We have now had goats for
over five years. Our first worry when we got into
goats was keeping predators from killing them. After
a few months with goats, our worry was keeping parasites
from killing them. We bought into the worming on
as schedule, no matter if the goats showed signs
of needing it or not. This continued for about the
two years. Then we started noticing that not all
goats showed signs of needing to be wormed.
We attended several seminars on goats and
parasites; and, well, on your way out of the seminar,
the only thing we wanted to do was rush home and
worm the herd. We were almost convinced that it
was almost hopeless. We started asking questions
and looking around at other goat folks in the area
and from out of the area. We listened to them, started
looking at the thing they were looking at in their
goats, and discovered maybe we didn’t need
to worm as often and especially didn’t need
to worm all our goats every time.
On one of our visits to our vet, Dr. Galbraith,
we asked about worming; and he told us to check
the gums. If the gums were pink, we could skip worming
that goat; but if the gums were white or light pink,
then she should be wormed. About a month or so later,
we attended a seminar on goat parasites, and there
was a new push - FAMACHA. The FAMACHA system is
basically the same as Dr. Galbraith told us to do
long ago – he just didn't have charts showing
the different shades of pink. We listened very closely
to what was being said. This made sense to us….looking
for a sign of the worms, not just worming for the
sake of worming or because we hadn’t wormed
in a while.
When two or more goat owners are together,
I’m sure the conversation eventually will
turn worms, wormers, and how you control parasites.
Wormers are the second most expensive item you buy
for your goats with the first being feed. Ok, before
you can control parasites, you need to know what
kind of parasites you have. In our area, southern
middle Tennessee, Haemonchus (barberpole worms)
and Moniezia (tapeworms) are our biggest parasite
problems. Externally the parasites to be most concerned
about would be flies and lice.
We control external parasites, i.e., lice,
mites, and flies, using Durasect, a pour-on that
is on-label for goats. Durasect is an excellent
product to eliminate lice and protect the goats
from biting flies. This is a pour-on that really
works! We also sometimes use Gordon's Goat &
Sheep Spray (insect control for goats, sheep and
other farm animals). Lightly spray or use 2 oz.
per adult goat; avoid eyes.
We try to control internal
parasites by rotating paddocks so the goats are
grazing on grasses/weeds over 6 inches high. Parasites
have a hard time surviving in tall grasses. Also,
we restrict grazing outside the immediate barn area
until after the dew is off the grass. We feed the
goats at browse level so they aren't eating grains
off the ground.
We worm only when necessary. The wormer
we chose is selected based on the parasites that
show up in fecal analysis.
There is no need to use a wormer for tapeworms if
the goat has an overload of barberpole worms. By
not worming on a "schedule," the parasites
don't develop immunity to the wormer. The various
wormers we use include: Safeguard for Goats, Valbazen
(but not on pregnant does), injectable Ivomec, …..and
several other wormers. By not over worming and/or
under dosing, the parasites have less chance of
becoming resistant to the drugs. We have heard folk
say, “I worm with Cydectin every 30 days no
matter what.” We strongly disagree with them.
If, as we are told, Cydectin is in fact "the
wormer of last resort," and we do not use Cydectin
too soon, we stand a better chance of controlling
the resistance problem.
NOTE: If you are testing your goats before
and after worming and find the only way to control
the parasites in your herd is by worming with Cydectin
every 30 days, or 21 days, by all means you should
continue to do so. But do test!
It should be noted most wormers we have
been using were developed for cattle as pour-on
wormers and are off label to goats. We give these
orally to our goats. That is, of course, with the
exception for the new Safeguard for Goats and Positive
Pellets.
As part of our experience with wormers
we have tried Cornerstone Positive Pellets Goat
Dewormer. It is great when you can control how much
each goat is eating, but impossible with a large
herd where the herd eats together. The bigger, more
aggressive goats are going to get more of the medicated
feed. We have used it successfully with separated
doelings and bucklings being weaned, for our quarantine
pen, and for yearlings who have not rejoined to
herd. It seems to work well, but…. for us
the cost seems high.
Once again, we do not normally worm that
often. The last time we wormed the entire herd was
March 2003.
Now I did not say we had not wormed, but
we have not, for the sake of worming, wormed the
herd in over a year. There are times when we do
worm as a rule:
1. Each does gets wormed the day or day
after she kids with Valbazen or one of the wormers
in that family. If it is given to a pregnant it
can possibly cause abortions or birth defects, and
the one day you know she is not pregnant is the
day she kids.
2. When we do our check of eyelids and gums and
determine the color is not dark enough.
3. When we bring a new animal into the
place, we worm them twice over a week period with
two different families of wormers. Normally we do
the oral then a top dressing. Again, watching to
make sure we don’t have a problem.
4. Diarrhea – When diarrhea is observed,
we normally take quick action. But we also think
of what feeding changes have occurred, new/or changed
paddocks, change of food, over eating, but we do
consider worming. The first check when diarrhea
is discovered is looking at those gums and eyelids.
If they are light in color, we have, most likely,
parasites; and we worm the goat with diarrhea, but
we also take a look at several of the animals that
share the paddock. Again looking for the color of
the gums and eyelids, if the checked animals are
pink or darker, then they do not get wormed.
We normally worm with a clear wormer, rotating
the wormer so as not to give the worms a chance
to be come resistance to a participle wormer. A
long time ago our vet told us to be sure to worm
with enough wormer to do the job and not to skimp.
Skimping on wormer (under dosing) will cause resistance
to the wormer.
We base the amount of wormer to be given
at one time to when we only had a few goats and
would go to the Vet to get our wormer. He would
ask what each goat weigh, and would measure out
the amount of wormer for us. Over time he determined
we were a little smarter than he once though and
would let us take home a container. Finally we started
purchasing from the Tennessee Farmer’s Co-op/TSC
or at various goat shows and seminars.
If you are with your animals a lot, you
get to know how they act. If you find a moppy goat
who is normally cheerful, then she needs to have
her gums and eyelids checked. If the hair texture
does not look “right” for her, then
check gums and eyelids. Any change in the behavior
should be investigated. Normally those sweet things
will tell you what is wrong with them if only given
the chance. Some of the other signs to look for
in a goat that needs worming are: clumpy stools,
dull coat, off feed, dehydration, listlessness,
temperature (either up a little or down a little),
fluffed hair, and dry cough (especially after running)
We have used the following wormers:
Note: We use a white wormer at least once
in every four wormings.
