Medicines for Goat Illnesses

Many people have asked, 'What medicines do you use?' 

We are not Vets and don't claim to be. We have a good goat Vet, Doctor Wyatt Galbraith, Pulaski, TN, and follow his instructions on medications and treatments. We do not recommend the following; this is just what we have learned and what works for us. We in no way suggest these treatments will work for your goats.

Before starting any treatment, we highly recommend you take the goat's temperature.

ILLNESSES/MEDICINES

If your goat has no temperature but has the following symptom(s), we recommend using children's medicines to treat. .

Congestion – Children's Dimetapp (5 cc for a kid; 10 cc for an adult doe; 15 cc for an adult buck).

Cough – Children's Robitussin (5 cc for a kid; 10 cc for an adult doe; 15 cc for an adult buck).

Runny nose/eyes – Children's Benedryl (5 cc for a kid; 10 cc for an adult doe; 15 cc for an adult buck).

21 – 28 days Before Giving Birth.

(This treatment – boosters - for our pregnant does gives passive immunity to kids that will last until the kid is 10 to 12 weeks old and capable of building its own immunities.)

Super Poly Bac B Somnus – 0.5 cc

Autogeneous CL – 2 cc

Vitamin A, D, E – 2 cc (this is extremely important during periods of drought)

BoSe – 2 cc (because we are in a selenium deficient area)

At Birth.

Nutridrench - As soon as the kids are born and cleaned, we give one "squirt" of Goat Nutridrench.

7% Iodine - We spray navels immediately after birth with 7% Iodine. Most books recommend "dipping" the cord in the Iodine. We have found thoroughly spraying to be more efficient.

10 to 12 Weeks After Birth – with Booster 14 to 21 Days Later:

Covexin 8 – 2 cc (2 cc booster)

Super Poly Bac B Somnus – 1 cc (0.5 cc booster)

Autogeneous CL – 1 cc (1 cc booster)

Diarrhea.

Most diarrhea is caused by several things: change in diet, worms, or coccidiosis. The first thing we do for diarrhea is try to stop it; then we determine the cause.

Our original “cure” for diarrhea was Kaopectin. This comes in a gallon jug and is labeled for goats. We give, depending on the size of the goat, 3 to 5 cc. Our Vet says we cannot overdose a goat with Kaopectin.

An even better “cure” we’ve discovered is giving equal parts Pepto Bismol mixed with BioSol (neomycin sulfate). This we will give twice a day; the diarrhea is normally gone within 24 hours. If the suspected cause of the problem is ecoli or salmonella, we will also give 5 to 10 cc penicillin orally.

Worms (Internal Parasites).

To check for worms either do a fecal exam, check eyelids, or check gums. If the gums aren't dark pink, worming is in order. If your goat normally has a dark tail and it is suddenly pale, worming is probably in order. We use the following (using a white wormer at least once in every three wormings).

Valbazen (white) - 1 cc for every 22 pounds. Note: do not use on doe during her first 45 days of pregnancy. We always worm with Valbazen the day the doe kids. Valbazen is the best wormer we've found for getting rid of tapeworms.

Panacur (white) - 1 cc for every 22 pounds. We normally get this wormer from our vet.

Ivomec Plus – 1cc for every 55 pounds.

Epernix (clear) - 1 cc for every 22 pounds.

Eqvalan (clear) - 1 cc for every 60 to 70 pounds.

DVMectin (clear) - 1 cc for every 60 to 70 pounds.

Dectomax (clear) – 1 cc for every 55 pounds.

Cydectin (clear). We do not use Cydectin. Every vet at every seminar we've attended has said that Cydectin is the wormer of last resort. Only use it if no other wormer works. There is nothing "coming down the pike" to replace it.

Ivomec Sheep Drench - 1 cc for every 13 pounds.

Safeguard for Goats (white) – 0.6 cc for 25 lbs (2.4 cc for every 100 pounds)

Coccidiosis.

Medicines, all available at the Tennessee Co-Op, to treat coccidiosis include:

Albon

Corid

SMZ tablets

Clostridial Diseases.

