Natural Medicines for Goats
There are some particular problems common to goats that you may need natural medicine for. Let's look at a few of these now.
Kidding
Barring the malpresented kid, if the doe has been fed adequate nutrition through her gestation, she delivers a healthy kid or two or four. We can make that kidding a bit easier by providing items that help her uterus, such as raspberry leaf and nettle. Fresh or dried, these herbs help to tone the uterus a couple of weeks before and after parturition, and can help strengthen her contractions, shortening labor time. These are also well known herbs for helping increase milk supply. Shortly after kidding would be a good time to offer her some worming herbs and to be certain that she has plenty of access to minerals and fresh water. There is no substitute for good nutrition and adequate exercise during gestation, that alone will prevent most kidding problems, including ketosis, or milk fever.
For those kids that are born weak, or mother abandons on a very cold day, and must be handfed to get started, I use colostrum, preferably from the mother, mixed with a wee bit of natural molasses and a bit of kelp and/or spirulina. If the kid was particularly cold or lethargic, I may give a small syringe full of coffee by mouth to help the blood get pumping and warm the kid a bit faster. The seaweeds and algaes have a concentrated content of minerals and nutrients that can get the kid up and running faster than plain colostrum in these situations.
Mastitis
Garlic, echinacea, and ginger given frequently is the best treatment internally. Hot compresses can help when applied directly to the udder, afterwards rub in some peppermint oil to stimulate the blood vessels within. Good nutrition prior to freshening will help to prevent this from occurring, as well as good nutrition (free choice minerals, quality forage) during the entire lactation. To avoid the painful swollen udder that might occur when trying to dry off or wean the does, sage given dry or fresh, free choice or added to the water, will help a great deal to dry up the milk. If you have a set weaning date for your kids, it would be wise to add sage to the water for those mothers a few days in advance of that date.
Respiratory ailments
Pau d' arco (taheebo), echinacea, peppermint, horehound, and mullein combined and given frequently. I use equal parts of each.
Diarrhea
Usually I let this go for a day or two if it has no accompanying symptoms, as it generally means the goat has eaten something it shouldn't have, or way too much of something. If it is accompanied by lethargy, fever, chills, etc. or if in young kids then I intervene immediately with slippery elm bark, blackberry leaf, and dill for a day, followed by garlic and pau d' arco and/ or echinacea for several days. If it is coccidiosis, then I treat for a week with a mixture of antibiotic and antiviral herbs to both clear up the coccidiosis and prevent any other illness from taking hold while the goat is weakened from the diarrhea. Once the diarrhea has passed, some good natural yogurt will help get the rumen running well again. Yogurt is also good to give during and after chemical antibiotic treatments, as those will kill beneficial bacteria in the digestive system where natural herbal antibiotics and antivirals will not.
Bear in mind that many does come into their first heat cycle a few weeks after birthing, and the hormonal changes within her can cause scours in the kids as well, so be sure what you are treating. Bear in mind also that sometimes a quick change in feed will cause diarrhea in varying numbers within the herd – so if you just had to change hay or rotated pastures, for example, that too may cause diarrhea, so don't panic if it happens……just watch and it will pass usually within the first 24 to 36 hours as the rumen adjusts to digesting the new feed.
Wounds
I generally mix together apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil, and an infustion made from calendula and echinacea, put it in a spray bottle, and spray the affected area several times a day. If the wound already looks infected by the time it is noted, such as the goat has been out to pasture for a while and escaped close inspection, I will give echinacea and garlic and probably pau d' aro, in equal parts, directly to the goat for internal immune system support.
Edema
Dandelion (whole plant, fresh or dried), burdock and/or yellow dock, uva ursi, chickweed
Urinary Calculi
Apple cider vinegar, uva ursi, gravel root, marshmallow root, cranberry
Stress (shipping, showing, weaning, etc)/ Calming
Suma, chamomile, skullcap, valerian, hops, astragalus
Since many of the attendees of the Langston classes asked for this information I will add it in here:
CL Treatment (this is what I would do for my own goats if they had CL)
3 cups kelp
1 cup sea salt
4 cups dried nettles
2 cups dried pau d' arco (taheebo)
1 cup dried olive leaf
1 cup dried and crushed rosehips
1 cup dried burdock leaf and 1 cup dried roots, mixed
1 cup dried dandelion leaf and 1 cup dried root, mixed
1/2 cup dried rosemary
Mix all dry ingredients together. Give at ¼ to ½ cup per day per affected goat (you can add it to a small amount of a favorite grain mix to encourage them to eat it). The affected goat(s) should be isolated from the rest of the herd for the duration of treatment. When the lump(s) can be lanced, or after they have burst (but DO try to get them before they burst!), first lance the lump (please wear surgical gloves and try to keep the liquid from reaching the ground). Flush it with peroxide every day for three days. Add together 2 cups olive oil, 1/2 cup dried calendula flowers, and ½ cup dried olive leaf and let stand for three days, shaking occasionally (alternatively, you can spray tea tree oil directly into the area). Use this after the three days of peroxide treatment, rubbing it into the lance site. Again, be sure to wear gloves! I've only experienced CL on my own ranch one time, in three goats that had been purchased to "improve" the commercial meat herd. Fortunately this issue surfaced while still in quarantine, and I sent them right back off my ranch to their breeder, tore apart the quarantine pen and disinfected it, and rebuilt a new pen weeks later many acres away from where the old one had been located. The above process and protocol has worked for many others, I am praying I never have to use it myself!
Don't let natural treatments for your goats confuse or frustrate you. Most are very simple yet very effective. Most are also very cost effective when you are wise and buy in bulk and mix your own treatments based on what your goat, or your herd, needs. If you have had no training in medicinal herbs, there are plenty of books out there, including my own, which can guide you to choosing the best herbs for the situation. If you are interested in my book, The Herbal Encyclopedia – A Practical Guide to the Many Uses of Herbs, you can go to my site www.naturalark.com and you will find the information you need to order it through any book store that doesn't have it on the shelf.
Remember not to over-treat, and not to give up too fast. Certainly if you have a crisis situation you should resort to emergency medicines if there is time and the willingness on the part of your vet. More is not better, so giving herbal type wormers on a daily basis is a bad idea, as is giving preventative treatments on a daily basis. Put your herd on a schedule unless you have environmental/climate concerns that require your intervention differently.
For some places to buy medicinal herbs in bulk, try:
Starwest Botanicals at http://www.starwest-botanicals.com
Penn Herbs at http://www.pennherb.com
Frontier Herbs at http://www.frontiercoop.com/products/herbs.html
Mountain Rose Herbals at http://www.mountainroseherbs.com
Besides my own book for your reference use, I would also recommend the book The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. It's a wonderful reference, this woman has gleaned tidbits of the "old ways" from around the world. Her treatments mainly come from farmers in Britain and France, but most of the herbs are available here, and the treatments do work. I got my copy from Amazon.com a few years ago.
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 goat herd naturally.
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