[nchen7]

Many of you may or may not know that I've had a frustrating fight against copper deficiency with my goats, which is compounded by the fact that boluses or goat minerals are not available here and no one know about copper issues in goats. argh! :angry:

Anyway, a friend is going back to Miami for two days this week, so I was busy looking for copper bolus to order. Put in the order Friday, and after a bit of a shipping debacle, it should arrive tomorrow night, and I may be able to get boluses into my girls by the weekend!!!!! :wahoo:

Fingers crossed nothing holds up the shipping!

Thanks for listening...you guys are the only people who would understand this and not think i'm COMPLETELY nuts!

xo

 

[still]

That's great!! I just got mine in last week but haven't given it because now I'm scared about copper toxicity. I live in a copper deficient area anyway and my girls coats are not great but I'm hesitant. I don't want to hurt them.

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

Thats great! Who'd you order through?

 

[nancy d]

Still, from what I understand copper about bolusing is that they are measured out to 1 gram pr 22 lbs.
It is copperoxide & the rods stick to stomach lining.

 

[still]

Still, from what I understand copper about bolusing is that they are measured out to 1 gram pr 22 lbs.
It is copperoxide & the rods stick to stomach lining.

So are you saying that there really isn't much risk with the boluses? So the boluses I got were the 4 gram so that would be for 88lb's? If I understand correctly that makes me feel better!!!

 

[nchen7]

That's great!! I just got mine in last week but haven't given it because now I'm scared about copper toxicity. I live in a copper deficient area anyway and my girls coats are not great but I'm hesitant. I don't want to hurt them.

Maybe bolus less in the first go? I've been just giving copper sulphate to them as their copper, but doesn't seem to be great. my black doe is terribly rusty, and pale but no worm load (4 on the FAMACHA chart). my other doe is also pale, but not as bad (maybe 3.5 on the FAMACHA chart). she's a white goat.

I've been told Barbados isn't copper deficient, but I beg to differ since both my goats, and goats all over the island, exhibit copper deficiency. I've also read most tropical places are low in copper.

Thats great! Who'd you order through?

I was tossed between Valley Vet and Jeffers, but I noticed Jeffers is closer to Miami, so I ordered from them.

 

[still]

This is gonna sound stupid but the copper is supposed to help with the eyelid color? as far as the FAMACHA chart? I know it can help with being more resistant to worms and that's another reason why I was gonna bolus my girls. The last fecal I had done was clear other than cocci so I treated everyone. I have also started Molly's Herbals but still notice kind of a pale pink color to the eyelids.......​

 

[nchen7]

Sara, read the top part of this article. I assume for my girls that if it's not worms, then it's b/c they're low in copper which is causing them to be anaemic. someone can correct me if i'm wrong.....

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/87-3/coppers_role_in_goat_health/

 

[still]

Sara, read the top part of this article. I assume for my girls that if it's not worms, then it's b/c they're low in copper which is causing them to be anaemic. someone can correct me if i'm wrong.....

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/87-3/coppers_role_in_goat_health/

Ok I read the article which is very good but I noticed the writer saying to avoid using copper oxide which is what the boluses are made of!?!?! Am I wrong? Maybe I read it wrong.....

 

[Texaslass]

Now I'm wondering if I should worry about giving too much copper, lol.But my girls have never had any copper given them, except what's in the minerals, so I suspect it would be good to give them some regardless. This is and interesting topic, though.

 

[nchen7]

yea, I read that part too. but the thing with bolus is it takes a while for the body to use...i.e. takes time to break down and become available for absorption. whereas copper sulphate can be used immediately, but doesn't last very long, and they pee out whatever they don't use.

I think copper bolus works for goats how copper IUDs work for humans....stick it in here and slowly release over time.....

Sara, it's up to you if you're comfortable giving them a bolus or not, but I know the copper sulphate doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot of my girl, so I want to bolus and see how that works for her. if the bolus works, i'm going to stick with it.

again, goat mineral is not an option for me, so I my only choice was copper sulphate, but now I get to bolus and see what kind of results. will keep you all updated! and let us know what you decide for your goaties!

 

[still]

Yeah I think I see now.......they use the "shorter acting" copper in the loose minerals and it's still not enough.......I'm gonna go ahead and bolus my girls because they have a lot of the symptoms. I've also been looking online more and it seems like a LOT of goat owners bolus without problems at all. Thanks for the input and I didn't mean to hijack your thread.......

 

[nchen7]

Yeah I think I see now.......they use the "shorter acting" copper in the loose minerals and it's still not enough.......I'm gonna go ahead and bolus my girls because they have a lot of the symptoms. I've also been looking online more and it seems like a LOT of goat owners bolus without problems at all. Thanks for the input and I didn't mean to hijack your thread.......

I also read too that people bolus AND have minerals with copper available.

no worries on the hijacking! think it's good to have these discussions!

 

[goathiker]

I do copper bolus and minerals with chleated copper.

If it makes you feel better Still, I also give my sheep a 4 gram bolus a year for parasite control. The bolus doesn't release enough copper at once to even OD them.

 

[nchen7]

how much chelated copper do they get a day, goathiker? I can get chelated copper supplements for people, but i'm not sure the dosage...

 

[goathiker]

Hmm...how good are you at math? The minerals are 1800 ppm of chleated copper and I'd guess that they average 1/4 cup of minerals per day.

 

[still]

I do copper bolus and minerals with chleated copper.

If it makes you feel better Still, I also give my sheep a 4 gram bolus a year for parasite control. The bolus doesn't release enough copper at once to even OD them.

Thank you! That does make me feel better. My black doe has a really rough coat even though it can look shiny at times(if that makes sense) and my brown doe has had difficulty with parasites. Her coat is dull and the hair goes every which way! I also have noticed the hair on the ends of their tails being gone but not having the "fishtail" look yet. I think I'm gonna stop and get a bolusing gun. I noticed that the boluses are sticky so would coating them with vegetable oil before giving them help?

 

[nchen7]

i'm an accountant, so I should be able to do this..... lol

i'll have to sit down and figure out conversions later..

 

[nchen7]

Thank you! That does make me feel better. My black doe has a really rough coat even though it can look shiny at times(if that makes sense) and my brown doe has had difficulty with parasites. Her coat is dull and the hair goes every which way! I also have noticed the hair on the ends of their tails being gone but not having the "fishtail" look yet. I think I'm gonna stop and get a bolusing gun. I noticed that the boluses are sticky so would coating them with vegetable oil before giving them help?

I've read you can put them in marshmallows, or anything else that they'll scarf down without chewing. I think i'm going to mix mine up with bananas...they KILL for bananas.

 

[Texaslass]

Not to butt in again, I've heard in several places that its okay to open a cow bolus, measure the right amount for a goat, and sprinkle it on their feed. But I've heard other people say that you have to have a bolus so it'll absorb slower. Which is true, or do both methods work?