Do you worm ?

[hoggie]

Right - next idiot question. My goats were bought from a lady who breeds for show. They were kept entirely stabled (they were scared to go outside when I first got them LOL). Since I had them, they have lived in (it didn't seem fair to turn them out in Autumn as the weather got colder) but get to run around in my yard and paddock when we are doing stables in the evening.

I always worry about regular worming - after all you are basically giving the animal a poison and we don't take wormers ? . I know they would have been wormed regularly before I got them, but I haven't done them since they arrived. Like I say, I don't have a schedule with the pony - I do him from a couple of times a year but have never had any problems.

One of the goats has never done quite as well as the other but I thought that was because she was having her food pinched by the other one - so now we feed them tied up so they can't steal and I know she is having her full ration. Her coat has always had a sort of fluffed up appearance as if she was feeling the cold, but recently it has got quite coarse (in a horse I would say it was staring but I don't know if the terminology is used for goats too) . The other goat has got a lovely sheen on her coat, and her coat feels good when you handle her. Is it possible for one of them to get worms without the other when they are stabled together all the time. Incidentally - when they go out in the paddock they don't even look at the grass, they are straight into my trees and eating all the tips of the branches LOL, so there shouldn't be space for a worm cycle to have started.

?

hoggie

[TennesseeMama23]

Yes, I am sure yours needs to be wormed also. The wormer won't do near as much harm as the worms.

[LomahAcres]

It is my understanding that ALL goats have some worms. Whether or not they have too many worms to handle is another story. You can check your goat's fecals and do a worm count to see if it a problem in your goats. http://fiascofarm.com/ Has a good step-by-step "how to" on doing fecal exams. If you want to avoid using chemical wormers, there are Herbal wormers that may work for you.

[hoggie]

Thanks for that - looks like I'll be getting the microscope out - quick biology lesson for DD here I think

Will look into the herbal wormers - has anyone used them?

hoggie

[horses43]

I use food grade diatomaceous earth (sp) for worming all my critters.

[mygoat]

I've had the herbal wormers. It was the hoegger herbal wormer. YOu CANNOT use them on the schedule that hoegger suggests, or in the quantanty. The reason they can get away with dosing them thus is because it doesn't need an approved label because it is not a chemical. Read up about it on Molly's herbal site (by the same owner of fiasco farm). I also had a heck of a time getting my goats to eat the wormer. NONE of them would eat it in the powdered form, and only one would willingly eat it with molasses. Hand making little pellets to mix with thier food, hand making a large bolus type thing to force down thier throat, or making up drenches for each goat is NOT my idea of worthwile. I'd rather worm my goats with chemicals whenever needed than struggle with them. I hardly ever really worm... Just after kidding, and if a goat shows signs of a heavy worm load. Otherwise, they're just fine.

[jordan]

I've used the herbal wormer from Molly's and have had great success with it! Zero worms on the last 2 fecals and the goats look fabulous!
I mix it (enough for all the goats) with water and feed it to the goats with a syringe (no needle!), they love it and mob me when they see the container. 1 tablespoon works out to about 24 cc's when wet.
It really doesn't take me much longer than it would to give them their animal cracker treats.

[Wendy]

I always worry about regular worming - after all you are basically giving the animal a poison and we don't take wormers ?

A lot of humans do take wormers. You just don't hear about it. We are also not picking stuff up off of the ground where we have pooped & putting it in our mouths. Even though they are browsing in trees, they are still going to be eating off the ground here & there. Unless you want anemic, sick goats, you need to work out a worming schedule. I also add DE to my feed, but it does not work alone as a wormer. At least not here. So don't depend on it to kill all of the worms. I still use chemical wormers.

[Sher]

I rarely worm. If and when I do worm..it is definitely on an individual basis. That being said..I am very interested in the DE. As I think it might help with more than just worms.

[hoggie]

OK - thank you for the info. Having thought it through and read the Fiasco farm link a bit I am going to use the bottle of wormer I have in the cupboard today. Then I can look into herbal wormers and fecal counts. Seems silly to use up time waiting for stuff to arrive when I have a bottle right here and now.

Roughly what weight do you think a 1yo togg would be - just a rough estimate so that I know I am in the right area ?

Thanks again for the advice

hoggie

[chris30523]

Originally Posted by horses43

I use food grade diatomaceous earth (sp) for worming all my critters.

How long have you been using this? Do you use it with the goats also?I am zone 8 Georgia also and thought we had too high a worm load to use DE exclusively. Not to mention I can't find the DE anywhere around here. Sure would make me happy if you have been using it on goats for a couple of years with success.

[Milk n' Honey]

It is important to remember that your location has a lot to do with what you use and how often to use it. If you live where the winter gets cold, it is easier to control the worm load, I've been told. I've heard that herbal dewormers aren't as reliable in the south where it is warmer. Just something to think about.....Maybe it would be good prevention to use the herbal and the DE and then use the chemicals only when necessary. Starting to use the microscope is the best plan unless you want to pay the vet to do it. Let's face it, it is difficult to stay on top of things financially so we want to cut costs when we can. That is my plan for the future. We had plenty of worm problems....the most current....whipworm....which isn't even common in goats but very common in dogs. Something important to note.....if you purchase a goat from a farm that has dogs running through the barn and/or pastures, make sure you deworm with Panacur when you get them home.....I have equine Panacur from the vet...I was told to give 2x the dose for 3 days in a row. You can't be sure how well the dogs are being taken care of (deworming schedule etc.) so do this to prevent a nightmare. I just had one necropsied so I know this is a problem. I went out and dewormed everybody who came from that farm plus anybody who wasn't looking perfect. Now thinking I should go ahead and just deworm everybody in that paddock since they all have probably been exposed by now. BTW, the goat was wasting and eventually coudn't walk....the gums and eyelids were red so the goat was not anemic. I would have never guessed the problem without the necropsy. That was the best $50 I've spent so far. I probably just saved half my herd. Take care and good luck!!

[southerngurl]

One of the goats has never done quite as well as the other but I thought that was because she was having her food pinched by the other one - so now we feed them tied up so they can't steal and I know she is having her full ration. Her coat has always had a sort of fluffed up appearance as if she was feeling the cold, but recently it has got quite coarse (in a horse I would say it was staring but I don't know if the terminology is used for goats too) . The other goat has got a lovely sheen on her coat, and her coat feels good when you handle her. Is it possible for one of them to get worms without the other when they are stabled together all the time.

Some goats have more immunity to worms and won't get worms as badly as others. Just like two people can get exposed to an infuenza virus and only one gets sick. One may have a better consitution and immune system. Babies don't have much immunity to worms, but exposure to them, in controlled amounts, helps them develop that.

Definately go the microscope route, try the herbal wormers if you want (and I wouldn't hesitate to double the dose on Molly's either if the regular dose didn't do the trick). And see how it works and where to go from there.