The main problem in his herd was mastitis, especially uneven udders and loss of production. Following his veterinarian’s recommendation, he started vaccinating with VIMCO.
In terms of health, what are the main problems in your flock?
My main problem is mastitis. Definitely. Actually, I don’t have any other problems
What financial losses did you suffer because of mastitis?
It was tremendous. Mainly because the goats weren’t producing what they should have been. When they should be capable of producing 700 l and you don’t even get 300 l, it’s a shame. And also the ones that end up being sent to the slaughterhouse.
Have you calculated it? For example, when you had mastitis outbreaks, how much do you think you might have lost?
I think it could have been over €20,000. Because when I was having problems, I got rid of 100 goats, which were some of the best I had. I wouldn’t have sold the goats for all the gold in the world. Selling them for €150-200, for example, plus what the goats had already eaten when they were dry, as I said, more than €20,000.
How important do you think mastitis control is?
For control, the only thing that works is keeping ahead of the game. We very often fail to diagnose what’s happening on our farm. I tell people, even if you don’t have any problems, if a goat “leaps out” at you, take the tube and freeze it. I actually do it with many of the ones that develop mastitis.
How often do you check the milking machine?
Once a year. They came this year and told me the machine was perfect.
Since when have you been using VIMCO© and why did you start using it?
We’ve been using it for 7 years now. I had a lot of goats with problems. They were producing less and less milk, and then we started to get uneven udders.
What vaccination protocol do you follow?
I give them the vaccine the way the vet told me: five weeks before kidding, and I re-vaccinate them 15 days before kidding.
And has it been easy to implement?
Yes. I do ultrasounds and the pregnant ones are kept separately. Then, when I have to vaccinate them, I take them to the milking shed.
Have you noticed changes in milk production with VIMCO©?
I already had good goats, but yes, it shows in the production.
Over time, if I do the maths… here now at one milking, they’re at over two litres. But they have been at 3.3 litres.
Would you recommend using VIMCO© to other farmers?
I really recommend it.
My goats… If we compare when I started with VIMCO© to today, you can see the difference… Especially in the udders, there are far fewer uneven udders.
Anything else you’d like to comment on about VIMCO©?
That it’s worth it financially. In fact there are other farmers I know who do it differently. When it’s time for them to vaccinate, they vaccinate all of them. Every five months they vaccinate everything. And it actually works perfectly for them. It also gets rid of their uneven udder problems. So I would encourage people to do it.
