Anyone use the FAMACHA chart method to determine parasite loads?

[Beekissed]

Just reviving this thread for a moment to ask another question. I don't mean to offend anyone and am just very curious about this whole deworming issue.

There are many threads on here dealing with worms, mostly goats, but sheep also. The vet always recommends Ivermectin and it seems to be the drug of choice now days. If that doesn't work another chemical dewormer is pulled out of the hat and another and another.

Then, the animal gets too run down or gets scours or some such and more meds have to be given.

I would be totally exhausted at this point and probably just shoot the animal and put her out of her misery.

I'm a nurse and I guess I'm just jaded on the whole medical scene...one drug for this, another drug to combat the side effects of the first one and so on and so forth, ad nauseum.

Are there any people out there who try other methods to maybe prevent big parasite loads? Or maybe more natural methods that don't seem to turn worms into supra worms that wouldn't be killed if you shove a nuclear bomb up a goat's butt?

Anyone try breeding for parasite resistance and culling for this trait? Or choose breeds that are parasite resistant? Or choose minerals or feeds that help the animals stay healthy despite a normal worm load?

I'm just curious. It seems there wouldn't be so many people in trouble with their goats or sheep if they looked more towards preventative methods and less harsh chemicals as the answer to deworming.

Anyone?

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Anyone try breeding for parasite resistance and culling for this trait?

I think lots of folks do this. My guess is that how heavily it factors into your selection process would depend on your breeding goals. I'd like to hear more....

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Many breeders do select for parasite resistence. If they have a ewe that needs deworming frequently, often they'll cull her.

Honestly, I don't have many animals and my worm load is very low. I've only dewormed everyone once in the past year. I do try to be a little more careful with lambs and kids, because they just can't handle a very heavy load.

 

[jodief100]

Are there any people out there who try other methods to maybe prevent big parasite loads? Or maybe more natural methods that don't seem to turn worms into supra worms that wouldn't be killed if you shove a nuclear bomb up a goat's butt?

Anyone try breeding for parasite resistance and culling for this trait? Or choose breeds that are parasite resistant? Or choose minerals or feeds that help the animals stay healthy despite a normal worm load?

I'm just curious. It seems there wouldn't be so many people in trouble with their goats or sheep if they looked more towards preventative methods and less harsh chemicals as the answer to deworming.

Anyone?

That is a very good question and the answer is yes. A lot of people are breeding for parasite resistance. A lot of farmers are turning to worming individual animals as needed as opposed to worming entire herds on schedules. They are culling animals that need deworming frequently and increasing the use of pasture rotation. All of these things are helping to combat wormer resistance.

There has been a lot of research in recent years out of University of Tennessee and Langston about parasite resistance in goats. What I have read is some breeds are more likely to have worm problems than others. Worm problems decrease significantly when grass/browse is kept longer than 5, when animals are rotated when it gets below that and allowing a pasture to rest for 90 days. An interesting finding was that does who weaned bigger dam raised kids tended to be more parasite resistant. Selecting your next generation of breeding stock by picking the kids who grew the most, also selects for worm resistance.

No one wants to be medicating our animals more than we have to. Preventing wormer resistance needs to be on everyones priority list.

 

[Beekissed]

So, for the backyard goat and sheep enthusiasts on this board, what breeds would be the most parasite resistant?

Do you all feel like most people research these breeds and THEN make their purchases or do they just seize the opportunity and buy one?

Are most folks on this forum looking to building a long term, sustainable herd or are they just dabbling around with a new farm animal?

Are the goals here mostly to raise animals for fun, for profit, or for a food supply?

 

[mully]

With regard to herbal wormers, I have been using Hoeggers Supply formula for many years. I mix the powder with molasses and make a "dough" and keep it in the frig in a thick pancake form then make slices and cut those up into little balls when i need them`The goats chew them up with gusto and worms are not a problem any more. My mini donkeys love the stuff also. Smelled so good I tasted it once ...the most bitter substance I have ever tasted, won't do that again. I do my own fecals so I know this stuff works!!

 

[Beekissed]

Never heard of it! Do you know the ingredients?

 

[Roll farms]

Or maybe more natural methods that don't seem to turn worms into supra worms that wouldn't be killed if you shove a nuclear bomb up a goat's butt?

I've got one pitiful old ewe that we've had for well over 10 years who never gets dewormed....she just never needs it....doesn't matter what / who she lives with (started w/ llamas, then horses, then goats) she's always 'bright pink'.

If I have to deworm a doe more often than 2x in a 6mo period, she goes.

I purposely keep kids out of the 'rarely / never dewormed' does.

IMHO, the problem isn't so much that they are extra wormy critters to begin with. The problem(s) are:

A) How they're raised / kept - goats aren't meant to eat off of / close to the ground and kept in a small area. Big pastures w/ lots of browse, and moving them around, will go a long way to help prevent problems.

B) How they're dewormed - I don't know how many times I've seen people post, and heard customers at TSC say, when describing an issue, "And I've wormed her." and when asked with what or for what type of worm, they get the 'deer in the headlights' look.
People just throw dewormer at them and half the time it's the wrong one, for the wrong reasons....It's done "just because".

C) Too many vets don't know / care enough to explain proper deworming to goat owners. "Just give them ivomec." They don't tell them what worms they're dealing with, or that they *might* need to follow up, or ask what they're management practices are and suggest what might help w/out busting out the dewormer every time.

D) Then there are folks who just don't WANT to learn a better way than the 'old ways' which are often wrong ways...treating goats like mini
cattle....and they tell others, and so on...and so forth...I guess you could call it a 'perpetuation of ignorance'.

E) Genetics - We never had worm issues until we bought some 'fancy pedigreed' boer does. Cocci issues, either. I was dumping dewormer in these animals like crazy (based on fecals) and about ready to get rid of my goats altogether....

I'm not saying ALL boers, or just boers specifically...all breeds can have weak links....but the goats I had issues with were from Texas originally, where they don't have swampy springs. The worms here in IN found them to be easy targets. After a few generations of breeding the most resistant ones, the problems lessened.

There's my 2 cents worth....

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

 

[Beekissed]

Great info, Roll!!! That makes a lot of sense!