We have 6 goats currently. One of them is Zorro, a Nigerian Dwarf. He has always had some hair loss around his eyes ever since we adopted him last year. I went back to the pen the other day and he had a HUGE chunk of hair missing off his back leg. We knew we should have given him copper bolus, but it was always either out of stock or I just plain forgot. I know, bad goat mom over here. But life happens and it is what it is I guess. I researched for awhile to see how to get these huge pills down the goats throats. Because if you own goats, you know it isn’t as easy as them just swallowing and being happy about it. I read that you could hide the pill in marshmallows or dates. So, we ran to Tractor Supply and they had one pack left. We also got the big pill shooter thing in case we needed it. I ordered both dates and marshmallows from Target and we went home to work our magic.
Both Pygmys ate half a marshmallow each but then wouldn’t touch anymore after that. We ended up giving 1 Pygmy a date with the pill and he ate it and Zoey (our literal butthead) we had to use the pill shooter on her. All three alpines and our Nigerian Dwarf thought the dates were candy and ate theirs without thinking twice.
We still plan on following up with a shot of Merricks Blue Ribbon Replamin Gel Plus but I had to order that and it will be here soon. When ordering, don’t forget the metal shooter for it!
So, if you have a goat who needs copper bolus, try the dates. It was nearly a perfect win-win for us.
Originally published at http://theblogofkaliann.wordpress.com on March 5, 2021.