Just LOOK at this goat!

[nehimama]

Hershey, the copper-bolus-spittin'-out goat! I'm SO embarrassed!

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

And here's Tall Tale, the good girl who does NOT spit out the bolus.

[IMG][/IMG]

And a group shot of Tall Tale & Hershey on the right, and a couple of the mini Manchas on the left.

[IMG][/IMG]
(They don't spit out THEIR boluses, either!)

[farmmom]

I found that I can get mine to take theirs quite willingly if I smoosh it up in bread. My goats love bread! I even have one the will willingly eat the bolus. I know some put their's in marshmallows as well. It seems to work quite well.

BTW, you've got a nice looking herd!

[PrettyPaisley]

Your goats are beautiful-even if Hershey spits out the copper!

Can I ask about your feeder? That looks divine-and I think I might need one. Can you tell me what it's called so I can google it? Thank you.

[Alice In TX/MO]

We saw two of those feeders at an auction, but my friend didn't have the patience to stay till they sold.

[nehimama]

Farmmom, it was just my technique. I normally have a 99% success rate - LOL!

Shannon, I got that feeder (goat feeder/hay feeder) at MFA many, many years ago. I've never seen them there since. You can take a horse hay feeder/bunk, and using a SawZall, cut the legs down to goat-size. Thanks for the compliment on my goats.

[eclipchic]

hahaha! My two year old says "the grapes are gone" (in 2yo speak thats goat berries)

For all that rough coat she's still very shiny under it. You can tell she's not neglected

[Minelson]

Hershey just wanted to be different this time around...wanting some nice red highlights
All your goats look great and very happy

[Oat Bucket Farm]

Aw, they look healthy and very happy. Hershey may have spit out her copper, but like others have said, she is in good condition and shiny. I'm so glad they are doing so well in your herd.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I think theyare all beautiful even Hershey! She was wanting a new look for Fall I bet!

[LFRJ]

Well Nehi, your messages encouraged me to go ahead and try to administer those boluses last night. They've been here for about a month. Bad as i KNOW our goats need it, I have been struggling to convince DP (who's reluctant), so I tried going it alone.

Let's just say it did not go well. I nearly lost a finger, and when I got inside and examined the peanut butter jar I was using as an assist, I noticed bits of copper stuck to the lid, so what does that tell ya! I'll be looking for spit out boluses this morning. I may, or may not have gotten one into the goat that needed it most. So much for the bolus gun method. I'll have to try the marshmallow method, or find help. (sigh)

Your goats look very content. Wish we could have some of that sunshine back. Too bad the red indicates a copper deficiency, because over all, I think it's a cool look.

[andabigmac]

Your goats are so beautiful. My girls would think they had died and gone to heaven if they had all of that green. I hate the desert.

I use the prune method of administering copper. I only have one chewer and I just bolus her more often.

[hyamiranda]

It still amazes me, every time I look at Hershey (Ariel as I used to know her that her dam and sire are both white/light cream. Her dam has a couple small black spots, but that's it, and then here comes Hershey. I love goats. Thanks for sharing the photos. Hershey was the first doeling I sold and boy was I glad when Oat Bucket purchased her.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

And in return, when I had to give her up, I was so glad Nehi was there to take both Hershey and Tally. At least I have Hershey's Half sister now. Instead of solid black, she is solid chocolate, and just as sweet and goofy and comical as Hershey was. Sometimes more so. Lil'Miss has a definite class clown thing going on,lol. And if all goes well, I will have a Tally granddaughter in the spring out of Bella and Tally's son Ronan.

[vpierce]

Sorry for the possible stupid question but could you please tell me what copper-bolus is

[chewie]

a dose of copper, in the form of teensy little rods in a large gel cap for cattle, that us goat ppl re-size for goats. some put them into smaller caps, and use a dog pill giver to get them into the goat. others roll the rods into a treat of sorts and give. do some googling about goats and copper, its very important for goat's health. and no, not stupid question at all.

that said, I use prunes! they are sticky, and if you're careful, they even have a little pocket you can put the rods into, and I give plain prunes a few days before, so on 'dose day', they are SO excited to get them.

[nehimama]

Originally Posted by LFRJ

Well Nehi, your messages encouraged me to go ahead and try to administer those boluses last night. They've been here for about a month. Bad as i KNOW our goats need it, I have been struggling to convince DP (who's reluctant), so I tried going it alone.

Let's just say it did not go well. I nearly lost a finger, and when I got inside and examined the peanut butter jar I was using as an assist, I noticed bits of copper stuck to the lid, so what does that tell ya! I'll be looking for spit out boluses this morning. I may, or may not have gotten one into the goat that needed it most. So much for the bolus gun method. I'll have to try the marshmallow method, or find help. (sigh)

Your goats look very content. Wish we could have some of that sunshine back. Too bad the red indicates a copper deficiency, because over all, I think it's a cool look.

LFRJ, I wish I were close enough to come out and help you. I normally have about a 99% success rate. I didn't have that good of a success rate when I first started, though. It really does just take time and practice.

Some folks who are new to bolusing think they may choke the animal, but you really have to get that bolusing gun WAY in the back of the mouth, somewhat past the tongue, then hold the mouth closed and stroke the throat to encourage the animal to swallow. After that, let them eat, and they'll (normally) forget about trying to get the bolus out.

[LFRJ]

Thanks Nehi. I think what I need MOST is to convince DP that the goats really need this so i have the help I need. (the goats are not the ONLY ones resistant around here).

I'm hoping that the little gal who appears most deficient got her copper down and begins to show a drastic improvement. Then I will have "won" my case. It's tough though. She has always had a whitish coat. Only the fish tail is the give away, and to make matters more complicated - her siblings look fine! Here's what I mean.



(Goat in question)



(Twin sister, who's tush end looks just fine).

We keep mineral out for them. (Golden blend, from Hoeggers).
We'll see how she looks in a couple of weeks. Comments always welcome.

[Goat Servant]

Hmmm I always thought fishtail was at the end??