Woo Hooo! I did it!! I did it!!

[LoneStrChic23]

I can vaccinate, trim hooves & treat puemonia. I learned to successfully disbud with reading material & videos.... I've tube fed a fading kid........I brought a doe in season using CIDRs. I've repositioned a kid that was in the wrong position. I've treated bloat for a friend....

I don't know it all, but I'm at least able to rely on myself for most things....

But stupid copper boluses kick my butt!!

It's ridiculous....... I've tried every method under the sun...and it is always a mess....At least 1/2 of the boluses get wasted & getting one down a goat whole is VERY rare. I watched videos, tried various tips.......These videos made it WORSE because they make it look so freaking easy.

I tried the smallest baling gun, a pill gun from the pet store & an empty horse dewormer tube. I could have bolused 1/2 the goats in Texas with all the wasted, chomped & spit out boluses.... Why can I do all the other basic goat stuff with ease but THIS??!!

I resorted to hiding boluses in marshmellows & orange slices.......Works GREAT....for the ONE doe who likes these........The others won't touch them.

Today that all changed!!!

Thanks to this tiny lil plastic miracle worker!

http://www.jefferspet.com/buster-pet...K-B1/cn/10015/

Yes, it's a pill gun, but different than the one I got from the pet store. You can draw up a lil liquid in the top part, place the bolus in the end, which actually HOLDS it well, unlike the baling gun. Hold open mouth, place as far back as possible & push!

Now I can make it look easy too!! I bolused 5 of my friend's does & one of mine (ran out of capsules so I have to do the rest of mine after I buy more supplies) with NO TROUBLE, no chomped or spit out boluses!!

I'm no longer suffering from bolusing inadequacy.

Now I can get my entire herd caught up on their copper (a few are way behind )

Oh and I used this coupon code at Jeffers APDT2011 for $10 off any order. My original order totaled $62 & qualified for free shipping.....Well, the code took $10 off the order & even though my grand total was under the $60 free shipping, I still got free shipping

[eclipchic]

very cool! Luckily my doe will eat marshmallows like crazy but my wether won't. Lucky though he seems to do better on copper all around but eventually I'm going to have to get him too...This might be just the trick I need

[Oat Bucket Farm]

Cool! I want one!

[Goat Servant]

Good for you Crystal! "suffering from bolusing inadeqeacy" LOL
I did my buck a few months back for the first time. He spit half of them out too. Only cause I didnt get the gun back far enough.
Nobody eats marshmellows around here. Now maybe if I stick them in a banana but then there's no telling cause most of them would form a mob & bowl me over to steal the peelings from the next one.

[Ranger]

Good for you!!!! I always end up having them spit out at least part of the copper too.

[Laverne]

That looks great for nigerian dwarfs also. Just what I need.

[thaiblue12]

I use peanut butter then sandwich it between two animal crackers or Saltines and it is gone before they know any different. My goats are not big fans of marshmallows or raisins but they will run you over for an animal cracker
Glad you found something that works for you, it makes the job a lot easier.

[Chief Cook]

Congratulations and GOOD JOB!!!!

[andabigmac]

Will it hold any size pill?

I sure hope I never need the skills you've learned but would feel a lot better if I knew them. Good job!

[nehimama]

What size bolus will that piller hold?

Congratulations on your success!

[HappyFarmer]

Isn't it a great feeling to be able to do most of it yourself? Congratulations!

For copper we simply pour the correct amount of rods in a 6cc syringe, hold or tape the tip, open their mouth, insert the syringe toward the back of the mouth, and dump. Then we hold their chin upwards. Very little if any, is wasted, very little gets chewed, but the best part is I we don't have to buy anything extra & syringes are always within reach. The method is not much different than getting a pill into them, just hold their bottom jaw still so they don't bite the syringe or your finger! After a few times they don't even flinch when I shove something down them they just take it in stride.

HF

[LoneStrChic23]

I tried PB & J, and it works....for the one doe who likes people food....The rest, not so much. I tried mixing with water & drenching.... Most of my rods got stuck or left behind in the syringe (though I didn't mess with this method as much, probably could have made it work if I had tinkered with it) & I tried hinding it in a bit of honey/molasses, then mixing with feed....They left it in the feeder

Some days, my goats are just hateful creatures dead set on knocking my self esteem down a few notches..

The boluses I stuck in it were 2.5 gram boluses I bought from Ashley (southerngurl).....Not sure what size capsule she uses, but it was the bigger of the two boluses she sells..I tried the smaller of the two as well & it held it well. I even got it to hold a fat Dayquil liquid gel cap, though the hold wasn't as firm as it was on the thinner boluses........The capsules my friend had for her does were the same size, with the exception of two smaller ones...

[KareninPA]

Thanks for the tip - I was just about to order from Jeffers - LOVE that company!

[NataliaTwoDoes]

Thats wonderful, Im hoping to be able to say that I am an efficient and self sufficient goat owner in the semi-near future. I expect it to take several years at least....
I did not have a problem with most of my 6 goats with bolusing I just shoved the pills in the gave them some grain and they swallowed it. One chewed on the pill though. I could hear her crunching the copper, the sound made my hair stand up but one problem bolusing out of 6 aint so bad.

[tnd5]

I have a couple of those pill guns.....for me, they do not work very well with the "000" bolus. I have FINALLY mastered the regular pet pill gun from Jeffer's.

http://www.jefferspet.com/quick-easy...enser/p/39-B7/