Replamin Gel...results?

[CaliannG]

Okay, it's been 2 or 3 weeks since a lot of folks have started with the gel...and this thread can hang around as more people pass that two-three week mark. So, results? What changes, if any, have you seen in your goats since you started using it? How easy or difficult was it for you to administer? Good points, bad points, no change...post them here!

[bluefish]

I had 2 that wouldn't touch it for anything, one that would run you over for it and the rest thought it was ok. However, I have seen no changes at all. Most of my goats looked good to begin with, but it had been a while since I bolused so I gave everybody some. I did have one doe that has good color and coat, but a fishtail, she still has the fishtail. Can any other deficiencies cause that? The two calves I gave it to are looking better though.

[CaliannG]

How long, so far, have you been using it, thermopkt?

ETA: And is the doe with the fishtail one of the ones that liked it? I had two does with fishtails, and it took several weeks to grow back in, although the rest of the coat improved very quickly.

[bluefish]

Originally Posted by CaliannG

How long, so far, have you been using it, thermopkt?

Just over two weeks.

[CaliannG]

~smiles~ Okay, sorry, I was adding an edit while you were posting.

Did you do single, weekly doses at first, or did you double up the first dose like I did? I DO want to hear both positive and negative, or unchanged results. You are a bit over two weeks, Alice is a bit over 3 weeks. I'd like to get times and types of changes down for different herds.

[bluefish]

I've done weekly doses. I don't want to overdose, although I don't know how much of a concern that is. Everybody else already had soft, shiny coats. So does the fishtail doe so it just may take me a while to get the tail taken care of.

Oh, and this doe liked it fine, just wasn't crazy about it.

[CaliannG]

I have a theory that after the first couple of doses (once they understand what it tastes like and their body gets an idea to associate the taste with the trace minerals) that the more they need it, the more they like it. So I was asking to see if it played out in real life.

According to the label, in highly stressed or obviously deficient animals, you can dose them once a day for a week. I have not done it that much, like you, to make sure I don't overdose. But I have done a dose two days in a row, then waited a week.

Oh, and my DH told me, a week after he had been putting it into practice, that *he* (without even ASKING ME! Grrr!) had been putting a 1/2 cc dose in the bottles for the 5 month old and 6 month old doelings. No signs of overdose or any trouble, for those that would like that information.

[Shayanna]

Can someone post a link to the original post? I would really like to give it a try.

[LoneStrChic23]

Bleuberry eats it from the syringe. I have to force it on Ginger & Star, but once it's in their mouth, they stop fighting the syringe. Star is looking great.... She's black with tan trim & she's shiney & dark now.... Ginger's coat is softer, but otherwise she still looks fuzzy.... That may just be how she is though, because I shaved her in May after I bolused & the new hair came in looking fluffy, not sleek & smooth... It's like it can't lay down fully.... Looks silly

Bleuberry looks the same, but she is my doe I don't have to bolus nearly as often & she looked great before.

Tonka thinks I'm poisoning him..... Which sucks because he NEEDS it (fish tail) but fighting a stinky buck in rut isn't fun, so I didn't get dose #2 in him..... Austin liked it the 1st time (he's in rough shape, gonna take some time to see results), but turned his nose up at the second dose..... He's tall & has a wicked scur, so forcing dose #2 on him got me a nice gouge across my chest & shoulder.....

May just bolus the boys & then try the Replamin again after rut when they aren't so disgusting.

Rose, my black Nubian doeling (March kid) was showing some coppery areas on her spine & was feeling kind of coarse..... Gave her 2cc, then another 2cc three days later (meant to do it the day after the first dose, but forgot)....... She started shedding worse than a dog by day 6, & now she's soft again with no coppery stripes...... Repeated her 2cc a week after the 2nd dose.

Tricks looks faded, but coat is still soft.... She's had a go of it.... Mutant coccidia & ecoli back to back really took it's toll... She's not as shiney as the other kids, but weight and everything else is good..... May try her on a tiny dose starting this weekened to see if it helps.

Only problem I have with Replamin is the price. Ordering a tube with handling fees puts it only $2.00 cheaper than my 50lbs of Right Now Onyx. Going to see if my local vet supply can start stocking it.

