as well.

    And yes, sulfur in your water can cause copper deficiency. That's our problem here.

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