# Iron Dosage



## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

I have a black LaMancha doe (7years) that has very pale eyelids. 
She has had her copper boulus, BoSe, wormed regularly.Had fecal done by vet, he said it was very clean. 
She otherwise seems very healthy. Good shiny coat, eats and produces well. Tail hair good and thick. Not thin. No coughing. Still very active in her role as the boss goat(even tries to beat the bucks when we try work them!). She is raising two healthy kids now. Other goats in herd have good eyelid color.
She has free choice to a mix of minerals - MaxEGlo, Purina Deer and Elk mineral, the feed stores chelated minerals, and a little kelp. 

I thought I would try giving her some injectable iron, but am having a hard time deciding on the right dose. I have Dextran iron injection which says to give 1ml then repeat in 10 days for piglets. I looked at the Onion Creek Ranch website about anemia and it gave a dosage for Ferrodex iron injectable 4cc per 100lbs. I have also read some other comments on here that stated 1ml as the bottle says for baby pigs. We have been giving her molasses along with her feed for a month to see if that would help, but I really think she needs more. Any suggestions on the right dose? Or should I be trying something else like B-12 first? 

It has been VERY hot around here lately. The hottest so far was 109. 
Thanks!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

She has free choice to a mix of minerals - MaxEGlo, Purina Deer and Elk mineral, the feed stores chelated minerals, and a little kelp.

We have been giving her molasses along with her feed for a month to see if that would help, but I really think she needs more. 
...............................

What are you worming with? The problem with a clean fecal and still you have anemia is that all you see in fecal is eggs. Adult mother worms who drink blood aren't seen in fecal. If you fecaled and immedicatly did a fecal sample you would see few to no worm eggs, it doesn't mean you don't have adult blood sucking worms killing your goat. Also cydectin does not get all the livecycles of adult worms.

If you just started bolusing it is going to take awhile to see improvment, but you really have to find one mineral, hopefully a non red mineral that doesn't contain so much iron in it. If any of the three minerals you are using is a good mineral than just feed it, don't mix them, add to them, or give your goats choices they simply don't have the capacity to choose between. If you want to add kelp or yeast or baking soda to your minerals add it to it, but don't give them several different choices of sodium. They only go to their minerals for sodium, they don't know that one has their copper in it, and the other their magnesium, it can also be scewed by having to much molassas in the minerals.

I would have a blood test ran to see if her blood volume is low enough to warrant iron shots, good feed, making sure you are worming her correctly for our area would fix the anemia before breeding season. I would not breed her until she has pinked up, you have had a chance to fix your minerals and you understand that adding iron to her diet will deplete the copper in her system and more importantly for her nursing kids and her milk, her calcium. Feeding molassas is just setting her up in this heat for acidosis, I would stop that practice immediatly. Our heat and molassas simply will harm her rumen.

I would worm her with cycectin, 2 times 10 days apart and then 10 days later use Ivermectin, this will kill all the lifecycles of adult worms in her...remember because she is nursing she is showing you the problems in your herd even if it is not seen in the rest of your girls, do know if they were working as hard in this heat as she is that they would be having the exact same problems. I would worm the whole group. 

When a 7 year old herd queen is anemic, the herd queen who gets the best food, the coolest water to drink, the best place to lay out of the sun....your herd is in trouble. Overall herd health is shown to you by your oldest does, your youngest does and your hardest working does, listen to them. Vicki


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

Thanks for the info. I will try what you suggested. 

The minerals are all mixed together with equal proportions except for the Kelp.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Are you up on the Edwards plateau or down off it in the flood plain? 
The soils are very different within just a few miles. If you are on limestone your approach will be different than if you are in the more iron rich acidic soils downslope.

I would like to reinforce what Vicki said about the molasses. It is big trouble if you are trying to keep a mineral balance because the iron will block so many of the other minerals and nutrients. Giving extra iron without finding out why she is anemic may mask the real cause. Iron precipitates out other minerals and other nutrition as well. 
If you are feeding a red mineral she has enough iron. That is if you actually see her using it. That does not mean she can pick it up and use it.

Anemia is not always a sign of iron deficiency- it can be showing you copper problems too because it is all about the balance which is so dependent on location. If you are feeding the Purina deer and elk it has no additional iron at all but the Maxeglow has 100 ppm. Maybe think about dropping the Max and just put out the deer min if it is a white formula?
That is if you are not on limestone soils. If you are then you may indeed need some iron.
Lee


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Is her coat tinged red? Since she is black it should be obvious if she is lacking copper even with the bolus. L


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/nutrition.html#mincon

This has some good info- but you have to be a dang chemist to use the graph of mineral interactions. L


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

don't think I would be giving this doe an injectable iron would work on a good mineral instead and do as Vicki suggested.


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

Ok thanks for the info again. 

Is there anything else I could give her to help her along and how long do you think it should take for me to know for sure that the worming is working correctly? Although I have no reason to think it wont. 

Yes I do see her using the minerals regularly. It is not red. She has always been copper bolused. Her coat looks good. 

We did switch off of the Kellog's minerals to these several months ago because theirs was a red mineral.

Thanks for the link Buckrun! It does seem like one must be a scientist, veterinarian and chemist to know half of what there is to know about raising goats!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Her anemia will improve and her fecals will remain clear, or with very low levels. Make sure your fecals are done so you have numbers of eggs per gram, but also the eggs identified. Vicki


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

How often should I get her fecal done?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I worm the day they kid, so say she kids in March, I fecal sample, April, May, June, July, August (september 1st I am going to worm everyone because I am breeding mid September this year) then fecal monthly until the first cool weather. I worm when the girls are 100 days pregnant, and pretty much don't worm during pregnancy, and I fecal sporatically during pregnancy because we simply rarely have problems then.

I will run a quick fecal when we have had lots of dry weather followed by alot of rain, since it perks up the pasture grass and also puts eggs and larve right up into the grass tall enough that if the girls grazed it they would consume it. I also fecal right after hurricanes or other really scarry times, we had a very mild 4th of july with all the dry grass, but normally it and January 1st are crazy busy with fireworks, mostly from my children and their friends. My kids, 25, 27, 30...are the neighbors everyone else hates who have livestock 

One season of doing your own fecals and not worming at least 3 or 4 times will save you enough money in just one year to pay for your microscope and mcMasters slide. Vicki


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

Ok great, thanks.
I am not quite clear on about how long it should take for her color to come back- weeks, months? If it does not clear up by around this blank amount of time then I should re-worm or look deeper for any other possible problem.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Did you answer the question of what are you worming with, how much and what route? Vicki


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

It takes a very long time to recoupe so don't look for those eyes to pink up anytime soon and please do tell us what you used and the dose you gave.


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

Like Vicky said - 
"I would worm her with cycectin, 2 times 10 days apart and then 10 days later use Ivermectin"
In 9 days I will do the Ivermectin
I had some Ivermec I used last time I wormed, but only used a single dose. I guess it was not enough. I just got her this year so I should have started over with her worming schedule when she arrived, but I dont know what I was thinking at the time!
Thanks for the info all!


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