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A Goat Keeper's Medicine Chest

by Maggie Leman

My farm Medicine Chest is rather extensive, I like to be ready for nearly anything.  I keep most of my medicines and supplies in a plastic roll around cabinet I got from an office supply store. In two sections that stack I have three deep drawers and two shallow drawers.  I have a desk in my kitchen area set up as a lab area for doing fecal and other testing with all of my reference books on a shelf above it.  The Medicine Chest is right beside it.  My OB kit is a briefcase style, waterproof tackle box that stays in the space between my lab desk and medicine chest.  I have a designated shelf in the fridge for drugs that need refrigeration.

Find a local vet that will at least look at your goat.  You can find a list of goat vets at www.cybergoat.com or http://www.aasrp.org/Practitioners/USSmallRuminantPractitioners.htm You WILL need him or her at some point.  Cultivate a working relationship before you have an emergency.

I carry refrigerated medications to the barn in a plastic container with ice to keep them cold and make them last longer.  I do not store anything in the barn.  Most medicines keep better at controlled room temperature (72 degrees to 82 degrees) or under refrigeration.  Always read the label carefully and store properly.  Check expiration dates. See the product insert for dosage recommendations or consult a knowledgeable veterinarian.  I also have a book called Veterinary Drug Handbook, by Donald C. Plumb, Pharm.D. that I find to be very helpful.  There is also a good dosage chart on the Fias Co Farm website.  I keep a copy of the Fias Co Farm chart printed out and in my Medicine Chest for easy reference.

Starred (*) items are my must haves.

*Epinephrine with a syringe and needle rubber banded to it.  Always have this ready when giving any injection in case of a severe allergic reaction.  Epinephrine is not an antibiotic.  It is a very powerful vasopressor.  Vasopressors constrict blood vessels causing the blood pressure to rise.  This is why epinephrine is the drug of choice for treating anaphylactic shock.

Antibiotics:

*Procaine Penicillin G

*Oxytetracycline (LA 200 or Biomycin 200)

Naxcel or Excenel (prescription)

*Tylosin (this often works better for pneumonia than penicillin or oxytet)

Vaccines and Antitoxins:

*CDT

*CD Antitoxin

*Tetanus Antitoxin

Pain Meds:

Banamine (prescription)

*Liquid Children’s Motrin

B-L Solution (Formerly Bute -Less and available from Jeffer’s as a liquid for horses.  It contains Yucca and Devil’s Claw extract which help with pain. It is not for pregnant animals.)

Hormones:

Lutalyse (prescription)

Cystorelin (prescription)

Supplements:

*BoSe if you are in a selenium deficient area.  (prescription)

*Fortified B Complex injectable

*Lactated Ringer’s Solution and an administration set (Used for treating dehydration in kids and adults.  Using the administration set allows you to stick an adult goat once or twice vs. many times if giving a large amount of fluid. Lactated Ringer’s Solution can be stored refrigerated for up to 6 months.  Warm in a water bath before giving)

Oral Medications:

*Sulmet 12.5% Drinking Water Solution (you can substitute Albon or Dimethox brands.  These are better for coccidia than CoRid)

Biosol or Scour Halt

*Probiotic Paste

*Goat Nutridrench or GoatAde

*CMPK liquid

Propylene Glycol

*Mineral oil

Parasite Control:

*Dewormer of choice.  Mine are:

            Ivermectin Pour-on or Injectable for Cattle

            Valbazen Drench

*Delicer Pour-on

Topical Medications:

Nolvasan Teat Dip Concentrate (for dipping teats and navels)

*7% Iodine

Betadine

Kopertox

*Homemade wound ointment (Mix together 1 medium container of Vaseline, 1 large tube of diaper rash ointment, 1 tube of women’s yeast infection medication, 1 tube athlete’s foot medication, ¼ cup Betadine liquid, 1 tube triple antibiotic wound ointment)

*Triple antibiotic eye ointment

*Vaseline

Supplies:

*Latex or vinyl gloves

* OB lube (J Lube powder is the BEST!!)

Cotton balls soaked in alcohol

*Peroxide (for gentle cleaning of wounds no rinsing needed)

*Alcohol

*Bandage materials:

            Vet wrap

            Vet tape (super sticky)

            Baby splints cut from plastic milk jugs

*Syringes and Needles:

22/20 gauge 1 inch needles

1 cc syringes

3 cc syringes

6 cc syringes

10/12 cc syringes

20 cc syringes

60 cc syringes

Tools:

*Thermometer (your MOST important diagnostic tool)

Drench gun

*Hoof trimmers

Bandage scissors

*Weak kid syringe and stomach tube (Valley Vet carries a puppy feeding tube that is just the right size for pygmy kids)

Adult sized stomach tube (need a mouth speculum to keep goat from biting tube in half)

*Measuring tape (For estimating weight use this formula found in Sheep And Goat Medicine by D.G. Pugh: measure the heart girth in inches, measure the length of body from the point of shoulder to the pinbone in inches.  Multiply heart girth x heart girth x length of body then divide by 300 for the weight in pounds.  Maxine Kinne also has a chart on her website for estimating Pygmy Goat weight at www.kinne.net)

CMT Test Kit (for testing for mastitis)

Fecal test kit and microscope

*Disbudding iron

Clippers

*Burdizzo or bander for castrating

*Collars and leads

Stanchion and head gate

OB Kit:

*Latex or vinyl gloves

* OB lube

*Weak kid syringe and tubing (use this to get a big wad of lube deep into the vagina or cervix to help pull those big kids) 

Rubber leg snares

*Nolvasan dip and film canister or baby food jar for dipping navels

Nasal aspirator

*Scissors

Dental floss (for tying off cord if it is bleeding a lot)

Preparation H (very soothing for a doe’s backside if she is bruised, swollen and sore)

*Feeding tube and syringe  

*Pritchard’s nipples and pop bottles 

*Something to give an enema.  I like a feeding tube and syringe.  I usually just use warm water, but adding a cc or two of mineral oil with the water for lubrication works well.  Hold the syringe tip up to be sure the oil goes in first.  A Fleet’s Infant Enema from the store works fine for standard sized goats.

*Towels, towels, towels (although feed bags work well for a clean place to catch the kids.  Some people would rather use paper towels and not have to wash the slime out of cloth towels)

Baby scales (a digital postage scale works great)

*Frozen colostrum from your own goats or Goat Serum (I freeze colostrum in 20 cc syringes, they thaw easily and go right onto the feeding tube.  When giving colostrum I rarely put it in a bottle.  One, it doesn’t heat up easily as it turns to pudding in the microwave, and, two, I want to be absolutely sure the kid gets what it needs ASAP.  If I have a kidding very late at night I will tube the first ounce of colostrum to the kids and leave them with mom to figure out where more comes from.  This gives the kid that all important first meal and let’s me get some rest.)

*Karo Syrup or molasses.  Add about ¼ cup to 1 gallon of very warm water and offer it to the doe when she is finished kidding. She will love you for it!

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