Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[animalmom]

Regarding flies and using treated ear tags on the goats' collars... I find it is a mixed bag with some goats eating the tags off of other goats. I still put ear tags on some of the goats who seem to have fly congregations on their little goatie faces. Some goats are not bothered at all. Wish I could wear ear tags as the flies bother me something fierce.

 

[Latestarter]

Silly me spent 10+ hours on a lawn tractor today finishing the front pasture wearing no sun screen My face is a bit red. Been worse, but still not all that comfortable. Finished it up just as it was getting too dark to see what I was doing. Wouldn't you know but I was about to run dry on gas with about two swipes to do so had to run back to the shed and gas up before I could finish. The goats let me know they were very upset with me for not following established protocol WRT milking/feeding schedules... Not that they are in any danger of starving mind you.

In fact I noticed tonight that Dot is not maintaining her weight despite grain twice a day, trees delivered about every other day for fresh leaves, and hay 24/7. She's getting pretty thin in the rear end/hips area. April is getting positively fat... prob since she's not PB Lamancha and is part meat goat. Bang is doing just fine and I believe she's weening her kids CM & CB. CM's testes and sac are pretty shriveled up after a week with the band on but haven't fallen off yet. He's not pestering the gals any more either CC is a BB pest and has to wrap herself around my feet and legs anytime she can reach them. She hasn't tried to jump on my back while milking any more, but does like to put her front hooves up on my legs. I gently swipe them off as I don't want her getting in the habit of doing that. CB "thinks" she's a BB as well and likes to be right beside CC while she's having her bottle. The two of them like to nibble on my pants legs and shoes...

Question for anyone regarding the CD&T serum... I bought it about 7 weeks ago and have kept it in the fridge in the butter area. There's no "use by" date on it that I can see and I was wondering is it still OK to use for CC's booster in a couple of weeks or should I toss it and get a new one? @Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice @OneFineAcre @babsbag @frustratedearthmother or anyone else? I'm sure if I buy a new vial at TSC it will be one that's been sitting in their fridge since who knows when...

 

[Goat Whisperer]

What brand is it and what does the bottle say?

Brands that don't have a preservative will say something like- discard bottle after first use or discard any unused contents after first use etc.

Brands that have the preservative will say so and will tell you if it is okay to use it again.

Any vaccine I have ever seen will have the expiration date along with the lot #.

What is Dot's parasite count?

 

[babsbag]

I use Bar Vac brand and it says to use it all at once but I never discard until the next year.

I have does in heat already. Any body want Nov. babies?

 

[Mini Horses]

Any chance part of the label is missing? Like ripped off.

On bottle I have in frig, just below the SKU is both a serial number & an expiration date. So, if the label isn't saying toss after first use, you may want to look for a lot # or serial # & call manufacturer for a date.

 

[Southern by choice]

Definitely check the label. It will tell you if you need to dispose of once used.
CD&T vaccines are very cheap. Don't store it if it says dispose after use. Generally you can get a way with days but not storing for month, months or til next year.
There is a reason they are labelled and the law requires it.

Either take Dot's fecal in to the vet and get a count or send it out.
This way you will know the count and where her threshold is and how well any dewormers you use are working.
You want 95% reduction.

 

[Latestarter]

Thanks all. There was a serial number and an expiration date of some time in 2019 on the bottle. It also states to use the entire contents once opened. I wonder if sticking a needle into it counts as "opened"? I'll toss it and get a new vial... it was only about 6 bucks. Near as I can see in the bottle, the solution hasn't changed color/clarity/consistency, but of course that doesn't mean it hasn't changed in its effectiveness...

So I was out bottle feeding CC & giving treats to all the others yesterday afternoon and I saw Dot dropping pellets as she walked away from me & I happened to have a paper towel with me. So, I collected a hand full of pellets and brought them inside, put in a zip lock, then into a container of ice and water to chill them down immediately. (I did wash my hands after all that) I then took them to the county large animal vet for analysis. I asked if they were experienced with goats and was assured that they were. They said they couldn't (don't) do a count and for EPG they would have to send it out (if I wanted), but could/would do a float and let me know what the load looked like (if I wanted). I asked what the cost was and they said 10 bucks so I said to go for it. So Dot had a "heavy load" of 2 types of worms and a higher than normal/expected cocci count.

