# Tips for Copper Boulsing



## horsesandhoofprints (Dec 2, 2013)

Merry Christmas to everyone on Dairy Goat Info!!! I'm so thankful for this site. 

I'm getting ready to copper bolus for the first time. I'm kinda nervous about the goats choking when I give it to them, since my goats do not like to be given stuff while they're restrained (such as when I deworm them). I was wondering if anyone had any tips or hints to make giving them the boluses go over easier. Thanks!!


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## PrairieTrail45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I use a balling gun (special tool made for cattle/calves to give boluses). I have the calf size and bought the more expensive metal one with the rubber on the end. I just hold their head up and put it down in the back of their throat and push the plunger. I hold it for a little bit to make sure they swallow and pull the gun out. Occasionally I have one that will spit it out, so I have to put it back in the gun and try again.

I've never had one choke before.


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## Laverne (Apr 4, 2010)

I heat up bread slices in the microwave for a few seconds so the edges will stick all around and encapsulate a dose of Copasure and make Copasure sandwiches. I feed a couple pieces of bread then give the copasure one. They are excited to get a bread treat so it goes down the hatch easily. Last time one didn't want any bread so she got bloused.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

I use the pet pill plunger thingy. I put peanut butter on the end of it to ensure the bolus stays in. Down the throat and plunge away. These plungers don't last too long as the ends tend to get chewed a bit.


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## horsesandhoofprints (Dec 2, 2013)

Laverne, that sounds like a good idea. Do any of the goats chew it in their mouths though and break open the capsule and have the (whatever is in there; copper, etc) spill out? I'd hate to have that happen 'cause then I wouldn't know how much of the dose they really got. Maybe I could hide it in a banana . . . ? I have a couple of goats who will eat a banana right out of the peel like a person; and then eat the peel.


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## cvalley (Apr 15, 2009)

We use the $3 dog pill giver from our local feed store-- plastic but so far has lasted years--  We take the large boluses and get gel capsules locally in bulk to make smaller capsules. No problems administering.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I use the sheep balling gun and put the copper in human capsules. The most important thing is to get the bolus gun way into the back of the throat, practically in their esophagus. LOL. But that keeps them from chewing the capsules or spitting them out.


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## Laverne (Apr 4, 2010)

I sprinkle the dose on the bread without it being in the capsule. They may do a few chews but they are generally so excited about the bread that it goes down fast. I really like it when I can dose my buck without touching him.


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## Xtra (Jan 1, 2010)

Interesting to hear all the different ways people try to 'mask' the bolus.


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

I wrote a how to Copper Bolusing blog if you'd like to check it out.... Lots of pictures included 

http://noodlevilleadventures.blogspot.com/2012/01/noodleville-how-to-copper-bolusing.html

One note on the post though... In it, I listed a green pill gun that I used..... I've since switched to a different pill gun that I think works even better. You can stick 2 goat sized boluses in it at once, and they don't get bumped or knocked off... Wrap the barrel in a few layers of electrical or duct tape to protect it from goat teeth damage.. Here's the link to the pill gun I've been using:

http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=39-B7&green=045DC9C2-1B72-5F8D-B1EB-7C77698889BC

For bucks, I just put the proper amount in those capsules tha the calf boluses come in, and shove one down them with a calf balling gun


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

Nancy, where did you get a sheep baling gun?? I've never seen one and thought the smallest one was the calf one that I have..


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

They have them at my local farm store...but I just googled and came up with this, I think it's the same (mine's red, so not 100% sure on that): http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07f73-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5. Mine will fit 2 capsules next to each other if I really shove them in there.  I haven't tried it or even thought about it until now, but I remember seeing at a (cow) dairy that you can shove multiple pills into the cow ones if you go one at a time up the tube...hm, maybe I shoudl try that next time. 1 inside it is a little loose, so you gotta make sure to keep it tipped up until you get it in the goat's mouth. I have also put a little mollasses or you oculd probably use some peanut butter or something, on the end of it to hold the pill in.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

See, I don't like that kind. I've tried it. It's too big. Too hard for me to hold the goat's head, maneuver the thing AND plunge, never mind having it hold the bolus. I like the pet ones. A whitish/clear plastic. Maybe 6" or 7" long (without plunger extended).


