# What is your vaccine schedule??



## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

I am intrested in other goat owner's / breeder's vaccine schedule..
We follow a pretty simple routine that follows the seasons and breeding. I am 
really curious what others do, how they vaccinate, and with what, 
even where you get your vaccines??


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I vaccinate does when they are about to kid and then kids when they are 6 weeks old. 

I purchase my vaccine from Jeffers.


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## eliya (Nov 20, 2007)

I do not vaccinate at all.


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

If you do vaccinate, what do you use??


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I use Bar-vac CD/T which includes the tetanous toxoid. I want to use Essentail 3+T by colorado serum but I can get the bar-vac locally so it is cheeper. Both vaccinate against enterotoxemia and tetanous. The second one is supposibly better at not leaving a lump. :shrug:


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Interesting, I have read about the Colorado syrum too and would like to use it if I could. 
So you don't vaccinate for pasturella?? Have you ever vaccinated for it??


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## eliya (Nov 20, 2007)

I guess the answer to your question depends on which vaccination.

I make sure my kids get colostrum at birth and then raise them as naturally as I can although I do not dam raise. The only thing I give them that is not natural is Di-Methox 12.5% for cocci prevention. I would like to eventually use herbal for that, but I haven't been able to switch yet. I don't usually have problems with Entero, but make sure I have the anti-toxin on hand. I have only had entero maybe twice in the last 5 years. Most of the time my anti-toxin goes to help people who call me when *their *goats are down with it. :wink:


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

:applaud: 

Here I thought I was the only one who didn't vaccinate, started making me feel like I was a bad goatie owner. I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't.. we do keep meds on hand just in case, but we usually try to do whatever is needed with herbal products. Sorry, that doesn't answer your question..


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Well, there ya go!! Doing the cool thing (in my eyes any ways)
I would love to not vaccinate, but have seen so many cases where the goats are not vaccinated and are very sick. I am sure the illnesses are mostly due to poor management, but I am so paranoid not to vaccinate. 
I got a report back from the lab that we have pasturella in our herd, ofcorse this is the one vaccine I haven't ever given until this winter!!uuugghh!!

Anyways, I am wanting now to incorperate it into my vaccine schedule, and wondering how, and or if anyone else does the full meal deal on vaccines??
Thanks! :greengrin:


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## Candy (May 14, 2008)

Page 4 of Caprine Special Care has the latest info on Vaccine schedule. Many adhere to the 'old' schedule but I now go with this one. Maggie Lehman keeps abreast with the latest and she is the one that I got my info from. We goat people are sometings a bit slow in changing our routines, but this makes a lot of sense to me.  
Candy :sun:


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Awesome!!
I knew it would be on here some where!!
Thanks!


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

That was really intresting, I will keep that info and share it with my vet too..
I am really intrested in how others vaccinate though, pg does, and bucks.babies too. 
Thanks for the cool info!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Like Stacey, we use Bar Vac CDT, I get it at feed store. We do it at 3 weeks then the 2nd one at 6wks and again a couple weeks prior to breeding if she is big enough to be bred.
We also do BoSe both before breeding & about 4 wks before kidding They also get CDT booster if bred.
We are in selenium deficient area. BoSe is from the vet.
Last year all kids were super strong on their feet at birth. In the past I had given BoSe only once yrly and not the month before kidding. I will make special note of this if this crop scrambles to their feet before dams get them all dry as they did in 08! 
I do not vac any goats going for meat. Or anybody else if requested. Same thing with disbudding. We dont disbud our Boers but if a customer wants disbudding it will be done.
Im not yet confident enough to not do the CDT. A friend lost a young doe within just a couple hours to entero who was not vaced. 
Not vacing does not make you a bad goatie person, especially if you have the needed stuff on hand if you happen to run into trouble. :wink:
And Victoria, you brought up an important point,"manegement"!!
I can vac and worm till the cows come home but if they dont get quality hay and I dont muck or clean out water tubs on a regular basis or throw the grain on the ground once or twice a week they are not going to thrive, no matter what kind they are.


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Thanks for your input Nancy, I really appreciate it!
awe too live in the rain forest, so have to 
vaccinate because of it. So you didn't say anything about the 
pasturella vac. Have you ever used it??


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

so how did you test for the pasturella? Just curious because a friend of mine has had some interesting dealths and I thought that "silent" pneumonia might be the culprit.

No I have never vaccinated for Pasturella penumonia but Jeffers carries a vaccine by colorado serum just for it. And pretty cheep too (shipping is always the killer though).


Not all my goats are vaccinated and I don't vaccinate kids if people ask me not to. I give them a choice if they give a deposit before I plan to vaccinate.

2008 I had my first and only death of a kid older then stillborn and he never received his vaccine. All the signs pointed to either cocci (had an outbreak but he was treated) or entero. But he had just turned 6 weeks that day, so I wouldnt have even vaccinated him yet....hard call to know if vaccinating him would have saved him anyway. 


