How on EARTH is this worth it?

KimM · #21 01/21/10, 07:21 AM

I have the smallest sheep size balling gun (brown) and I wedge the bolus in with a vit A gel cap. Trick is getting the piller over the hump of the back of the tongue. I've only had one chew the bolus and that was the first time I tried it. mygoat, I can send you one, they're only a couple bucks.

suzyhomemaker09 · #22 01/21/10, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians

Sort of like what Alice put up, I buy a pill gun for giving cats and dogs pills, I stick the capsule to it with peanut butter. IF they are crunching the bolus you are putting it on the tongue not in the back of the throat. Once I give it, I keep my hand over their nose and mouth, letting them breath of course, but so they can not open their mouth until after they have swallowed. Each time you do it you get better at it. You do have to be able to control them, I do mine on the milkstand, bucks get tied up short with their heads up. There are simply times in your goats life they have to behave, this is one of those times. Vicki

Vicki beat me to it...Peanut butter is your friend when it comes to giving boluses.
It does get easier after you do it more.

IIRC the "00" capsules are designed more for people use. I ordered my capsules form Valley vet and they are sized by volume rather than a given number. My balling gun/tool I got at a local feed/farm store and mine fit well but the sticky stuff helps them from slipping out.You pretty much have to poke them so far down their throats that they can't chew it, a modified syringe just seems as if it'd be way to short.

**mygoat** · #23 01/21/10, 07:56 AM

Thank goodness for my father - he modified the calf balling gun by cutting off the capsule holder on the end. 00 capsules fit perfectly in the end and stay there with peanut butter. I re-bolused the doe that just spat hers out, and since the bolus gun was still a LOT longer than my 6ml syringe, it worked PERFECTLY!

Now my only problem is, how soon should I re-do the others that were done wrong? Since they crunched the boluses, they'll get a high dose of copper over a short period of time... 3 months? 6 months?

How often should I bolus them all after I get on schedule - yearly or 6 months?

Alice In TX/MO · #24 01/21/10, 08:10 AM

I don't think they will get a high dose just because they crunched a few of the rods. They are metal pieces. Any that *might* have been broken will still sink to the bottom of their stomach.

Don't worry, be happy.:baby04:

southerngurl · #25 01/21/10, 08:24 AM

If mine chew one, I just give an extra one. If they chew enough for their whole dose, you might wait a month and redo.

A lot of the chewed ones are just going to pass through, but may result in short term boost of copper. Nothing huge, I don't think.

fishhead · #26 01/21/10, 08:59 AM

Unless the goat stood there and chewed and chewed I don't see how it could chew up very many rods.

Sbrock · #27 01/21/10, 11:33 AM

Actually... 00 is a fair sized capsule... The higher the number, the smaller the capsule.
How on EARTH is this worth it? - Goats

jordan · #28 01/21/10, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nehimama

You really have to get it WA-A-A-AY to the back of the throat. Did you know that the smaller capsules can be administered with a pet pill gun? I found 'em at my vet's.

You will get better at it; I promise.

NeHi

My goats ate the pet pill gun too!
Lois

jordan · #29 01/21/10, 09:33 PM

I just got sick and tired of trying to get the capsules down them! I tried all the suggestions here and it just didn't work for me. I must be a wimp because I couldn't seem to get them far enough back to avoid them chewing them up.
This last time I mixed the required amount into a teaspoon of peanut butter and they all just sucked it off the spoon! Then came back looking for more! Quick, easy and seemingly effective! If I have to do it again a little sooner than most, no problem because the stinkers loved the peanut butter!
Lois

Wags · #30 01/21/10, 09:49 PM

My goat mentor uses a cat pill thing she got at the vets office. Then she straddles the goats (Nigerian Dwarfs), grabs them under the jaw to open their mouths and waits until the scream - the minute she screams it is down their throat with the pill. She is quite quick at it, and I think I have the hang of it now and will try doing it myself next time around.

luvzmybabz · #31 01/22/10, 06:09 AM

I will be bolusing soon for the first time. I may be asking a silly ? but like recent poster said my goat scream if they are held with head up, guess they think it is time to pull blood again

so I am worried about them sucking it down into their lungs. If this a silly mom thought or how do you know it went the right place? Also about chewing the cud the girls very rarely chew their cud with us in the pen guess the kids make them nervous so how long would we need to stay in pen or how much extra hay right after to make sure that these sink?