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Once you get the thing in the goats mouth if you're far enough back, you should be able to easy get the plunger to go. Mine is not all that long. I dunno, these might not be the same if you think they are long, because they are only a little longer than the pet pillers.


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## JOY_Farm_Dairy_Goats (Dec 26, 2013)

I just straddle over my goats and hold their mouth open and then shove the capsule as far back as I can.. I hold their head up and mouth shut till the swallow and then they promptly get a handful of grain as a treat and to ensure they truly did swallow it.. 
I have the blue calf bouls gun and it's too hard for me to use.. I find this way easier.. Though it's a good way to get your fingers bit up LOL! 
This works for my Nigerians.. I'm not sure how it's going to work for my Munchie girls hehe!


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## LittleBits (Aug 6, 2013)

I mix the loose rods in about 10cc' s of yogurt, and give that to them in a 60cc syringe (the catheter tip is big enough for the rods to go through whereas other syringes are too small)

I just draw some yogurt up, take the plunger off pour the rods in, put the plunger back on, and drench as far back as I can. No chewing, they all swallow it, they like the yogurt, it's good for them, it's a win win all around.


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## janner (Nov 3, 2012)

This is very interesting! I have been bitten twice just using my fingers! I used to make peanut butter and grain cookies with the rods in the middle, but not all the goats would eat them. I have heard of using banana in a an old tube...like horsewormer tube with the rods in it, but yogurt seems like a great idea, too. What I did last time and it worked for all but one goat, was I gave some small sized alfalfa pellets with the gel capsules of copper coated in molassas. This was pretty quick and easy.
janice


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

I've been bitten once so far but no blood just hurt and makes me not want to put my fingers in their mouths any more


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I was just at the local D&B, and saw the bolus guns they had. They had that blue one from my link above, and it is much bigger than the one I have, which is a reddish/brownish color. The blue one I think was labeled as a calf bolus gun, and the red one said something like tetracycline bolus gun, I think? I remember it was labeled for a certain kind of pill, not a specific species.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Hm, that one in the link is green...well, I'm not sure if that's the same as what I have not now! It does look similar on the end, not circular, but kind of oval-shaped.


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## Bluere11e (Feb 10, 2013)

I dose my goats with how ever many gms they need by weight. I open a cattle bolus, measure out how many gms, smash them into bits of banana and feed it to the goat. if I have one that doesn't like banana, i try bread, or peanut butter.. even a marshmallow that i poke a hole inside and pour in a little, i give a few separate bites, with a small amount of the needles on each, so if they drop one, it isn't all wasted. my buck, however, won't touch anything.. I used to have to force it down. Now, I have to give him Ammonium Chloride once a week and he looks forward to the 7gm dose every week, because I dissolve it in 2 Oz of water, then add an ounce of light Karo syrup.. I suck it into a turkey baster and he sucks the whole lot down. So, i get an idea.. what if I did the same water/Karo mixture, maybe a touch more karo and mixed in the loose rods. I tried that, and he gulped every bit down. the turkey baster has a hole large enough that the rods don't log jam like a drenching gun. I bought mine at the dollar store.. best money ever spent. No argument or stress, and they LOVE the treat.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Also, once the bolus is in and the device that you used to get it there is out, if you (gently) hold their mouth shut and blow in their face, it inclines them to swallow. I find that I have better luck getting the bolus where it needs to be if I am directly in front of them, rather than at the side of their head. For me, being at the side of their head tends to result in a bolus that eventually ends up between their back teeth, chewed up, and spit out. Your mileage may vary.


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