Angie's brother Bambi (owned by Ashely) had a serious alergic reaction to the tetanous antitoxin so she and he were not vaccinated. I worry about vaccinating her so I havent decided. If I do vaccinate her I will have the goat form of an epi pen available just in case.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Also I would like to know more about this "no immune system till 10 weeks" thing that was posted here

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4613

What about all the kids sold at 8 weeks old or those who have battled illness and survived with just vitamines and immune system boosters?

I wouldn't call myself having better knowledge then a vet but until I can confirm or deny this with my vet I will go with what I know and what I have experienced. If it is true I think goat kids sold before 10 weeks old would be in grave danger of illness and disease, but people do it all the time and the kids are healthy :shrug:

It is so easy to say that you work closely with a vet and it is the most up to date -- I am just skeptical because anything written can be skewed especially on the internet.


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## Candy (May 14, 2008)

Stacey,
Maybe you could e-mail Maggie Lehman and ask her to explain the thinking on this. Maybe she could send you links and articles that you would like to share with us. I'll try to find information on goat passive immunity and when their immune system is developed enough to benefit from them.  
Candy :sun:


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

No I havent used the pasturella vac but might in the near future. 
Stacey I had a little resistance to the vet prescribing a dose of Epi, her claim was that she had never seen a reaction. Maybe she was just trying to assure me that it is not very common. But if you're out anywhere you need to have it on hand. If theres a possility that a $3 dose could save a life you cant beat that insurance.


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## Victoria (Dec 20, 2008)

Stacey sent a swab to the lab, a nasal swab that is. You have to get a real good sample. The first time I had the vet do it, and the culture was negitive, the second time we did it, I let the Dr. know it wasn't swabed good enough, needs to go inside the nasal cavity real good. 
I too would like to see more proof on not vaccinating till kids are ten weeks old. Chances are if they don't get vaccinated before leaving the farm, they will never be ever. My question is why doesn't my vet say this?? Ofcorse, the vets also push vaccinating dogs up the yin yan, some dog's can't take it. I learned at a CE confrence in October that vac's are really really over used, but your vet is very smart and educated and you wwant to trust them. Personally I don't trust sll the vet's say. I work with some really awesome vets but I take some of the stuff with a grain of salt. If my goat has a broken leg, I know where to go, but with stuff that is different like homeopathy, herbs, not vaccinating, herbal worming for bettering the immune system, stuff like that, I do my own vetting. I don't rub it in their faces, but I just don't believe them 100%


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## Candy (May 14, 2008)

I e-mailed Maggie Lehman and ask the reasoning behind the immunazation/vaccination that she follows. She sent me the following:

"Here is a very good article explaining in simple terms how vaccines work and why they fail."

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/ ... aybon.html"

"So many people just don't realize that it takes at least 2 weeks and as many as 4 weeks for the antibodies to be produced after the vaccine is given. It usually takes at least one and in the case of goats two boosters before an adequate level of protection is reached. The current recommendations for CD vaccines is a series of THREE given 3 weeks apart and then boostered every 6 months. Even this may only give 70 to 80 percent protection. NO vaccine is 100 percent effective. If one gets lax and forgets to booster within 12 months you essentially have to start over, if you want real protection."

"Vaccinating very young animals may deplete the antibodies acquired from the dam causing both vaccination failure and leaving the kid without the necessary antibodies to fight the real disease." 
"I strongly advocate the use of antitoxins (CD antitoxin, Tetanus antitoxin), serums (such as Bova-Sera, Goat Serum, ID-1) and the such in very young animals if the dam's vaccination schedule is not known and immediate protection is needed against certain diseases. Protection is immediate, but you may have to give more every 3 to 4 weeks to keep the protection at adequate levels. If you store colostrum from vaccinated does you may be able to use that as part of your arsenal too. Using these antitoxins and serums works for older animals too when the risk of getting the disease is very high and one doesn't have time for a vaccine and the required booster to take effect. Of course one has to then time the vaccine to coincide with when these meds wear off or again risk vaccination failure.

Being sure to avoid overcrowding at all cost and providing adequate nutrition, especially mineral supplementation, is the best insurance against disease. This also gives the best environment for vaccines 
to work."

Candy :sun:


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Thank you Candy very good!


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

StaceyRoop said:


> Angie's brother Bambi (owned by Ashely) had a serious alergic reaction to the tetanous antitoxin so she and he were not vaccinated. I worry about vaccinating her so I havent decided. If I do vaccinate her I will have the goat form of an epi pen available just in case.


Yes, and everyone I tell this too, even big breeders around here that have over 50 kids a year born have never seen a reaction before to tetanus antitoxin. So it had to happen to me. :roll:

So, your goat could have a reaction to _anything_ you inject. I always have my bottle of epi in my pocket when I vaccinate now. If not for my quick reaction we would have lost him. So please try to get a bottle or shot of epi. Even if your vet dosen't want to give it to you.

And the weird thing about him is I gave him a BoSe shot the other day and nothing happened. :shrug: I had even weighed him and had a shot of Epi drawn up in case.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

still didnt answer my question -- good info though. I will be talking to the vet about it


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