copper as wormer?

[squirrelgirl]

I have been reading the book Natural Goat Care by Pat Coleby. In the book she talks of using copper as a wormer she states that she read a study by Dr. William A. Albrecht that found "...the copper did not actually kill the worms, rather the copper was absorbed by the animal and no worms of any kind would stay in or suck blood from an animal that has plenty of copper in its tissues." And that she has used this for ten years with success on goats as well as other animals (page 288-289). Has anyone tried this? Does it work? I know they need copper and their minerals do have some copper. Would love to hear some thoughts on this. We use Cydectin right know. Thanks!

[outofmire]

I'm hoping you get some responses because I was reading the same thing just yesterday and wondering. I'm a little reluctant to try it since there isn't enough known about how much copper goats can handle; it can be toxic. I have nigerians, so I don't know how much less they would get than what's recommended in the book. Also, where do I find copper sulfate? I saw in Jeffer's catalog a medicine for poultry called "acidified copper sulfate". I wondered if that was the same stuff.

[crazygoatgirl]

I am not so sure about the effectiveness of copper as a dewormer. I can say though that when a goat is recieving the correct minerals that they are more resistant to anemia that is associated with a high worm burden. Yes, goats can be OD'd on copper as they can anything else. THey are alot less likely to be OD'd on copper than sheep. Overdose comes in to play when they are force fed copper mixed with kelp or feed. My thoughts are if the minerals are right and at the correct balance that they deal with worm burdens better and may have better resistance but I do not think that you an "deworm" them with copper.