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Goat vaccinations.
Vaccination in general can spark strong emotions no matter which side you’re on. Whether you decide to use goat vaccinations or not, there are risks you take. My job is to go over them with you and help you make a good decision for your herd of goats.
Why are we selective about our vaccinations?
Upon the advice from our vet we only vaccinate for the CD&T every year, and you’ll see why in my explanation below. Most of the time your focus should be on keeping a healthy herd, and then utilizing vaccines if you notice a problem on your farm or area. We have a very small herd of goats and we try to maintain our herd with the best health practices possible. We also keep our goats’ immunity high by feeding a balanced diet of different hay (alfalfa/bermuda/timothy/orchard), feeding very little grain, & treating holistically with herbs, etc. But we also use modern medicine to help our goats thrive.
Is vaccinating your goat “natural”?
“Natural” is a term often thrown around in animal husbandry. People urge goat owners “let nature do its job!” when they assist in labor, but don’t realize that the owners are ONLY intervening when there is dystocia (kid stuck in birth canal) during birth. Without intervention, the kid & dam will likely die. Yes, death is natural too, but the goal here is to actually care for our animals, instead of just standing by and watching nature take its course to the point of death. I personally believe that because I am taking animals out of the wild and domesticating them, I need to be responsible for them. That means keeping them healthy and giving them the tools to survive. The reason we vaccinate is to avoid disease, correct? And in avoiding disease, we hope to save lives.
In simplest terms, a vaccine carries an inactive form of the disease which stimulates the body to create antibodies without creating the disease symptoms themselves. Because many goat diseases create more death than natural immunity, we vaccinate. When it comes to preservatives in vaccines, a common one is Thimerosal.
Thimerosal, the organic compound used as a preservative in some vaccines, breaks down in the body into ethyl mercury. Since our bodies can remove ethyl mercury, it doesn’t bioaccumulate. This is very different from methyl mercury, found in trace amounts in certain fish like tuna. Methyl mercury is hard for our bodies to remove and can bioaccumulate. It’s the buildup of mercury over time that can be dangerous, which is why the FDA recommends limiting consumption of certain varieties of fish. While both compounds contain mercury, the two molecules are structurally different and behave differently in our bodies. It’s similar to the difference between ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol. The former is found in beer and wine and used as a social lubricant, while the latter is used in things like antifreeze and is highly toxic. Simply stating some vaccines contain mercury is like saying “OMG! Beer contains antifreeze!” – source
I personally believe the benefits of my goats obtaining immunity outweighs the con of their bodies excreting a microscopic amount of Thimerosal.
Goat vaccinations: What you need to Know
CD&T
This vaccine treats two different diseases — enterotoxemia (also known as the overeating disease) and tetanus. You should give it at 8 weeks, then again at 12 weeks. The dose is 2mL no matter the age or size of the goat. The recommended booster is every year. You can use this brand & give it SC (subcutaneously – under the skin) but I’ve recently started using this brand so I can give it IM (into the muscle). This way I can avoid the common abscess that develops (immune reaction) when I give it under the skin.
PREVENTION TO AVOID CD&T or MANAGE IT
Enterotoxemia is an overeating disease. Eating foods that are too rich causes an overgrowth of bacteria. This can often happen in bottle babies that suckle too fast. To avoid enterotoxemia, gradually change the diet. Don’t feed too much lush grass or hay, don’t feed grain at all or very little, and make sure your grain bins are locked away to prevent a break in from your goats. Tetanus is a disease that is not only on rusty nails, it also lives in the soil, and with a goat’s nose in the soil frequently, you can guess how this disease is contracted. If you choose not to vaccinate, you can keep the Tetanus anti-toxin on hand, which can instantly reverse the tetanus disease.
PNEUMONIA
Pneumonia can happen if the weather changes too fast, before the lungs can adapt. More specifically, this happens when the weather changes from hot to cold overnight. This is more commonly seen in sheep than goats, but there still is a risk with goats. If you live in an area where rapid weather changes happen, you might want to consider this. We had one sheep die from pneumonia on a night where the temperature dropped drastically. Of all our sheep, he was the most coddled from birth — after his mom rejected him, then needing to be nursed back from an infection. He just never was quite as healthy as the others. (You can buy the vaccine here.)
PREVENTION TO AVOID PNEUMONIA or MANAGE IT
You can get a weather app on your phone to alert you when the weather drops below a certain degree so you can be sure to provide warm shelter on a night like that. Sheep tend to avoid shelter and they often sleep out in the open. Goats, in my experience, will look for shelter in cold or rainy weather. Having a good barn or shelter + keeping track of weather changes is a good way to prevent pneumonia. Keep antibiotics on hand in case your goats contract it, or go the holistic route with herbal remedies.
