Rabies shot

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I recently sold a couple of kids and the family took them in for booster shots. Their vet gave the kids a rabies shot. Just wanted to know how many of you routinely vaccinate for this.

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), April 19, 2002

Answers

We vaccinate annually for this. In fact this week there were two rabid raccoons in within 15 miles of us. We do not vaccinate until the kids are 3 months of age. If I am correct it is extra label as it is approved for sheep but not goats. We do have the vet do this as then we have a formal record that it was done in the event there is a problem. So far we have been fortunate.

-- Michele (gcsaanens@aol.com), April 19, 2002.

Hi Lynn, this will be one of those things you need to discuss with your vet. We do not give rabies shots, we will if we have to, but for now, they aren't approved for goats, though we are working on that. We had heard rumors about all small stock needing rabies shots and certificates to go to fairs, this went knowhere. Perhaps Bernice will remember the information but according to Goat Medicine it is like 2 reported cases in 15 years of rabies in goats........certainly not enough to do anything.............oooops, 7 goats in 11 years contracted scrapies :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.

Uh Vicki, on scrapies, and how many of those were induced by experimentation or were from kids nursing on sheep, lol!

-- Dennis Enyart (westwoodcaprine@yahoo.com), April 21, 2002.

My post was merely what we do. I definetly would suggest that one confer with their vet. When rabies was not in our area we did not, nor would have vaccinated our animals. The bad news is that it is now in our area and in order to ship milk, or go to shows one must vaccinate their goats. At them moment I would rather be proactive than reactive. It is here and unfortunately we have to deal with it labeled or not. I would never vaccinate our herd for rabies myself and then it would be useless and in the event of an incident we would be in deeper with a longer quarentine. So the bottom line confer with your vet as to what is necessary in your area.

-- Michele (gcsaanens@aol.com), April 21, 2002.

Hey Vicki, you need to add one more goat to the # of goats infected with rabies during the last 15 yrs. One of the families in our homeschool co-op just lost a buck to rabies. Both adults and all the children had to go thru the series of shots. Pretty scary stuff. So we're thinking about having the vet out to vacinate the stock this yr., altho in the past only the horse, dogs and cats got vacinated. You just never know, do you?

-- Judy Corwin (corwinsusa@netscape.net), April 21, 2002.


I had one vet say that the rabies vaccine wasn't know to work in goats. Meaning that if they got bitten, they may still get rabies. Another vet encouraged rabies shots for goats. Funny thing is they both work out of the same office.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), April 23, 2002.

Goats, if you're responsible with an LGD in your midst will not contract rabies. Even two or three goats need to have the symbiotic relationship between a guard dog and their lives. A good guard dog will "sound off" when something is in their bailiwic that doesn't belong. They'll ward off anthing that doesn't belong to their does. Period. Now this is my own oppion, and take it as that. But a Pyr, sniffing out the enemy will hold it at "arms length" and wait for you to determine the threat. Ask you yes or no. It's up to you. The point is that the maurading intruders. Your last line of defense LGD

-- Dennis Enyart (westwoodcaprine@yahoo.com), April 26, 2002.

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