Goat Health Supplies: Everything You Need to Keep Your Goats Healthy

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If only we lived in a world where goats never got sick or injured!  

Unfortunately, goats do get sick and injured, especially at the most inconvenient times for their humans.  This guide will walk you through goat health supplies that you will want to have on hand to keep your goats healthy and nurture sick and injured goats.

Vet’s Phone Number

Your vet is a crucial part of keeping your goats healthy and bringing them back to full health when they get sick or injured.  Having your vet’s phone number on you can prove to be an invaluable asset when your goats get sick or injured.  

Also, talking with your vet while your goats are healthy will strengthen the relationship you have and allow you to create a customized health plan for your herd to prevent unnecessary vet visits.  As you become more experienced, you will not need to call your vet as often when things come up with your goats.

Thermometer

The temperature of your goat can tell you many things.  It can be a signal that they are sick or that they are getting close to kidding.  Using a Standard Thermometer for $10 along with Disposable Covers for $7 will make taking your goat’s rectal temperature that much easier.

Weight Scale or Tape

To give your goats the correct amount of medication and to monitor them you will need to be able to measure their weight.  

Generally, there are two ways of weighing your goat: a scale and a goat weigh tape.  Both work well, and are beneficial to have on hand.  You can use a Goat Weigh Tape that costs $10 or buy a Goat Scale for $259.

Vet Wrap

One of the greatest inventions of the animal world has got to be vet wrap.  There are so many things that can be done with vet wrap.  Of course, the most important thing that vet wrap can do is hold gauze to help a wound heal.  

You can pick up a roll of Vet Wrap for $2.50.  If you pick up one roll though, you may as well pick up a couple.

Gauze

Vet wrap is great but is incomplete without gauze.  You can buy gauze relatively cheaply; you will just want to have the right size for it to do its job.  4×4” Gauze Pads should do the trick most of the time and only cost $10 for a 100 pack.

Betadine

To clean any wounds that your goats get you will want to have betadine on hand.  This heavy-duty wound cleanser does a great job of cleaning wounds without burning your goat like rubbing alcohol does.  You can pick up Betadine for $20.

Antibacterial Ointment

To promote healing in wounds while preventing infection you will want to have a good antibacterial ointment on hand.  

You can pick up Wound Kote for $10.  Using this does not have to be limited to cuts, you can also use it on bites that your goats get from other goats.

Blood Stop Powder

Sometimes when goats get hurt, they bleed like it is going out of style.  To stop the flow of blood so you can treat your goat, you will want some blood stop powder.  

You can pick up Blood Stop Powder for $15.

Penicillin

Penicillin is an over the counter drug that you can buy at most farm stores near you.  Before using it, you will want to check with your vet.  Also, while administering it you will want to aspirate the needle multiple times to make sure you do not get it into the bloodstream as getting it in the bloodstream is lethal.  

Penicillin only runs $13 and is to be administered only with sterile needles and syringes.

Syringes with Needles

Sterile syringes should not be overlooked.  You can use them to give vaccines as well as other injectable medicine.  

A pack of 4 Sterile Syringes With Needles can be purchased for only $4.  

Syringes

Syringes without needles are nice to have for giving oral medicine to your goats.  Instead of having to clean out medicine from a few syringes, it is easier and much cleaner to just use syringes once and then throw them away.  

You can purchase a 6 Pack of Syringes for $3.

Drench Gun

Sometimes goats will not or cannot take medicine.  To combat this, you will want to use a drench gun.  

A Drench Gun costs $60 and can be a great asset to you.  

If you don’t know how to use one you can watch How To Use a Drench Gun by Forthright Farms.

Balling Gun

When you have pills to give your goats and they just won’t swallow them you will want the aid of a balling gun.  These handy tools help make sure that your goat gets the medicine it needs.  

A Balling Gun only costs $2.50.

CDT Vaccine

To prevent illness in your goats you will want to make sure you stay on top of vaccinating them.  

A highly recommended vaccine is the CDT vaccine.  This vaccine protects goats from clostridium.  You will only pay $9 for 10 Doses of CDT Vaccine.  

OSU MeatGoat has a good Goat Vaccination video if you don’t know how to give a vaccine.

Dewormer

When goats are on a good dewormer schedule they will be healthier and less likely to develop major illnesses.  

One of the best all around dewormers has got to be Safe-Guard.  You can pick up a bottle of Safe-Guard for $30.

Probiotics

To strengthen the guts in your goat herd you may want to give your goats probiotics.  Especially after deworming or when your goats are under the weather, you may want to give probiotics to help your goats out.  

You can pick up Goat Probiotic for $14.

Minerals

Offering your goats minerals, especially ones with selenium, can help with the overall health of your herd.  

Purina Goat Mineral is a great choice as it offers your goats many of the necessary minerals they need to thrive, including selenium.  You can buy a 25 pound bag for $18.

Coccidia Medicine

Coccidia is one of the greatest plagues among goats.  If you are not careful you can potentially lose many goats, especially kids, to coccidia.  To treat coccidia in your goats you need the right medicine.  

Corid 9.6% may be just what you need to treat coccidia in your goats and will cost you $20.

Kaolin Pectin

When your goats get diarrhea, you can treat them with kaolin pectin to help them get feeling back to normal.  In a nutshell, kaolin pectin, is Pepto-Bismol for goats.  You can buy Kaolin Pectin for $9.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of the most versatile things in the world.  For goats, baking soda can help prevent and treat bloat.  Some people will feed baking soda to their goats in their grain.  You can buy Baking Soda almost anywhere, or you can order it online for $6.

Bloat Release

If your goats do get bloated and baking soda is not cutting it, you will want to use bloat release.  This medicine can save the lives of your goats if they have eaten too much.  

You can buy Bloat Release for $14.

Calcium Treatment

New mother goats can sometimes suffer from calcium deficiency.  This deficiency can be deadly to the new mother.  In order to reverse this deficiency you may need to give our goat a calcium treatment.  

Calcium Drench is a product you can use and only costs $7.

Activated Charcoal

If your goats get into something they shouldn’t have then you may need to give them activated charcoal.  Using activated charcoal can very well save your goat from being poisoned.  

You can buy Activated Charcoal for $20.

Banamine

Just like humans, goats can get sore or run a high fever and need relief.  Humans would typically take some form of pain medicine, like aspirin.  Goats need banamine, which is their form of aspirin.  

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Heat Lamp

Keeping a sick goat warm can mean the difference between life and death.  Heat lamps are extremely useful to aid in keeping sick goats warm.  

A Heat Lamp costs $10 and will need a Heat Bulb that costs $5.50.  You will want a red bulb since those do not interfere with the sleep of your goat.

Conclusion

There are many items for you to consider when shopping for things to keep your goats healthy.  

Working with your vet to develop a plan of action for your goats that can help you determine what you will need, as well as talking with other goat farmers near you.  Your vet will know the common problems for goats in your area and will be able to help you identify the things that you will need to have on hand, and goat farmers near you will be able to tell you what works best for them along with where to buy them.  

At the end of the day, you will choose the things that work best for your goat herd so that you can give your goats the best advantage.