Is the CD/T Vx really the way to go?

Weve always done CDT, you who dont have any opposition from me.
For the tetanus part, there's lots of buried treasure around here.
I lost a 3 week old doeling a few yrs ago who wasnt old enough for CDT. She was ALWAYS sucking off mama. Fine one day, dead the next. I dont know if it was entero.

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Bob and Nancy Dickey
Laughing Stock Boer Goats
"Seriously Great Bloodlines"
and the meat goes on....
Near Seattle

Okay, dumb question but remind me: Toxoid is the vaccine you give routinely, right? At what age are you supposed to give it? I think last year we did it the same time as we banded the boys (4 or 6 weeks I think), is that correct?

And Antitoxin is the one you give in an acute onset of illness. Do you give it at any other time?

CD & T Toxoid is what they get yearly for their vaccine, C & D Antitoxin is for acute onset of illness, etc.

I try to make sure my does' get their CD & T 3-4 weeks before kidding, then I give any kids their 1st CD & T shots at 6 weeks of age & their booster about 9 weeks. After that I give them one shot a year. I do not disbud though, If I did disbud I would also give them a shot of just the Tetanus the day before disbudding & then do the same times for the CD & T's.

very interesting topic. I vaccinate my goats but I don't vaccinate my dogs or my son. I do vaccinate my outdoor cat for feline leukemia but not the persians as they never go out. I used to over vaccinate my dogs as we raised Rottweilers and they get parvo if you look at them wrong. Years later my vet said the info is changing stop vaccinating after puppy shots. Now I just don't vaccinate them at all. Everydog that was vaccinated died of cancer (we feed raw) and three pups had parvo. Now our oldest dog is 11 and she is the fastest most active dog at the dog park. She and her sisters have never been vaccinated and she has only been to the vet twice in her life once to get spayed and once because she broke a toe jumping a 6 ft fence off our deck that was 12 feet high.

I may talk to my vet about this and see what he thinks. I am willing to stop vaccinating if he thinks the risks are low. I do the BoSe gel so no shot there. Thanks for puttng my brain to good use.

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http://silvercreek-farm.blogspot.com
Livin' the good life

So many points to ponder! When I first got horses back in the 80's, the only people losing horses where those that were vaccinating. Now there are so many things to vaccinate for, I can't keep it straight. I do not vaccinate my horses annually, and only do the minimum 4-way.

I have however vaccinated my goats annually with CD&T because they seem to be much higher maintenence than the horses, and I want to be safe.

I heard a vet speak years ago, before the vaccine issues came about, that said if puppies and kittens are vaccinated as scheduled until one year of life against rabies, they generally have lifetime immunity (just like humans with child hood vaccine schedules). But state laws require routine vaccine thru out life to ensure control of the disease. If it works for rabies, why not the rest of them?

One thing to consider is that most vaccines are 'atenuated', meaning they are not 'live' but rather broken into pieces. This way they boost immunity ('teach' the white blood cells to recognize a certain bacteria or virus), therefore allowing the body to more quickly recognize an intrusion and fight it off before infection sets in. I'm looking at my bottle of CD&T and the label does not read "Live Vaccine", so I am thinking it is most likely dead vaccine. With a Live vaccine (such as with CL) you are introducing the animal to the disease itself, albiet a scant amount, basically giving the animal the disease so it's body can develop the WBC's to keep it under control if ever exposed to a larger amount in natural settings.

There have been many good points shared on this post, and I beleive experience speaks volumes. The best thing any of us can do is become educated from both sides of the spectrum and pick what works for us. Thanks for asking a very important question. I for one am going to re-evaluate my worming and vaccinating based on information you all have shared.

I also had a Rottweiler, best dog I have ever had.

Many years back I worked at a couple of small animal clinics and even back then I was told the same. Other than the state required rabies vaccine, my dogs, cats, ... receive no vaccinations and are healthy and happy. We also raw feed our dogs and try to our cats.

As for the vaccinations in our goats (and cattle), we drink their milk (raw) and also use them for our own freezer. One of our main concerns is that I do not want my family unintentionally eating the vaccine as well. Withdrawal times are questionable at best.

Another reason I do not like to vaccinate is it masks any weaknesses an animal may have and my goal is to breed as naturally healthy as possible. If there were any to show routine problems I would simply remove them from breeding and keep or sell them as pets only.

There is no right or wrong choice for everyone. This is just what works for me.

I guess I will stick with my plan to give the CD&T vaccine. Another one of those confusing issues!?

SPIKE

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All things should be done with COMMON SENSE!
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All things have a PROPER time and place!
And most things should be done in MODERATION!