CL
This vaccine is to prevent Pyogranulomas/Caseous Lymphadenitis. This is a bacterial infection that can collect in the lymph nodes and spread to other organs. It can be contracted and spread by both goats & sheep. Your goat will become emaciated and seem to not be able to keep on weight. When this happens, you’ll want to rule out CL or worms/lice, which can also be a cause of weight loss. They will also reduce in milk production. Goats contract CL through oral pathways, and if you know goats, you know they are constantly licking, chewing, and sniffing out their environment. (You can buy the vaccine here.) The big drawback of administering this vaccine is that your goats will have the antibodies to it and you’ll need to inform your baby goat buyers that every CL blood test will come back positive. Most goat owners do not vaccinate for this.
PREVENTION TO AVOID CL or MANAGE IT
Keeping a closed herd is important to avoid CL, as goats contract it from other goats/sheep. Before you purchase a new goat, make sure are CL-free. If your goats on your property don’t have CL, then you should be able to avoid the disease completely. Unless you show your goats or take them elsewhere for breedings and expose them to other goats. In those cases, you increase your risk quite a bit of exposure. Natural treatments include separation from herd, and using natural herbal remedies like HerBiotic Salve (at any abscess site).
RABIES
There are currently no rabies goat vaccinations, but they are on the recommended goat vaccination list because of an incident in 1996. That year at a county fair in New York State, one goat was shown to have rabies and exposed thousands of people to the disease and hundreds were treated with a rabies vaccine as a preventative measure. Unfortunately, many vets will not give a rabies vaccination to goats because there is no license to do it, and they may be held liable for damages. (You can buy a vaccine here, but know this is for dogs & cats. Please ask a vet before proceeding.)
PREVENTION TO AVOID RABIES or MANAGE IT
Most people skip the rabies vaccine, or weigh their risks. They look at how rural of an area they live in and the likelihood of their goats contracting rabies from a bite from rabid animal. I know some people that keep the rabies vaccine on hand in case their goat becomes exposed. (The only circumstance I can think of is if you found a bite on your goat or had an attack on your herd)
CHLAMYDIA
Chlamydiosis causes late term abortion in goats, and it can be so prevalent in your herd that you lose every pregnancy in a year. It’s transmitted from vaginal & fecal fluids. Often times, one infected goat will deliver the disease to her babies. Then those babies are sold to a new owner and the cycle continues. Killed vaccines or even Tetracyclines (antibiotics) can reduce the chance of abortion. However, both cannot prevent the transmission of it to the kids during birth. Live vaccines can prevent the transmission to kids, but it’s still currently in development. (You can buy the killed vaccine here.)
PREVENTION TO AVOID CHLAMYDIA or MANAGE IT
The presence of chlamydia can be found in placenta or vaginal swabs if you take a sample just after abortion. This is done with an ELISA kit for human C. trachomatis infections. We keep a kit on hand here and so if a goat has a miscarriage, we can test for this. We’ve never had a goat miscarry before so we know our herd is free of this disease.
SOREMOUTH
Soremouth in goats is a lot like the Chicken Pox virus in humans. It’s very contagious and causes scabs that eventually heal and provide the person with immunity from contracting it again. The vaccine for this is a LIVE vaccine. This means it will give your goats Soremouth, but it will also give them (and hopefully their kids) immunity. Most small farms do not vaccinate for this because if their goats do contract it, it’s easy to manage with a smaller herd. (You can buy the vaccine here.)
PREVENTION TO AVOID SOREMOUTH or MANAGE IT
Treatment includes treating the sores, and keeping the affected goats from the others (though it might be a good idea to just let the whole herd go through it). The sores can be treated with an over-the-counter antibiotic called Gentian Blue or more natural means like herbs or homemade salves from essential oils. Also, make sure mothers are still feeding their babies. Mothers can get sores on their teats and refuse to nurse their babies. Likewise, babies can have sores on their mouths and not want to eat. In that case you will have to tube feed or drench feed until they can nurse again.
Making the choice for your Goat Herd
Really it comes down to how committed you are to caring for your goats. If you don’t use goat vaccinations, you need to commit to not only watching for signs of the diseases, but also keep emergency supplies on hand. Have a vet you can call, and be sure to keep their food the highest quality you can get. In the end, it’s about doing what’s right for your location, herd number, and individual circumstances.
