It is important that you have easy access to the basic medicines and equipment so that you can keep your flock healthy and treat a sick animal promptly so as to prevent death.
Key equipment
The goat farmer should have access to:
- Cooler box
Goat book
Animal Health Book
Burdizzo
Ear tag applicator
Hoof trimmers
Tattoo applicator, ink and alphabet
Knapsack sprayer
Scale or weight belt
Mask
Blades
Digital thermometer
Antiseptic handwash
Gauze swabs.
Consumable medicines and equipment
The goat farmer should have on hand:
Disposable syringes (5cc, 10cc)
Large syringe for drenching/dosing (60cc)
Non disposable syringe
Needles (20 gauge or 22 gauge but preferably 5/8 or 1 inch length)
Antibiotic eye powder
Antibiotic powder (such as Terramycin powder)
Broad spectrum dewormer for wireworms, tapeworms and flukes, (e.e Prodose Orange and
Eradiworm )
Dip – a conventional one to be mixed with water (such as Tactic)
Wound spray with fly repellent
Coopers Wound oil
Tick grease
Long acting antibiotic (such as
Terramycin LA)
Short acting antibiotic (such as oxytetracycline 120)
Sulphur based antibiotic (such as Disulphox) for treating coccidiosis
Injectable solution for mange, lice (such as Ivermectin)
Iodine spray
Iodine drops (for newborn kids)
Copper Sulphate (for foot baths)
Vitamins (such as Multivite).
Consumable medicines and equipment
When using disposable needles and syringes you should only use the needles once. The syringes should be boiled before reusing to kill any germs. You should also not inject more than one goat with the same needle as it can spread disease between them.
Storage of medication, expiry dates and withdrawal periods
Read the instructions that come with the product you purchase, they contain important information about using it such as dosing rates, whether it is safe for pregnant animals as well as how it should be stored.
Storage
Check storage instructions on medicine:
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Does it need to be kept in a cool, dark place?
Most vaccines need to be kept refrigerated – but if you keep them in a freezer, where there is ice it will kill the vaccine which will then not work.
Instructions and precautions
Expiry dates
An expiry date is the date when the product has become too old to work properly.
- When you buy a medicine or dewormer or dip – check the expiry date!
- Do not keep drugs beyond their expiry date as they will stop working properly.
- Either share products with other farmers or buy smaller quantities.
Check the expiry date
Withdrawal periods
With many drugs, you must wait for a given number of days or weeks after administering the medicine, before you slaughter the goat for meat or drink milk from the goat – this is known as the withdrawal period and is always given on the instruction pamphlet. If you eat the meat or drink the milk before this time, you will absorb the medicine.
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