Irene Ramsay suggests making a 1% solution of copper sulfate:
“1 tablespoonful of crystals/powder to 3 litres of water makes a 1% solution. [U.S. Conversion = 1 tablespoon of crystals to 12 & 3/4 cups water] I always dissolve it in about half a litre of hot water, then add the rest, ‘cos it dissolves faster in hot water. Store in food grade plastic containers and be careful to label them Copper & Poison. I use plastic milk bottles or fruit juice bottles.”
Treatment as follows:
“Reason for my 1% solutions of copper and cobalt is that I’ve lived in areas marginal for these, but not completely deficient, so bolusing with copper would have been dangerous, IMO – I’ve had to deal with copper poisoning from ill-administered copper supplements. The 1% copper sulfate solution is given at a dose rate of 20 mls twice daily per adult dairy goat for 7 days. Rest 7 days, repeat 7 days, rest 2 weeks, repeat at half dose 7 days. This won’t poison them, and should be enough to bring them up to the level where the maintenance amount of copper in your mineral mix will keep them where they should be. The solution may have to be repeated if you have a long drought. Alternatively, when they are just starting to have that ‘look’ but aren’t actually sick with deficiency, you can add 2 mls of solution to each gallon of drinking water for a week, alternate weeks, for 4-6 weeks. “
“Copper is highly toxic if not needed, as it’s stored in the liver, and can cause severe liver damage if it’s not required. It is safe to treat for copper deficiency after the first month of pregnancy – I wouldn’t risk it earlier because it’s something no-one’s quite sure about, and why find out the hard way? Keep careful records while you do this, so you don’t overdose. Because dealing with copper poisoning is much harder than dealing with copper deficiency.”
I wanted to show some pictures of the copper sulfate that we purchased. It is the *right* stuff, despite all the dire warnings on the label. Click on the label pictures to see a much larger version which you can easily read.
Here is what the crystals look like:
Front label of the container:
Back label of the container:
Go here to read how to supply copper with Copasure Bolus.
I am acquainted with Irene Ramsay through the Holistic Goats list on Yahoo Groups. I read all of her posts as they are always full of wisdom and natural remedies for healing. I am honored that Irene Ramsay has agreed to allow me to publish some of her articles on my website. I hope they will be as helpful to you as they have been to me. Thanks, Irene! Please note that Irene lives in New Zealand and sometimes the items she recommends won’t be available in the US under the same name. Copyright 1974-2010 Irene Ramsay. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy without express permission of the author. Thank you.