# Worming Pregnant Goats



## mdavenport121 (Dec 6, 2012)

I've got two that could be three to four months pregnant, one weights about 125 lbs and the other 165 lbs. I've got three that are about 3 weeks pregnant, 85 lbs. They need to be wormed, eye lids are a little to white. What should I worm them with and at how much. They are all boer does. Thank you!


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 7, 2012)

Congrats on the preggers goats!  The problem with only looking at eye lids to determine worming is that you might now be treating the right worm and would be giving a medication (which costs money) that will do nothing for the issue (which means they would continue to decline). Additionally, giving an unneeded medication causes resistance to that med, so should you need it in the future, it may not work (this is the problem many people are seeing and there are only so many meds on the market0once they don't work, it is back to the drawing board).  Barberpole could cause the white eyelids, but a fecal test would be money well spent.  Once you figure out what is causing the problem (coccidia, tapes, round worms....), you can better chose a pregnancy safe medication.


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## 20kidsonhill (Dec 7, 2012)

the following wormers are often used with pregnant does.
Safequard or panacur at 3 times the dosage for 3 days in a row. (this is not a very strong wormer)  
Ivermectin(not the ivermectin plus), injectable for cattle given orally at 1 cc per 25 lbs on time, can repeat every 10 to 14 days for 3 treatments. Can also use the horse paste with ivermectin in it, give at 3 x the dosage for a horse. 

We also use cydectin, there are several brand/forms. Cydectin pour on for cattle,injectable for cattle,  cydectin sheep drench, quest for horses.  This one is a stronger wormer and often used where barberpole worms are a big problem. These wormers would all be givin orally to a goat.  Normally 2 to 3 times the recommended dosage on the bottle.  


You should avoid Valbazen, NOT for pregnant animals.  

These would be things to discuss with your vet after you have a fecal done.  They are all over the counter.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 7, 2012)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Congrats on the preggers goats!  The problem with only looking at eye lids to determine worming is that you might now be treating the right worm and would be giving a medication (which costs money) that will do nothing for the issue (which means they would continue to decline). Additionally, giving an unneeded medication causes resistance to that med, so should you need it in the future, it may not work (this is the problem many people are seeing and there are only so many meds on the market0once they don't work, it is back to the drawing board).  Barberpole could cause the white eyelids, but a fecal test would be money well spent.  Once you figure out what is causing the problem (coccidia, tapes, round worms....), you can better chose a pregnancy safe medication.


A really BIG x2 on that!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 7, 2012)

mdavenport121 said:
			
		

> I've got two that could be three to four months pregnant, one weights about 125 lbs and the other 165 lbs. I've got three that are about 3 weeks pregnant, 85 lbs. They need to be wormed, eye lids are a little to white. What should I worm them with and at how much. They are all boer does. Thank you!


If they have white eye lids then they could be near death already. More than likely that is a Barberpole worm issue and the goats are anemic. I would give them all Ivermectin 1% injectable for cattle & Swine as 20kids said. I would give them 1cc per 40 pounds (if you want to go heavier then go 1cc per 30 pounds) and I would give it orally. I would then give them the same thing in 7-10 days because of the high load. If Ivermectin doesn't work in your area go ahead and use Cydectin. 

I'm not into giving them a TON of wormer. They may need alot but don't give way more than they need. That's one of the things that build resistance and do NOT do regular worming, like every 2-3 months. Use wormer ONLY when it is needed, such as now.


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## 20kidsonhill (Dec 7, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> mdavenport121 said:
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I am hoping when STraw Hat says, "Not into giving a Ton of wormer" he is referring to how often and not total amount at the time of giving the wormer. Under dosing the wormer is one of the main reasons for wormer resistance.  Along with worming on  a regular basis if they need it or not.  When you underdose a larger number of worms/parasites survive and live on to muiltiply and produce future generations of more resistant worms.  When you worm, you want to make it worth the effort and NOT underdose.


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 7, 2012)

I think he did mean frequency and not quantity.  

Because a lot of these meds are intended for other animals (not a whole lot of meds designed with goats in mind), depending on the wormer type, the treatment dosages need to be increased 2, 3 or even 4 times what is listed.

Once you decide what type of wormer to use, the folks on here have been awesome about helping me to adjust the dosage to make sure I don't go too low or too high.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 7, 2012)

Oh yeah!! Underdosing is the worst thing you can do. That will build a resistance faster than anything.

But I am also not a big fan of the several wormings in a row kind of thing. I think twice, in most cases, is enough. A good wormer should reduce a worm load by 95%. Do that twice and you should be good to go. When you do a three or four course worming that is the same as a regular worming. We all know that regular worming is really bad for your goats because that breeds superworms and that causes them to be resistant to wormers. Well when you worm once and get rid of most of the worms then again and that goat should be pretty clean by then. If you do that again and again in some cases you are worming a goat that doesn't need it and is prety empty, that is the same as regular worming. I am not a fan of this at all. I say that if you are serous about raising goats then you must get a mircoscope and run your own fecals. That way you know what you are doing and what you need to worm for and with and how much. It's very important that people are responsible with how they worm. Nearly all white wormers no longer work due to over worming and resistance!! We have wormers going away alll the time!! Ivermectin is becoming resistance in many places. It's resistance in several places in Virginia already. I hear vets and top goat producers saying all the time, that wormers are not working.

So I am not for regular worming, I am not for underdosing, I am not for over worming in the form of doing it this many day, then again in this many days, then again in this many days, etc. Bad idea.


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## mdavenport121 (Dec 8, 2012)

Upon further inspection this morning, their eye lids look good. During the week I don't get to see them much in the daylight since the time has changed. I guess my flashlight makes them look whiter than they are. Thank you for the information.


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