Natural Goat Care

Reader Contribution by Caitlyn Menne
Published on April 14, 2012
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 My caprine first-aid kit is not like most. If you looked in it you wouldn’t find any Pen-G, CDT, liquid calcium, or Safeguard. No ‘TODAY’ mastitis treatment, no Coppertox, nor any needles. No, it’s not like most goat keeper’s first-aid kits… But before you call the ASPCA for animal neglect, let me tell you what you WOULD find: Slippery Elm powder, kelp meal, eachinacea, goldenseal, essential oils of peppermint, tea tree and lavender; wormwood, thyme, black walnut, and many other plants. For I am an herbalist…

Five years ago, I stopped using pharmaceutical drugs on my goats, and it was the best decision I ever made. I wasn’t happy with what the drugs were doing to my animals, the price, what it was doing to my pasture ecosystem… There had to be a better way, surely! Then while perusing a thrift store, I came upon a well-used book called, The Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable written by Juliette De Bairacli Levy. Five years later, that book still sits on my shelf. It is tattered and worn, with the spine taped together and pages still threatening to fall out. It has taught me that there are alternatives to the powerful and often times harmful drugs that sit on the feed store shelves. As a disclaimer though, I am not completely opposed to using drugs on my animals. If there is an emergency that require a fast treatment, then I will resort to using something stronger than herbs. But only in emergencies.

Many people ask how they can make their own herbal medicines, or how they can naturally heal a problem that their goat has. So today’s post will go over some simple, yet effective, herbal remedies for goats… 

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