Sent Jeffers an email asking if they could stock it, then I could just order a few tubes when I do my yearly big order (with no handling fees & free shipping), but they never responded.

[andabigmac]

I've given 3 doses now. My goats didn't look bad before but they were in need of boluses. I had a few with fishtails that haven't started growing back. The mosquitoes and flies have been bad and I can hear their tails beating against things so a lot of that could be hair loss from that.
One of my new goats, Fulla, looked deficient and just never shed out her brown guard hairs. She's black. She has shed out the brown hairs now and a lady I know was out looking at my girls the other day and asked if she was wet. She has really shined up.
As for milk production it's hard to say because our weather has been so wonky. I'm only milking 5 of them and their production is still good and the milk tastes great. I have noticed that udder texture has been much smoother.
Dh has decided that we need to sell the hard to catch goats because it shouldn't take an hour to Replamin 19 goats. It takes around 10 minutes to do 17 of them (that includes scratches and treats) and 50 to catch and administer it to the 2. Enticing with grain doesn't work either. They know when something is up. They do this with feet trimming, shots, worming, etc. Grrrrr!

I will post pictures of Fulla later. It appears that Photobucket is down.

[CaliannG]

Shayana, the original thread can be found here.

Some folks have had, and will have, dramatic results. Especially people that do a lot of dry-lotting, or their pastures were once farm land. (Mine was farmland in the early 1900's, as was a lot of places around here, and the land STILL hasn't recovered a century later, and is mostly only good for pasture.)

People with balanced, mineral rich soils and good pastures will probably see less dramatic results, or perhaps nothing at all.

Crystal, I have been doing 5cc doses. You are only doing 2 cc doses? You have the regular Replamin, right, instead of the Replamin Plus? Is 2 ccs the recommended dosage on the label for it?

[Alice In TX/MO]

After three weeks, 5 cc per goat, they have kitten fur! LOVELY. Their udder skin is softer, too.

[andabigmac]

Okay. Here is a before of Fulla.




And Fulla today. You can still see a bit but that's pretty good for 3 doses.





She's really not as skinny as she looks in the picture. She's actually putting on weight.

[FrogTacos]

I read both threads but don't recall seeing anything on whether or not anyone is or plans to give this stuff to pregnant goats?

[CaliannG]

FrogTacos, I gave it to my pregnant goats. See the thread on "Babies are coming! Babies are here!" Brie and Mardi popped with 1 buckling and 3 doelings between them, all happily standing and nursing shortly after birth, and absolutely NO issues with any of the babies. I didn't even give Bo-Se shots.

I might add it is Brie and Mardi's 3rd freshening, and they are SHOCKING me on what they are putting in the milk bucket. They are Minis, and on Day 3 after kidding, Mardi is doing over 3lbs per milking, and Brie is at 4.5 lbs per milking. Brie, at least, looks likely to peak at a gallon a day or more, and she is a Mini!

They have both been on the weekly Replamin dose for the last 3 1/2 months.

My oopsy-bred doeling is also on the gel.

[CaliannG]

Wow, andabigmac, she got black and shiny! What a pretty girl!

[FrogTacos]

That is good to know, I have 4 - 6 preggies, with more to be bred next month. Wanted to be sure before I planted 2 headed babies!

[andabigmac]

Thanks for your recommendation of the Replamin. Her ugly brown was driving me crazy.

[CaliannG]

~laughs~ Well, use in goats is off-label, but according to the manufacturer, it is safe for pregnant and lactating cows, horses, and pigs. So I took the chance. Besides, the only things in the Replamin are bio-available vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, so nothing either by itself, or together, which should cause any problems with breeding, pregnancy, or delivery.

In fact, it should HELP some, as vitamin and mineral lacks are causes for does not settling well, or having singles, etc. I'll know more in spring. They were not getting it at the time they were bred, so I don't know if it helps, hinders, or anything like that for sure...but from the ingredients, it *should* either help out, or be a neutral factor.

[CaliannG]

andabigmac, have you tried it on your other goats as well, and if so, have you noticed a change in their coats? My two chamoisee girls didn't change much in color, but OH could I tell a difference in the feel of their coats!