Goat vaccinations

[Suzy]

Hello All

I'm looking for some advice please.

I've got two female goats, and they're both having offspring.

The two adult females - one has vaccines in December & June. The other has hers in March & September. Can I vaccinate one of the goats early to get in line with the other?

Is there a way that I can eventually get all their 6 monthly vaccinations to be at the same time?

Thanks in advance, Suzy.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

What for and why are you vaccinating them for?
If you are vaccinating for clostridial diseases then annually the same as sheep is fine.

 

[Suzy]

Hello Frank-the-Wool
Thank you so much for your reply.
I'm new to keeping goats and the only animals I keep that need injections are my two horses!
I have the goats vaccinated with Lambivac, so whatever that covers.
If I only need to vaccinate them annually that would be great, it's just the vet said every six months.
One of the adults was vaccinated in December and the other just now in March.
Having to discard the bottle once used I would like to do them at the same time.
Would it do the goat that was vaccinated in December any harm if I vaccinated her again now in March?

 

[Highland Mule]

Ideally, you do the same as sheep, so wait until about six weeks before the young ones are due, and then vaccinate them both. Once the kids are four to six weeks old, do the kids, then do the kids a second time four to six weeks later. After that, aim to give the adults an annual booster around the same six weeks before kidding time.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Ideally, you do the same as sheep, so wait until about six weeks before the young ones are due, and then vaccinate them both. Once the kids are four to six weeks old, do the kids, then do the kids a second time four to six weeks later. After that, aim to give the adults an annual booster around the same six weeks before kidding time.

This is correct, but I am slightly surprised the Vet has told you to use Lambivac, unless it is very cheap to buy as looking on the data sheet it only covers, Tetanus, Pulpy Kidney and one other Clostridial disease, Perfringens. You should give the booster 2 - 3 weeks before kidding to get maximum cover.

I am not an expert on goats but I have had a number of Czechs who have worked for me who keep goats and they treat them with clostridial vaccines the same as sheep, using now Bravoxin 10, previously they were using Covexin 8 then Covexin 10.

I would be tempted to find a friendly sheep farmer and see if you can get a couple of new syringes of vaccine from them for a drink when they are doing their sheep. Probably someone will say that it is not legal but will save you a fortune!!

 

[SLA]

I know some goat keepers wont use Heptavac P plus as they believe their goats have had bad reactions in the past and just use Lambivac. Personally only ever used the P Plus and never a problem but there are lots of alternatives out there that cover them for more than Lambivac.
If you change vaccine you will need to start them with two doses, four to six weeks apart and then an annual booster. Any kids would need doing at six weeks old and again four to six weeks later.

 

[Suzy]

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful and glad I found TFF x