Alice In TX/MO · #32 01/22/10, 06:28 AM

Don't worry about it. Get it on the back of their tongue, and it will go to the stomach.:banana02:

Backfourty,MI. · #33 01/22/10, 08:34 AM

My Goat, Have you tried to find the mineral by Cargill called "Right Now Onyx"? I haven't to bolus any of the goats since switching to this mineral. The goats seem to really like it & I don't seem to have any copper issues that can be seen by the eye anyways.
My feed store didn't carry it but started ordering it for me, Even a couple people that bought goats from me last year are now getting it from the same store now too.

**mygoat** · #34 01/22/10, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

My Goat, Have you tried to find the mineral by Cargill called "Right Now Onyx"? I haven't to bolus any of the goats since switching to this mineral. The goats seem to really like it & I don't seem to have any copper issues that can be seen by the eye anyways.
My feed store didn't carry it but started ordering it for me, Even a couple people that bought goats from me last year are now getting it from the same store now too.

I tried the other day to use the cargill website to find their suppliers, and couldn't find a way to do that. Usually feed stores will only order things for you if they already get products from that supplier already - otherwise, they'd make me pay for the shipping. Right now I'm using Sweetlix and though it used to be like 12.00/bag they upped the price to 25.00/bag. How much are you paying for the onyx?

Pony · #35 01/22/10, 09:44 AM

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena

Pony · #36 01/22/10, 09:45 AM

Just spoke to a fella over at Cargill, and he gave me the above address. Found a feed store less than 20 miles away that carries it.

Huzzah!

Laverne · #37 01/23/10, 05:04 AM

I did my first copper bolusing a few months ago and thought what would make them slide down the throat without any stickiness. So I gooped them up with KY jelly and put them in the plastic boluser and it worked really well.

Backfourty,MI. · #38 01/23/10, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mygoat

I tried the other day to use the cargill website to find their suppliers, and couldn't find a way to do that. Usually feed stores will only order things for you if they already get products from that supplier already - otherwise, they'd make me pay for the shipping. Right now I'm using Sweetlix and though it used to be like 12.00/bag they upped the price to 25.00/bag. How much are you paying for the onyx?

I also pay $25.00 a bag plus tax. I'll look today on my bag when I go down to the barn to see if there's an 800 number you can call.
The feed store may carry other Cargill things I'm not sure but I was glad when they started ordering it for me. I know they have alot of different brands besides the feeds they mix for dairy farmers, etc.

luvzmybabz · #39 01/23/10, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mygoat

Right now I'm using Sweetlix and though it used to be like 12.00/bag they upped the price to 25.00/bag. How much are you paying for the onyx?

Ouch that must hurt my last bag bought right before Christmas was 9.37 on the sweetlix I have also not been able to find ONYX, still working on it as I still have to go to a different town from all the other animal supplies just to find loose minerals around here at all. I can not count the times that someone tried to sel me a block, "Oh it's just as good,"..." You really would rather have a blcok"...blah blah blah.

luvzmybabz · #40 01/23/10, 06:54 AM

WOW I just looked at that website and see that tractor supplyis a local store I am sure they do not carry it as twice I have been urged to buy the block there but I will be talking to the manager her has ordered special not on the shelf type products from his distributors for me before. Once he ordered and it accidently got put on the shelf and after the happy customer response the district manager ended up deciding to carry it as an on shelf item!