Can the CDT vaccine be stored after opening? I saw on the label to use the whole bottle at once, which, considering the fact that some people (like me) have very small herds, seems like a big waste of the vaccine and money. I totally understand if this isn’t possible, just curious. Thanks
Hi Kathryn-
Most folks I know use the bottle more than once and store it in the fridge between uses (cleaning the bottle before and after each use and using a clean needle every time). However, I cannot tell you to follow this practice. It is always best to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and talk to your veterinarian.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
We have here in Aucklands edge, 3 lovely super loved female goats.
One cycles every 3 weeks and is on heat continuously for 3 – 4 days and nights with her tail movements and verbal request for a boyfriend.
Can you suggest anything to calm her down besides a Billy goat?
Hi Robert-
There’s not a whole you can do. You can talk to your veterinarian about possible hormone therapy or spaying your goat. These can be costly and the spaying can be dangerous to your goat due to the anesthesia. Some folks have used 2-3 drops of lavender oil on the goat’s tail for calming purposes. You can give this a try.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Well, I honestly just cannot trust a huge mega corporation or entity…monopoly, or government to make a vaccine that could be good for my goats, same goes for a vaccine for my children….I have questions like, are they listing all the ingredients for certain and how do we know that they are? Are there harmful ingredients that can cause birthing issues, change their Gene’s, and or DNA, change their sexuality? Change their personality? Can it affect their health over time in different ways with different goats…cancers…arthritis, infections? To me it’s like you are playing Russian roulette with the animal world and mankind. It just doesn’t seem right to me. Even if they got a sickness or disease, they are better off fighting that off naturally and building a natural immunity to that forever. Just my own experience on my very small goat farm operation.
Thanks for the information and thoughts though…I do enjoy your videos on your goats, my son 7 year old Son, very much enjoys watching them. Thank you!
Yah bless
I’m in complete agreement especially after my now 5 year old son having a reaction at 2 months old and most likely the “perfectly safe” medication causing the birth defect and subsequent death of my first child. But I have yet to find the death rate of a goat not vaccinated specifically the cd&t. If it is an overwhelming amount then I would consider it. But as this is my first herd I will live an learn and do the best I can with management.
I do appreciate all info I can acquire. Thanks Danelle
I completely agree! This article is missing one very important fact: there has never been a single reputable double-blind study showing the safety and effectiveness of any vaccine. I disagree that most “anti-vaxxers” know that vaccines work. As an ex-vaxxer, I question the effectiveness of vaccines. The flu shot is considered a success if it’s 40% effective. I am of the mind that vaccines can actually cause illness. If you inject a live measles virus into a body, it stands to reason it can cause the very disease it’s intended to prevent. Side effects of vaccines are common. Every parent and animal owner needs to do research and carefully weigh the risks vs benefits (if there even are any). How safe would the milk be if you vaccinate a dairy goat? I certainly don’t want to drink that.
This is awesome, and the chart is SO helpful! I had seen another site telling people to give the CD&T vaccine to kids at 3 weeks of age and I’m so so glad i saw your site instead.. i just had two does give birth to two sets of twins and this is my first time raising up babies… hopefully all goes well!
What happens if your goat is sick and you don’t know about it, and you keep drinking its milk? thank you!
Hello-
It depends on what your goat is sick with, but anytime your goat is unwell it is not a good to drink the milk. You should have your goat tested to see what your goat has and also have yourself tested, as some diseases can be passed from animals to humans.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
great post! and I love your outlook on animal husbandry I would be curious to know if switching brands and giving your cdt vaccine IM if you have noticed a large decrease in local vaccine reaction, working as an rvt we normally give the injections sq, along with my heard and everyone gets local reactions and long term nodules from the vaccine
Hi Shayna-
Yes, the intramuscular injections seem to do a lot better.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I’m so thankful I found this information. I am starting out with my goats and expanding my homestead efforts. There is so much information to learn and know. Thank you for providing these helpful tips.
Jess
Thanks for the great information! I was wondering if there is a way to know if your goats have worms/lice? I have a new mother that we might have over fed her grain after she birthed (well, when I saw we, I mean I; it was our first birth and I was so proud of her that I wanted to award her)… She had some severe diarrhea for a couple days, was not producing milk, she dropped weight rapidly, rejected one of her kids, and was definitely not right – alone and staring off. She slowly came back with her appetite and when the vet came for disbudding, he treated her with antibiotics. I’m wondering if it wasn’t worms or something more significant than over eating of grains (not that I want to feel less guilty) that I should have paid attention to and ways to naturally treat next time.
