Questions!! Help! Copper boluses for goats.

CRKgoats

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Hi, I'm new to this group but i have heard a lot about the backyerdherds and I have a few questions.
My first one is about copper bolusing goats.
What is the best brand?
I have used this one...(I will send a picture)
What age do you guys start bolusing?
How often?
And can you give it to pregnant goats?
 

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rachels.haven

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That brand is fine.
I think the baby boluses say to start them at 25 lbs. The adult boluses say 50 and up, I think (I don't mind if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me after reading the package, lol).
Yes to pregnant goats.
How often depends on where you are and how deficient your forage/soil is on copper and to some extent your water.
 

CRKgoats

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That brand is fine.
I think the baby boluses say to start them at 25 lbs. The adult boluses say 50 and up, I think (I don't mind if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me after reading the package, lol).
Yes to pregnant goats.
How often depends on where you are and how deficient your forage/soil is on copper and to some extent your water.
Okay great, thank you.
 

misfitmorgan

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I dont think there is a "best" brand for copper bolus they all seem pretty much the same.

We bolus once a year, some people do every 6 months and some people do a double dose once a year etc....just depends on your area. Do you have signs of copper deficiency?
 

CRKgoats

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I dont think there is a "best" brand for copper bolus they all seem pretty much the same.

We bolus once a year, some people do every 6 months and some people do a double dose once a year etc....just depends on your area. Do you have signs of copper deficiency?
Okay good to know. Yeah I might....I mean they have some fishtail and are getting redder in spots. And two are more pale specially the one doe, we have given her two different kinds of wormer and even repeated the safeguard...thinking it was worms (which we just repeated so can't tell if it helped or not).....but then we tired different minerals, supplements and vitamins...like...zinc, magnesium, red cell, calcium, selenium, vitamin e &d and b complex injections. And beet pulp and grain for a weight gainer...but tryed really hard to separate the minerals I mentioned so nothing blocks each other and there is no overdose. But it feels like everything I'm doing isn't helping.!!?? What should I be doing differently? And do you think it would be more a copper thing or??
I know I gave everyone copper the first of January of this year.
What are some signs you look for in copper as far as looking deficient.
 

CRKgoats

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I dont think there is a "best" brand for copper bolus they all seem pretty much the same.

We bolus once a year, some people do every 6 months and some people do a double dose once a year etc....just depends on your area. Do you have signs of copper deficiency?
Okay good to know. Yeah I might....I mean they have some fishtail and are getting redder in spots. And two are more pale specially the one doe, we have given her two different kinds of wormer and even repeated the safeguard...thinking it was worms (which we just repeated so can't tell if it helped or not).....but then we tired different minerals, supplements and vitamins...like...zinc, magnesium, red cell, calcium, selenium, vitamin e &d and b complex injections. And beet pulp and grain for a weight gainer...but tryed really hard to separate the minerals I mentioned so nothing blocks each other and there is no overdose. But it feels like everything I'm doing isn't helping.!!?? What should I be doing differently? And do you think it would be more a copper thing or??
I know I gave everyone copper the first of January of this year.
What are some signs you look for in copper as far as looking deficient.
 

rachels.haven

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It wouldn't hurt to give a bolus. Red and fish tail (tail end baldness) are copper symptoms, as is low parasite resistance. I think you're thinking in the right direction, plus it sounds like you've tried everything else. They will start to get rusty again when you need to repeat it.

If nothing else helps after copper consider running a fecal, doing an analysis of your hay, re-going over your % on what you're feeding for grain, and disease testing your herd (to make sure nothing else is eating away at their groceries and that the food is what it should be).
 

misfitmorgan

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CRKgoats

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It wouldn't hurt to give a bolus. Red and fish tail (tail end baldness) are copper symptoms, as is low parasite resistance. I think you're thinking in the right direction, plus it sounds like you've tried everything else. They will start to get rusty again when you need to repeat it.

If nothing else helps after copper consider running a fecal, doing an analysis of your hay, re-going over your % on what you're feeding for grain, and disease testing your herd (to make sure nothing else is eating away at their groceries and that the food is what it should be).
Okay thank you I appreciate it. I will try the boluse and fecal if things don't improve and will look at the grain and stuff. I might post something on that later for questions or options.
 

CRKgoats

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This website has a cliff notes version of signs of deficiency.
https://goats.extension.org/goat-nutrition-copper/
The figures they are talking about in that link are here, pages 86 and on.
http://www.luresext.edu/sites/default/files/2008 Field Day.pdf
That entire paper talks about all the elements and their interrelationships and gives maps of areas in the US that are low or high in each mineral. Good thing to look over.
Oh wow, very interesting I will have to read that. Thank you.
 

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