Someone told me that they use the SafeGuard cattle blocks to worm their goats 4x a year.

Anyone here do this or have thoughts on doing this?

How long would you leave the block in with the goats?

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 01, 2002

Answers

We use Safeguard crumbles from time to time on sheep. To be honest I've never heard or safeguard blocks! Standard proceedure for crumbles, vet script (to refrence not buy) and off label withdrawl. Works great!

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), February 01, 2002.

The Safeguard crumbles, look like tiny alfalfa pellets, will work on your goats if your area isn't resistant ot fenbendazole. Problems come from the overuse of TBZ as about the only wormer for years anybody used! You have to times the wieght of the goats by 2 or 3. So look out in the pasture and count heads, say 5 goats, mulitply by 100 pounds, for everybody (or however much they weigh) then put that much out in cow weight (so say the bag says 1 pound of pellets for 1000 pounds of goats, you would put out 1/2 pound. I would repeat the dose in 21 days, and then fecal to see if it works in your area. I do have a boer friend who uses this for his fecals during the season the does are nursing kids. He does worm with a oral wormer before the bucks go in the pens and the day the does kid. There is no way of dosing the blocks for goats. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 01, 2002.

Goats can't get enough of the minerals from the block. They need loose minerals. We provide the individual minerals in covered trays where they can take as much as they want/need of each. They crave the minerals they need and so take more of that. The minerals they don't need as much of, they leave.

-- Skip in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 02, 2002.

There are several SAFEGAURD products; liquid, pellets, crumbles, flakes, blocks, tubs, mineral mixes w/safeguard. If you are doing a few goats it is best to drench them , no longer than it takes. Some large sheep producers (500 ewes plus ) use tubs in order to avoid stressing the lambs in the handling process . Tubs are more accepted than blocks by sheep and goats. Be careful on mineral on sheep and goats as most are made for cattle. I drench sheep and lambs one time, and use flakes in their salt (to avoid the stress of handling) at varying times of the year. Remember when yow drench ,you are sure they got it! All others depends on intake of feed or salt or the blocks.

-- (smhamp@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

smhamp, minerals formulated for sheep are not adequate for goats. We only use cattle minerals. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 02, 2002.

Vicki you are right I believe that the goats need a higher copper level than sheep My concern with any type of product is the copper level when feeding to sheep

-- (smhamp@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.