Deworming
Goats are natural parasite factories. Their living habits lend themselves to easy
parasite transmission. Goats poop everywhere, in their feeders, in their water, in their minerals, in their house. It is up
to us to keep their environment clean to reduce the number of parasites that infect them. The most effective means of reducing
your animal’s parasite loads are removing manure on a regular basis and rotating pastures. It is also very helpful if
you can learn to perform your own fecal checks. Being able to monitor what parasites your animals are carrying and what their
parasite load is will be a HUGE help in determining which de-worming products to use.
Vaccinations
Adult goats should be vaccinated at least once per year. We use Covexin
8 to vaccinate our goats against clostridial diseases and tetanus. We vaccinate kids starting at twelve weeks old with a booster given four weeks later.
Other vaccinations may be necessary/recommended for your area. Check with your vet for his/her advice on what is needed where
you live.
Testing
We
firmly believe that every goat should be tested for CAE and CL. Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) is a viral disease carried
in the white blood cells of goats. The most common mode of transmission is from doe to kid via colostrum but CAE can be spread
in any body fluid that contains white blood cells. CAE is not transmissible to humans. The majority of goats infected with
the virus (80-85%) NEVER show symptoms of CAE. Testing is the only way to know, for sure, if you have the virus in your herd.
Please click here for more information on CAE.
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) is another disease of goats (and other animals). CL is caused
by a bacterium that causes abscesses, most commonly near the goat’s lymph nodes. CL is HIGHLY contagious to other goats,
animals and people. Antibiotics are not effective in treating CL because the abscesses form thick walls that do not allow
the antibiotics to penetrate them and kill the bacteria. CL abscesses that burst, allowing the pus to drain out, can quickly
spread the disease to your entire herd. CL abscesses can also form internally. Goats may live for many years with CL and never
form an external abscess. Again, testing is the only way to be sure that your goats are not infected. There are two types
of vaccine that can help protect your herd from this disease. Please click here for more information on CL.
Johne's (pronounced Yo-nees) is another disease that can affect goats. It is
a wasting disease that affects the goat's GI tract. Symptoms do not usually appear until the goat is over one year
of age. Click here for more information on Johne's disease.
We draw blood from our goats ourselves (you can have your vet do it, if you prefer) and
send it to Washington State University for testing. On the advice of our vet, we test annually. For more information on submitting
samples for testing and a list of fees, please visit the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory website.
Castration
There are three methods of castration
for goats. We have tried all three. While no method is completely painless, the least painful, BY FAR, is the
Burdizzo method (in our opinion). This method involves crushing the spermatic cord and blood vessels that lead to the
testes. It is a "bloodless" procedure. If done correctly, the skin is not broken. To castrate
using this method, you will need a special clamp like tool called a Burdizzo (also known by other names). We have tried
a couple of these tools and the one we like best was purchased from Premier1 Supply. It is called the Ritchey Nipper
and is made in England specifically for sheep and goats. Unfortunately, it appears that this tool is not available for
purchase anywhere currently. If you know where one can be bought please let me know so I can link to the website.
Another castration method is referred to as banding. This method
involves using a special tool (called an elastrator) to put a small, heavy-duty rubber band around the tissue above the goat’s
testicles. The rubber band cuts off circulation to the testicles and eventually all of the tissue below the band will die
and fall off. After using this method for one kidding season, we switched to the Burdizzo method. The kids that we banded
were in considerable pain for several hours afterwards. Not to mention the fact that it took several weeks for their testicles
to fall off. Imagine putting a rubber band around your finger and leaving it there until it dies and falls off. We can’t
in good conscience use this method of castration anymore.
Cutting is the last of the three methods.
It involves cutting off the lower third of the scrotum and pulling out the testicles. This method is, obviously, incredibly
painful for the kid and leaves an open wound which increases the chance of infection. While this method is the cheapest
and most reliable, we feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, by far. Therefore, we can not recommend this method
of castration either (unless performed by a vet, under sedation).
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