Hi Janae-
You can do a fecal test to test for worms and you can observe your goat’s coat to see if you see anything moving in the hairline. If you do, it’s probably lice.
Your doe could have suffered from overeating especially if she was given too much grain. She may have also had coccidiosis. The vet will be the one that can help you diagnose her.
These articles can help you with your goats:
https://www.weedemandreap.com/post-partum-care-goats/
https://www.weedemandreap.com/optimal-nutritional-goat-diet/
Best of luck with your goats!
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Being new to goats I have been doing some research. Some say vaccinate, others say no need. I thought that I do vaccinate my kids, why not my goats? Well, they were just vaccinated a week ago and they are not the same. My wether’s personality has changed and my doe also. Maybe its all in my head but they seem astarnged from me, not like they used to be. I cant figure out what is wrong. If this is going to happen every year, I will rather skip it. We only have 3 and now i regret doing it.
I really wish someone had answered you. I have experienced this phenomenon in other animals, and would rather not repeat it for my girls. They were doe raised and not socialized with humans much, so I have worked diligently to get them to like me.
Thank you so much for the great information. I have been doing tons of research in hopes to start a very small dairy goat herd this upcoming spring. While you and another book I am reading have the same list of vaccines, the book (later on in reading) brings up Brucellosis as a dangerous disease that is transferable to humans and recommends vaccinating for it, but I can’t seem to find any more information on it or even a vaccine for it. I was wondering if you had any information on this. Thank you so much!
Hi Stephanie-
DaNelle’s article of goat diaseases has information on Brucellosis: https://www.weedemandreap.com/goat-diseases-signs-symptoms/
Also if you check university extension sites you will find some offer information on it. Here’s an example:
https://iiad.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Meat-Goat-and-Sheep-Part-2-English.pdf
As for a vaccine, the most common is Rev-1. There are some issues with it and you need to discuss this vaccination with your vet. If you like to read up on it before talking to your vet here’s a good place to start: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9234451/
For further information contact you local county extension office and they can provide additional information and even help with keeping your herd healthy.
I hope that helps! Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Thank you so much!!
My 7 week old Doeling is beginning week 3 of fighting tetanus. I did not vaccinate. She was disbudded and two weeks after went down stiff. This had been a horrible two weeks on her and us. We still don’t know what kind of recovery we will see but she is on the mend. I read that you feel safe because you keep the anti toxin on hand. The anti toxin does not just reverse the disease and you go on your merry way. My goat has been on anti toxin for 16 days now. She’s just starting to open her mouth and move her neck. Her back legs are still stiff. It’s an awful disease and after going through this, my other goats have been vaccinated (as have I and my son since we know it’s on our farm), and we will continue vaccinating to Keep our herd healthy. I urge you to rethink your safety with the anti toxin. Feel free to contact me any time for more details.
New information indicates that a tetanus shot is good for 30 years in humans, not the 10 previously thought. I imagine tetanus yearly for any animal is overkill.
Hi DaNelle,
I have just recently purchased my first set of goats on our new little homestead. My question is what do you do to treat/prevent lice and mites in the goats hair? The lady I bought my goats from treated her herds with a chemical treatment called Invemectin or something like that. I want to use something natural; what do you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Cherelle-
Kudos on going for the natural method of pest control! To keep lice and mites off your goats make sure they are in good health, not overcrowded, have good pasture to roam in, and you can use natural methods such as these: https://www.weedemandreap.com/homemade-fly-spray-recipe/
I hope this helps! Best of luck with your new goats!
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Thanks this was very helpful!! answered all the questions I had and gave a lot if incite!
What do you think is the best goat food to feed goats?
Hi Cammie-
This article DaNelle wrote is a great guide to follow in feeding goats. https://www.weedemandreap.com/what-do-goats-eat/
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Thank you for all the info! This is exaclet what i was looking for!!
Thank you for this balanced, detailed information. We’ve had dairy goats for about two years and we haven’t vaccinated yet. However, this is the first year we’ve bred our does and I have been trying to decide if we should give the CD&T vaccine to them. You’re right when you say that people tend to vaccinate their animals the way they do themselves. I agree with you that prevention is very important and I think it is often overlooked. I had been having a difficult time finding unbiased information to help me decide until I found a link to this page on Pinterest. It’s especially nice that you included information on prevention and treatment. Our animals rely on us for their safety and well-being and like you, I don’t take that lightly. I have decided that our circumstances (which seem similar to yours) do not warrant vaccinations at this time. I appreciate your help. Thank you!