I explained that all the goats came to me from the same place and had all been together before & since I got them. I also explained that as far as I recollect, at least one if not all adults had been dewormed before I picked them up. The verdict was that they probably could all use a deworming and the vet asked me if I was concerned about being all organic or all natural etc. and I replied no, I want what's going to work. She smiled and thanked me and recommended a dewormer that they use here labeled for cattle that's injectable for goats and has been very effective for her other goat clients. She explained that with this product, there would be a 60 day re-spike and they would need to be treated again at that time. I'll get another float done here in a week or so to see how well it worked. This time I hope to collect berries from all three adults. I'm going to need to get a microscope and slides and learn to do EPG counts myself.

She worked out the doses for the adults and the kids and gave me 3 syringes each, pre-loaded and ready to go. Total charge for everything out the door was $6.95... I couldn't believe it as I don't think that even covered the cost of the syringes/needles/product and certainly didn't pay them for their time. I asked TWICE to ensure if that was the correct cost and was told yes. Oh well... wasn't going to argue too much & the float ended up being free I guess. At evening feeding time it was like a legit rodeo in the goat pen! I caught CM with his head stuck out through the fence while milking Dot, so stopped milking to get him his shot. He twisted his head and scraped off a horn bud scab bringing him back in out of the fence... nice bleeding ensued accompanied by screaming like he was dieing. But he got rolled, sat on and shot given. CB is like a bottle baby even though she isn't, so catching her was no big deal but I think she was stronger than her bigger brother (to no avail). She got taken down, sat on and shot given. CC of course was no issue at all as she is a bottle baby. Dot got hers while attached to the fence after milking. She barely even flinched... what a great goat! Catching April and Bang was a bit more effort but they too got attached to the fence, and got their shots. I had to do the herd queen (Bang) first as she pushes everyone out of the way to be the first to the grain when I set that first bucket down. April is much more leary and I had to wait until I was blocked from her view by the kids while eating. But she too got attached to the fence and inoculated.

Gonna be another rodeo Friday when I have to catch them and load them for their vet visit.

I didn't catch the name of the product and it's not on the receipt I also forgot to ask about milk withdrawal time... But while there I also inquired about getting a CL/CAE/Johnes test done on all three adults and that's going to cost $35 each for the three tests. I set an appt for Friday to bring the goats in to have the blood drawn and the tests sent off. They said results would take 3-5 days. I've never drawn blood (though I've certainly watched enough times as it's been drawn from me!) and figure this way I'll learn from a pro, real time, up close and personal rather than Youtube videos. While there I'll get answers to the other 2 questions I don't have answers to. I was intro'd to their large animal vet tech who would be doing the blood draw (His name is "Rowdy"... only in TX... ) Real nice guy. So tomorrow I'll be loading the cage back into the bed of the truck again.

So I also set up a "wellness" visit for Mel Friday afternoon while the goats are going in. Turns out down here the rabies vaccine, though a 3 year vac, is required annually due to the high incidence of rabies here. I was told the worst culprit is skunks. Mel got his 3 yr vac last May, so only off by a month or so and he hasn't been exposed to anything that he could get rabies from, so I'm sure he's fine. Will also get heart worm renewed (going to ask about doing the Ivermectin injections rather than the extremely expensive chew treats), and fecal for deworming him. He's been feasting on goat berries, so I'm sure he'll need it as well. I'm bringing in his entire folder so they can get everything in his record, right from the start.

Really like the staff and the vet. I told them I anticipate this would be a continuing relationship. Also told them of my future animal acquisition plans. I hope they charge for everything else the way they charged for my last visit

 

[Bruce]

Wow, great to have such a vet clinic!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Awesome! My vet charges $15 bucks for a fecal... And, the goat that broke her leg is now a $400 + dollar goat - and that's just to recoup vet fees.

Good that you found such a great clinic!

 

[Mini Horses]

So, I assume they do farm calls (?)....you just can't do without a really good vet, IMO, if you have livestock! They sound like a great group. As to Rowdy -- sometimes we need that much help Plus they sound reasonable for fees. Huge plus.

Mine trained me to AI mares, flush them, collect stallions for sperm count, to use my ultrasound equipment. He's always just a phone call away. Always got lessons from any procedure he needed to do, sure helped know how to respond and what to look for with many instances until he could get there. Love my vet.

Keep them on speed dial.