Livestock first aid

[NH Homesteader]

Alright I apologize if this is here somewhere already but.... I'm wondering what everyone keeps around the homestead for livestock first aid. Goats, pigs, chickens... Natural remedies or otherwise. What are the basics you should always have around?

(and those of you crazy goat /sheep people, what do you keep for kidding/lambing supplies?)

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh goodness....lemme throw a few things out there that come to mind right now... I'm sure this thread will probably evolve as it goes along.

I usually keep on hand:

TheraBloat
Various Wormers
Syringes/Needles (3 and 6 cc syringes most common...usually 20g. 1inch needles
Drenching Syringes - 60 cc minimum with a tapered end
Nipples
Injectable B-Vitamins
Injectable Iron (but a few months ago I had a goat who reacted very badly to an iron injection - she won't ever get another one!)
Penicillin
LA-200
Lutalyse
Banamine
Dexamethasone (my old vet told me "never let anything die without trying a shot of Dex) LOL
Colostrum - every year I try to put fresh colostrum in the freezer
Bleach for the milkroom
Disbudding Iron
Bander/bands
Scalpels

Try to keep extra collars on hand, and extra double ended snaps (can never have enough of those)

I did buy some natural wormers that I've given the pigs...not sure if they worked or not but I'm about to try 'em on a couple young pigs that I'm not liking the looks of.

I'm sure more will come to mind.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Nice I have most of that. I won't do antibiotics without a vet, so don't need those. Definitely need B vitamins - recommendations? There are like 3 options in the Jeffers catalogue and I'm confused!

I also have probiotics, bandages, a thermometer, OB gloves (Yeah Yuck I don't want to need those!)... Some other random stuff.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I also have probiotics, bandages, a thermometer, OB gloves (Yeah Yuck I don't want to need those!)... Some other random stuff.

Oh yeah...told ya I'd forget stuff. But, I hate to admit that I never use OB gloves. I just can't maneuver with 'em. I wash up good before and after.

Antibiotic use rides the teeter totter between good and evil in my book. I usually have to throw my antibiotics away because they've expired before I use 'em, but I still keep 'em on hand. I'm not one who gives 'em a shot just because they look a little off. Kidding problems and respiratory issues in newborns are probably the most common reasons for me to use an antibiotic. Babies can go down so quickly that even a couple hours can make a difference in survival. I've been known to infuse a doe that had a really rough birth with penicillin directly into the uterus. But, I can think of only twice that happened in all the years I've been raising goats.

I'll try to look at Jeffers and see if I see the B-vitamin that I use. I think I bought my last bottle at Tractor Supply...

 

[NH Homesteader]

Yeah I have no issues with necessary antibiotic use, I just don't have the experience to use them yet without a vet! I am fortunate that I am home all the time and have a lot of livestock vets around. I just have to pick one before kidding season so they care enough to come visit me, lol. The one I have used doesn't do farm calls this far away so I need to find a backup.

I'll look at TSC, they probably have everything I need anyway. Jeffers is often cheaper is why I was looking there!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I do use Jeffers a lot! I sit down a couple times a year and make a big order. I do like their prices and ya just can't beat having it delivered, lol.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I think, without looking at my bottle cuz I'm not home, lol - that the fortified b-complex is what I have.

 

[Mini Horses]

I use Jeffers. One thing I keep a lot of around, the self stick vet wraps!! MAINLY for me. Wet & ice often create slips and then sprained knees, ankles, wrists, etc. Vet wrap can be a lifesaver because, let's face it, we cannot NOT continue to function on a farm. The stability with some flex is perfect for most of the situations I have encountered.

Oh, yeah, my house looks like the pharmacy @ WM...plus a lot of things like gloves, syringes, needles, pipettes, oxygen tanks, blankets, and on & on. Like FEM, I generally wash up before & after. During birthing season the nails stay cut, jewelry off, etc. A lidded bucket has the most often needed/used items so I can grab & run.

Generally tetanus antitoxin, Penn, Tetracycline, Banamine, even some tranquilizers are on hand -- yep, from vet if RX. LONG time vet knows what I know & can often help over phone until testing or visit can happen. Often those few fast actions can make a huge difference. Stethoscope & thermometer very important. Over 50 yrs of owning/raising animals I have many years of working thru most every situation you can imagine. I'm no expert but, been there/done that.

 

[Beekissed]

When I had sheep, I had a bolus gun on hand for dosing the sheep. In my home vet cabinet I had NuStock, raw honey, garlic. Being a nurse I have a good stock of supplies for wounds, so won't list those...just the basics one has for use on humans and/or animals.

Nowadays, without sheep, but for dogs, cats and chickens, my vet cabinet consists of castor oil, garlic, ginger root paste, and flea shampoo for the cats only, pyrethrum dust, sulfur dust, sweet lime.

 

[NH Homesteader]

What do you use ginger root paste for? I've never heard of it.