Apple Cider Vinegar for Goats
In a previous article, I mentioned apple cider vinegar. That item also is a controversial item for goats, but, I do use it on all livestock on my place and I like the results.
True apple cider vinegar is brown, not clear. It has many nutritional qualities all by itself, including a good level of various vitamins and minerals from the apples used to make it. ACV is high in potassium, which aids in keeping the blood flowing properly, an activity that is very important for our pregnant does, most especially when she is carrying multiples. It also assists with the uptake and processing of calcium, phosphorous, and copper by individual cells, another very important action for successful pregnancy. I add ACV to livestock water to assist in keeping down the algae growth, assist in preventing the hatching of mosquito larvae, as well as help my bucks keep from getting urinary calculi and kidney stones. This works for humans, too, by the way.
There is an old farmer's tale that ACV added to the water of bucks and does can help you get a kidding season of more does than bucks, and with horses can get you more fillies than stallions. Whether or not this is actually true has yet to be studied, as it probably is not something anyone is going to get a study grant for, but as a general rule I find that it works to a certain extent for me. In the 2004 breeding season I did not add ACV to my stallion's water and ended up with a foal crop of nothing but boys, in previous years my stallion had only given me fillies with the ACV added to mares and stallion water. I've noted the same sort of response with my goat population. But, not always, as it also depends on how much is used, how often, and of course all of the other environmental and nutritional factors, and some bucks just naturally/genetically produce a lot of boys. So whether or not that holds true for you, well, I say it may be worth a try over a few kidding seasons in your own herd to see what happens. Certainly I would encourage you to use it in your bucks' water if he is prone to urinary problems or is on a high protein show/breeding diet, and it certainly can't hurt as a preventative for any of your bucks or wethers. I've traveled to a lot of places with my goat lectures, and everywhere I go, people tell me that they too have not only heard of this, but that they regularly do it to keep down the boy numbers; Your Mileage May Vary.
Apple Cider Vinegar is also an item that can be given to reduce scouring in goats. I usually mix it with slippery elm bark to make a thin paste that I can drench the affected goat with. Usually it only takes one or two doses to stop the scouring. It can also be mixed with Pepto-Bismol, or the generic equivalent available in your local area, for those of you who aren't working on completely natural. ACV also helps the digestive system relieve gas buildup, so it can be useful as a bloat preventative.
ACV will also help draw out more of the active constituents in the healing herbs, so I normally make sure it is in the water when I add medicinals for whatever reason. ACV also has its own healing properties since it is antibacterial and antifungal, and I have often mixed healing herbs for cuts and scrapes with ACV to make a handy spray for those wounds. Yes, you can dowse it directly onto areas of hoof rot and hoof fungus to clear that up quickly. It can be used as the liquid to make tinctures, since with goats I'm not too amenable to giving them the ones made with alcohol; they get themselves into enough trouble without also being able to blame me as a party to their antics!
If you live in an area of high alkalinity, as I do along with many in the Western states, ACV will obviously help neutralize the water, which assists in the absorption of vital nutrients from the food and free choice minerals your caprines are snacking on. ACV in the water regulary gets your thirsty camel, er, um, goat used to the flavor, so it becomes the perfect addition to "strange" water when you are on the road with your critters, be it for show or travel. Goats can get to be real picky about drinking if they think the flavor of "new" water is off a bit, and the key to keeping them healthy on the road is keeping them properly hydrated. Anything we can do to keep them drinking is a huge plus.
I'm always asked how much to use. Without meaning to sound like a smart aleck, it really depends. It depends on what you are using it for, your particular feed program, your soil content, your water content, etc. My general rule of thumb in the water is one cup per 30 gallons once a week. Same amount twice a week if it's breeding season. Use one and a half times that amount if you are also including medicinal herbs in the water. For tincture making, follow the amount specified for the liquid portion of that tincture recipe. For wounds, scrapes, fungus, etc. I use it full strength directly to the affected area. A deep wound I will dilute it a bit. I use it full strength in a spray bottle with many drops of tea tree oil added if I am working on repelling fleas, lice, biting flies, etc. It's real hard to use too much. It is possible to give it too often, so my critters get regular breaks from it, usually when all the people in my general area have read this article and rush out and buy up all the ACV in gallon containers!
Please attend one of my clinics for more in depth information on how to properly use herbs and other items mentioned in this article, or drop by The Herbal Encyclopedia for assistance.
Because of various state and federal laws, I can't diagnose for you or give you exact written amounts of herbs to give to your individual goats as I am not a licensed vet. The best way to learn what to choose and how much to choose is to attend a clinic or hold one with your fellow goat producers. This article is not intended to replace the advice of your veterinarian, but to help you on your way to treating your own organic goat herd naturally.
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