We use Covexin 8 (purchased at the Tennessee Co-Op) to vaccinate for Clostridial Diseases. There are other medicines that can be used. Most common is CD/T by Bayer. We vaccinate at three months and again two weeks later. Be sure to give the shot SQ (2 cc) prior to banding wethers to prevent tetanus. Revaccinate yearly (always 2 cc) or 3 to 4 weeks before a doe kids to pass the immunity on to the kids.

(We found this doesn't always work. This year, for the first time, we treated weaker babies with 5 cc CD Antitoxin shortly after birth and again at 6 weeks. At birth we administer the 5 cc orally; at 6 weeks we administer SQ. If the babies show signs of e-coli, we give 5 cc penicillin with the CD Antitoxin. Bottle babies are treated every 2 weeks.)

Stress.

Any time a goat is under stress (moving into a new environment, taking an antibiotic), we give a dose of Probios gel (purchased in a tube, labeled for goats). Note: this item can be purchased at Tractor Supply Company or any feed store. We found the price at TSC higher than at the local Tennessee Co-Op.

Probios keeps the rumen in good working order.

Another excellent product for stress is Calf Pac.

Lethargic.

If a goat seems to have no energy, we give 3 cc Fortified Vitamin B Complex.

Polioencephalitis (Goat Polio).

This is treated with mega doses of Thiamin. Thiamin is a vet-prescribed drug. Fortified Vitamin B Complex contains a lot of Thiamin. If goat polio is the suspected illness, we give a loaded dose of 10 cc then 5cc twice a day.

Sore Feet.

We use LA 200 on sore feet. We do not give as an injection; we clean the area then squirt LA 200 directly on the sore.

For goats with persistent sore feet we have used the cattle vaccine, Volar, with outstanding results. The dose we give is 1 cc SQ.

Anemia.

Most anemia is caused by worms. We have found several treatments for anemia.

We give an adult dose (5 cc) of Geritol for three days then an adult dose (roughly 5 cc) of Geritol every other day for a week.

Some people use Red Cell to treat anemia. It really stinks, and the goats don't like it at all. If using Red Cell for horses; watch the long term use of this as copper is high, but give for 45 days.

"Magic" is an excellent source of iron.

Ferrodex-100 Iron Dextran Injectable is an injectable given to piglets at 2 days. We have found a 2 cc shot no more often then every other day for a week seems to be most effective. It is possible to overdose with iron, so we use this sparingly. As with most drugs, this is off-label for goats so there is no approved dosage.

Give daily doses of Fortified Vitamin B Complex subQ for about 10 days, and Vitamin B12 twice a week for 2 weeks. And watch out for flare up of coccidia as severely weakened animals, even adults often will have a flare up. Keep animal comfortable and feed good quality leafy alfalfa.

NOTE: Whenever giving injections, always have epinephrine on hand in case of shock.

Antibiotics:

LA 200

BioMycin

Nuflor (best treatment for pneumonia – 3cc per 100 lbs.)

Penicillin G (long lasting)

Fever/Pain

Fluxixin Meglumine (reduces temperature and kills pain). Use in respiratory infections. 1cc per 100 lbs.

Aspirin (children aspirin works well) or Children's Tylenol (liquid)

Flies - External Parasites

Durasect is an excellent product to eliminate lice and protect the goats from biting flies. It is "on label" for goats. This is a pour-on that really works!

Gordon's Goat & Sheep Spray (insect control for goats, sheep and other farm animals). Lightly spray or use 2 oz. per adult goat; avoid eyes.

Diatomaceous Earth liberally spread in/around the barn kills fly larvae and significantly reduces the number of flies in the barn.

Minerals.

We initially were told to keep out, at all times, loose minerals and baking soda. The goats never touched either. We purchased the small mineral salt blocks ($1.59) from TSC, and the goats like. We tried the Sweetlix mineral blocks; the goats ignored. We purchased a Goat Mineral W/Zinpro tub; it makes a great bed for the babies but the goats don't eat. Finally, we found a protein block for goats at the Tennessee Farmer's Co-Op that the goats really seem to like. It is important that goats get copper in their minerals; copper kills sheep. If the minerals say "for sheep and goats" they are not really for goats because they are lacking minerals.

Again, we are not vets. The above medicines are some we either currently use or have used in the past with a degree of success.