Can dairy grower with bovetic be given to sheep and goats ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), September 14, 2001

Answers

Response to Bovetic in feed

Hi Patty I believe that Bovatec is the brand name for Lasalocid, a very common additive for cocci in goat feed. Problem comes in that the amount of drug, dosed for a calf, isn't enough to do the job for a goat, that speedy metabolism and all :) and difference in weight. So though up near you it may control cocci at that low of a rate, further south it wouldn't work as well. Even having said that I used to use a Purina beef grower conditioner feed, that had a sulfa in it and tetracycline. Mostly because it was simply the nicest feed I could find, I know they still make it because I saw it yesterday. So if this is a really nice grain, use it!

I still am concerened about the ongoing use of Lasalocid, Bovatec, Rumensin and Decox in the grain of goats, especially in the longeveity of the animals. Its fine for weaning and growing grain though, just don't see alot of reason to keep healthy adult stock on these grains. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), September 14, 2001.

Response to Bovetic in feed

Just a little heads up for those of you thinking of using bovatec or similar compounds. Be very careful you don't give these same feeds to your poultry. Birds are extremely sensitive to these compounds and the dosages used for ruminants can be extremely toxic to the birds. Yes, they are used in birds, but at much, much lower concentrations. Your margin for error on poultry is very small.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), September 14, 2001.

I know of a lamb producer who raises all lambs on bovetec,[the problem with mas production is that you feel you need the antibiotics] but my feeling is if your going to feed all that crap you may as well buy the meat in the supermarket. With small scale livestock raising you shouldn't need to medicate everything

-- linda h skountzos (skountzos6@netscape.net), September 14, 2001.

Linda, visit any of the threads, be it calves, goats, pigs, chickens. The amount of medication it takes to get a sick animal healthy compared to the very tiny amount (grams per ton) of prevention meds used in grains, shows the error of your statement. Using prevention correctly, and for goats that is the first 12 weeks of their lives, then understanding worming, vaccinations, nutrition and how key stress is in them, will give you very long lived healthy animals that are going to be free of medication for all but the sickness you give them through bringing in new stock. A kid left without protection from pnemonia or cocci, will grow up with scarred lungs, scar tissue in their intestines, which leaves you with sickly, small, stunted stock for the life (shortened) of the goat. Now if you live up in the frozen north, and kid out your does early enough in the year, then medicated feed as long as you keep pnemonia at bay isn't needed. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), September 15, 2001.

Using longterm coccidiosis medications have the unfortunate effect of taking thiamine out of the system. I have lost several goats to thiamine dificiency this way before I caught on.Now when I have to treat them, I use Corid straight up-1 cc. per 4 lbs. weight. I have treated a few extremely sick animals this way with no harmful effects.

-- Brenda Kenfield (bjk@gmavt.net), December 02, 2001.