Time to work goats again

I was able to round up and pen up all the does and kids Friday evening so we could start going through them on Saturday morning. It was time for the kids' CD&T and pneumonia boosters. I also wanted to FAMACHA the dams. Some were borderline when we checked two weeks ago and nursing kids often pull down a doe's parasite resistance. During times of stress like lactating or extreme heat, it is a good idea to FAMACHA the herd every two weeks. 

Squeezing the goats into a small working area
is easier on the producer and on the goats.

Checking the eyelids of 100 or more goats every two to four weeks may sound like a lot of work, but it's pretty simple if you have the right working system. As I have mentioned before, we use a Sydell tub and working chute. We can squeeze 10-12 goats at a time in the chute, check their eyelids, treat them if needed and run them through. Then run in another group.


I have had producers tell, "Oh, that's too much trouble. I just worm the whole herd every month or two." That's the worst thing you can do. We deworm only those that need it. Some months, only one or two goats may need deworming. On Saturday, with a lot of lactating does plus the recent weather stress, we had to deworm more does than usual -- about 30 percent. 

I use this 30-ml Allflex syringe to administer
the injectable Cydectin at the rate of 2ml per 100 lbs.

There were a few half-Kiko yearlings that had good FAMACHA scores but still had rough coats. I gave them a dose of Valbazen in case they has tapeworms. We also treated everyone with pour-on delicer -- for lice and ticks. I normally use Synergized De-Lice, but my local feed store (Tri County Farm Services in Como, Miss. 662-526-9100) had only Synergizer Permethrin 1% made by Durvet, which seems to be the same thing.

We buy the gallon size of pour-on delicer and pour it into an empty dishwashing detergent
bottle. Apply down the head and back at the rate of 15 ml per 100 pounds. 

On the kids we use 5% Sevin dust instead of the pour-on delicer to control external parasites. We punch holes in the lid of an old peanut butter jar to make a handy duster.

The kids are two months old now and are starting to look good. We sorted them from the dams before we began working. We put the kids into a small catch pen where it is easy to catch them. There is no need to waste a lot of your time and energy chasing babies around a goat lot. Squeeze them up, grab them and give them their shots.

Kids in a small pen can easily be cornered and captured.

I like the 2 ml multi-shot syringes like the two
pictured here. They administer the exact vaccination
dosage. With a 100 ml bottle attached, you can treat 50
kids before reloading. I use the Excel 20-gauge, 3/4-inch needles.
The top syringe holds 30 ml and is used for Cydectin injections.

Use a magic marker to label the bottles
before you begin so you can keep your
shots straight. If you are taking the bottles
from the refrigerator, write on them quickly
before they start sweating; the ink won't stick then.

After their vaccinations and a good dusting for
lice, the kids are turned into a shaded "play area" until
their moms are finished with their business.