Читать книгу Raising Goats For Dummies - Cheryl K. Smith - Страница 50

Taking a goat’s temperature is easy. You need either a digital or traditional glass thermometer that you can buy from a feed store, a drugstore, or a livestock supply catalog. Either type is fairly inexpensive.

If you use a glass thermometer, make sure you shake it down before you start so that it reads accurately. Tie a string around one end of a glass thermometer so that you can retrieve it if it goes too far.

To take a goat’s temperature, grab a thermometer, the goat’s health record, and take the following steps:

1 Immobilize the goat.You can hold a small kid across your lap. Secure an adult in a stanchion (a metal device to lock a goat’s head in place), have a helper hold him still, or tie him to a gate or fence.

2 Lubricate your thermometer with K-Y Jelly or Vaseline.

3 Insert the thermometer a few inches into the goat’s rectum.

4 Hold the thermometer in place for at least two minutes.

5 Slowly remove the thermometer, read the temperature, and record it on the goat’s health record.

6 Clean the thermometer.Use an alcohol wipe or a cotton ball that has been wet with alcohol.