I'm curious, but when you administer the copper rods in a peanut butter/molasses worm ball or even a fig newton - one way in which I just read in another thread -do you place the copper rods back into a capsule or do you stuff the rods directly into the worm ball or fig? I ask because sometimes I don't have an extra capsule for one of the goats and I mix the rods into the worm balls. I'm just curious what you guys use. For me it's a double edged sword.. I personally don't like to touch the copper rods directly, but a couple of the goats don't like the capsules. No capsules in the worm ball definitely go down more easily than with a capsule.
If I have to give copper I open the capsule and put it on top of some grain. Works well for me and is the easiest way I think. I don't mix it in the grain I just put it right on top and they get it in their first mouthful.
I slice a banana (peel included) and spoon out the top half inch. then open up the capsule and pour the rods into the banana and spoon the 1/2 inch back on top so it covers the copper. It worked for 8 out of 11 of my goats just fine. But I had 3 picky eaters who don’t like bananas lol
I make an oat ball with circumference of a quarter and then take a pencil with eraser end and make me a quarter inch hole, take cap off capsule and pour it in the hole. Then wipe a little peanu butter over the hole with rods in it. My only thing is don’t carry a bunch of these made up at one time because mind will try to take them from you and you won’t know who got what. I do 4 at a time, then 4 the next day and so on. Works great for me.
I make an oat ball with circumference of a quarter and then take a pencil with eraser end and make me a quarter inch hole, take cap off capsule and pour it in the hole. Then wipe a little peanu butter over the hole with rods in it. My only thing is don't carry a bunch of these made up at one time because mind will try to take them from you and you won't know who got what. I do 4 at a time, then 4 the next day and so on. Works great for me.
I'll have to remember this, next time. When there were only 3 or 4, the banana thing was pretty easy. But, then, I started finding banana chunks, and didn't know who got what. UGH!! Now, there are 8! Half are Nigoras, 3 are nubian, and one is 3/4 Boer 1/4 Myotonic - so several different weight classes. I may have to do it the very slowest way - one by one, on the stanchion... Or, maybe not. I have to separate them for grain every day, anyway, so maybe I'll just give it to them, then. Don't it that way, I could give each one the appropriate amount, and not give them their gain until it's gone. Yeh. I'll try that.
That makes sense. Our ground is really rocky and rough, so while I check hooves frequently, I don't usually have to actually trim them more than quarterly, so that would work out well, timing-wise, too.
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