Creating a First Aid Kit for Goats
If you have only a couple of goats, you probably can afford the occasional veterinary visit. But as your herd grows, you're likely to find that you want to save money and hassle by treating some of their minor ailments or handling some of the health care yourself. But even if you don't want to take over some of this care, you still need to be prepared for those times when a vet isn't available or the problem is minor.
The following lists show you what to have on hand in a goat first aid kit. You can get all of them from a feed store, a drug store, or a livestock supply catalog. None require a prescription.
Include the following equipment and supplies:
Surgical gloves
Drenching syringe for administering medications
Cotton balls
Gauze bandage
Alcohol prep wipes
Elastic bandage
Digital thermometer
Syringes and needles
Tuberculin needles and syringes for kid injections
20-gauge needles and syringes of various sizes — 3 cc, 6 cc, 15 cc
Tube-feeding kit (tube and syringe) for feeding weak or sick kids
Small clippers for shaving around wounds
Sharp scalpel
Sharp surgical scissors
Include these medications:
7 percent iodine
Terramycin eye ointment for pinkeye or eye injuries
Antiseptic spray such as Blu-Kote for minor wounds
Blood stop powder, for hoof trimming injuries
Di-Methox powder or liquid for coccidiosis or scours
Epinephrine, for reactions to injections
Kaolin pectin, for scours
Antibiotic ointment, for minor wounds
Aspirin, for pain
Activated charcoal product, such as Toxiban, for poisoning
Children's Benadryl syrup, for congestion or breathing problems
Procaine penicillin, for pneumonia and other infections
LA-200 or Biomycin, for pneumonia, pinkeye, or infections
Tetanus antitoxin, to prevent tetanus when castrating or for deep wounds
CDT antitoxin, for treatment of enterotoxemia
Milk of magnesia for constipation or bloat
You also want to include these items:
Betadine surgical scrub, for cleansing wounds
Probiotics, such as Probios or yogurt with active cultures
Powdered electrolytes, for dehydration
Fortified vitamin B, for goat polio or when goat is off feed
Hydrogen peroxide, for cleaning wounds
Rubbing alcohol, for sterilizing equipment
Goat Glossary
abscess
An inflamed collection of pus caused by bacteria.
Goat Glossary
brood doe
A female goat that is kept for breeding purposes.
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buckling
A young male goat.
Goat Glossary
cannon bone
The shin bone.
Goat Glossary
Caseous lymphadenitis CLA
A highly contagious disease caused by a bacterium, Cornybacterium pseudotuberculosis.
Goat Glossary
chaffhaye
Roughage that has the added benefit of containing good bacteria that aid in digestion.
Goat Glossary
chine
The are of a goat's spine directly behind the withers.
Goat Glossary
colostrum
A rich, immune-system-boosting fluid that kids need during their first days after birth.
Goat Glossary
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doeling
A young female goat.
Goat Glossary
enterotoxemia
A disease also called overeating disease because it comes about when a goat eats too much grain, lush grasses, or milk.
Goat Glossary
escutcheon
The area between the back legs, where the udder lies in a doe.
Goat Glossary
foreudder attachment
Attachment of the front of the udder by the belly.
Goat Glossary
foundation stock
The stock you start your breeding program with.
Goat Glossary
Goat Glossary
fuzzy goat show
A goat show held in the early spring in a part of the country where the weather is still cold; you only need to do minimal clipping.
Goat Glossary
hypocalcemia
Often called milk fever, this is a deficiency of calcium in the blood that arises when a doe doesn’t get enough calcium in her diet to support her needs and the needs of her unborn kids.
Goat Glossary
ketosis
A metabolic imbalance that usually goes hand-in-hand with hypocalcemia. It is caused when a goat doesn’t get enough energy because she has stopped eating.
Goat Glossary
kid
A goat less than a year old.
Goat Glossary
mastitis
An inflammation of the udder, often caused by bacteria.
Goat Glossary
milk stand
A piece of equipment that a goat stands on with her head secured.
Goat Glossary
pannier
A pair of baskets or bags designed to carry loads on the backs of pack animals.
Goat Glossary
pasteurization
The heating of milk to destroy bacteria and other harmful organisms.
Goat Glossary
polled
Naturally hornless.
Goat Glossary
precocious milker
A doe that has udder development and milk production without kidding.
Goat Glossary
registered goat
A goat that meets the standards of appearance for its breed and is recorded in the herdbook of the goat association for that particular breed. A registered goat usually is a purebred but may be a crossbreed (called an American or an Experimental).
Goat Glossary
rolag
A cylindrical roll of wool or fleece that is used to spin yarn.
Goat Glossary
roving
A long strand of ready-to-spin carded fiber.
Goat Glossary
ruminant
An animal that has a stomach with four compartments and chews cud as part of the digestive process.
Goat Glossary
scours
The term that livestock owners use to talk about diarrhea in their animals.
Goat Glossary
sire
A goat's father; the act of fathering a goat.
Goat Glossary
stifle joint
The equivalent of a knee in a goat.
Goat Glossary
thurl
The hip joint, usually referred to in relation to the levelness between the thurls.
Goat Glossary
wether
A castrated male goat.
Goat Glossary
withers
The area of a goat's spine where the shoulder blades meet at the base of the neck.
Goat Glossary
yearling
A goat that is between one and two years old.
