Is it too late for the CDT booster?

[Jillis]

I am afaid I have waited too long for the CDT booster. I have three 6 month old girls. After I got the third one, I wormed them with oral ivermectin, and then had the vet come and give them rabies and CDT vaccines. They were all about 4 months old. Then I got a pregnant Nigerian Dwarf, and a 5 week old Alpine/Nigerian cross and 3 week old Nigerian Dwarf. I took those little ones to the vet and they got the CDT. That was about 6 weeks ago...is it too late for the booster? Will they lose immunity from it being too far apart?
Also, the older doelings only had the one shot. The vet never said anything about a booster, maybe because of their age?
AUGH! My poor goats are my "mistake" goats because I sure am making a lot of mistakes while learning about them!
TIA, Jillis!
PS I forgot to mention that I haven't given the preggie Nigerian any vaxes at all yet. What and when should a preggie nanny get?

[Teacupliz]

you can still give boosters. Give the exspecting doe hers at 4 weeks before she kids. I only give mine one does a year.
Liz

[copperkid3]

"....and then had the vet come and give them rabies and CDT vaccines."

Ahhhhh......did I miss something or what??? Since when did goats "need" to be vaccinated for RABIES!!!??? I mean if you kept them down in South America where there are vampire bats that might.....(notice I said "might") be carriers of the virus; or if your goats happened upon some rabid skunk or raccoon that was frothing at the mouth and wanting to knaw on something ....like a goat....but other than that.....I think you are wasting your money. Either that, or your vet is selling you some "extra" expense that is totally unneeded.

But then that's just my view of things.....our goats seem to stay away from rabid bats and frothy-mouthed coons and skunks....

[Jillis]

Actually, the vet didn't suggest it, I requested it when I called them...rabies is fairly bad in our area---they drop bait with vax in it, but it is still kind of bad...lots of foxes, racoons, and skunks seem to be expecially affected. And we have a lot of all these animals.
And even though I am sure my goats would stay away from rabid animals, sometimes the rabid animals don't stay away from you. My goats are friendly and curious, and might go nose to nose with a critter that was meandering in a rabid stupor...
I personally know three people who have had to have the rabies course of treatment in my area alone. One man was in the local news---a rabid skunk had come out in broad daylight and was standing on his foot while he was cleaning his car windows or something. He was busy and thought his cat was being affectionate, until it bit him right through his shoe!
Not all rabid animals are in the last foaming mouth throes when they bite a victim, so I feel more comfortable if they are vaccinated.
We have a lot of bats too. A rabid bat can zip at you, and the merest scratch can transfer contagion. They don't have to be vampire bats to bite you if they are rabid. They just swoop out of nowhere acting unusual. And even mice can carry it. So to me it makes sense to vax for it.
HTH! Jillis

[Misty]

Give it to them. It is never too late. If the does haven't kidded in 4 weeks give them another so the babies are protcted.
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[Teacupliz]

We have to have it for the goats we show. But I do nto feel it is needed either. Our one does milk supplie drops in half when she gets the shot and she is sick every year for a week from the rabies shot. We will not longer show her so she will not need to get the shot. Scary-
Liz
Teacup farm

[Jillis]

Wow, Liz, that's scarey! She must have an allergy to one of the components of the shot. I read somewhere that they recently learned that dogs retain the immunity from the rabies shot for several years, but they still require it yearly...
I am not THAT concerned about rabies...my girls had not visible reactions to any of the shots, thankfully.
My dh says I am overly worried about a lot of things that will probably never happen. Still, enough of them have happened to me in my life for me to want to take reasonable precautions when I am able.