more questions before kidding time

[TRAILRIDER]

Not wanting to highjack the other thread. I have two does who should kid around April 1st. A little before I took them to the buck to be bred (10 - 11 days) I gave both thier CD&T shots and wormed with Ivomec Plus (sub cu). The breeder with the buck kept the girls for a week and gave them Bo-Se shots, then gave me Bo-Se to be given 30 days prior to kidding (and gave me Bo-se for the babies when they arrive.) She told me to also worm again 30 days prior.

So, we're coming up on the day. I should give the Bo-Se (already portioned out in the syringes) to mama goats sub cu, give ea. Ivomec orally 1cc per 100# (so about 1 1/2 cc ea). I can do that. Do they need another CD&T booster now? They had CD&T in 03/2011 and 10/2011.

I know they need copper again.(Looking a bit washed out in the color dept.) I need to get a better bolus gun, since I rarely get the stuff where its supposed to go. Is it safe to dose with copper now too?

I've got all my kidding supplies ready to go. And I'm taking 2 weeks off from work (so they will surely have kids one day early or 14 days late!) Neither of the does are getting very big. This is the second time kidding for both. I didn't pregnancy test them (hate using needles). They both look pregnant, sure hope I'm not disappointed!

Anything else I should be doing for them at this stage?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Dewormers for goats are given orally. Even those that are SOLD as injectible are given orally.

BUT.....you deworm the day they kid. NOT before kidding.

Yes, you can copper bolus now.

[Backfourty,MI.]

If they had their CD & T shots in October they don't need another before kidding. I give mine their CD & T shots once a year(except for kids who get 2 then 1 a year after that). I try to time it so they all get them about 3-4 weeks before kidding.

I worm my goats before breeding then I do not worm them again until the day the kid. If your does' are in good health I would not worm until the day they kid & Orally.
I just don't want to take a chance with wormers while pregnant even if they do say safe for pregnant animals on the label.

[TRAILRIDER]

This is about how I feel too. I hate taking a chance giving them meds now. But I was asking since I was told to worm 30 days before.
So Bo-Se 30 days before?

[Backfourty,MI.]

I don't give Bo-Se but I believe folks here that do use it give it 3-4 weeks before kidding.

[CaliannG]

Bo-Se 2-4 weeks before kidding. Worm the day they kid. (Some goats are sensitive to wormers and will abort. Some goats are fine with them. I don't take chances.) I also like to copper bolus a month before kidding, a B-Complex, and do a CMPK injectable. ( They are using up a lot of calcium making baby bones in that last month. )

My experience has been that everything I give the Mom-goat in the last month of pregnancy is something I do NOT have to give a newborn kid. So, I pick a day in the last month of pregnancy, and it is "maintenance day". They also get their feet trimmed, and get their kidding shave at the same time.

Since I have been doing the "Make sure Mom is up on her vitamins and minerals the last month of pregnancy":

I have not had a kid born that could not stand due to White Muscle Disease.
I have not had a kid develop Floppy Kid Syndrome.
I have not had a doe die after kidding.
I have not had a case of mastitis in a newly freshened udder. (And only ONE case of late lactation sub-clinical.)


I have, ~raps her forehead~ knock on wood, had ONLY environmental kidding problems. (See thread of doe giving birth in a flooded barn while standing tippy toe on top of a block)

Those are my pre-kidding management practices. Your mileage may vary.