Best herbal goat dewormer?

[ORgoatGirl]

I got my first Nigerian Dwarf Dwarf just over a year ago and fell in love with the breed and bought more in December, March and July. Each of them were chemically dewormed by the breeder before purchase (I bought them all from the same place). With the wet season upon us, I need to make some deworming decisions. I don't want to use chemicals and would really like to know what brand(s) of organic/herbal dewomers are best, or a recipe to make my own. Ideas or suggestions?

Also, no one appears to have worms at all, but it seems commonplace to preemptively deworm "just in case". Is it neglectful not to deworm if they are happy and healthy?

 

[rachels.haven]

The best herbal worming protocol is the one you verify the effects of yourself via fecals over time. Rather than recommend one brand or combo I recommend you get a mcmasters slide, microscope, fecal float solution and the little odds and ends you need to mush, measure, and strain poop soup and start counting, especially as you try things. Fecal results tandem with famacha=comfort.

Also, what works can be heavily regional, so you may not get the ultimate answer for your area here.

I use hoeggers usually, and use a normal wormer on one or two goats occasionally, maybe a few times a year, then recheck those one or two after maybe 7 to 10days.

Whatever you do, I recommend fecaling pale goats, and don't be adverse to using normal wormers and redcell to pull them out of a tailspin when necessary. There is no shame in that. Plus some wormers have little to no milk withdrawal or are fairly safe. But using the big guns less often is a very good thing on the goat front so team herbal with fecals for validation is always a great place to start.

 

[ORgoatGirl]

The best herbal worming protocol is the one you verify the effects of yourself via fecals over time. Rather than recommend one brand or combo I recommend you get a mcmasters slide, microscope, fecal float solution and the little odds and ends you need to mush, measure, and strain poop soup and start counting, especially as you try things. Fecal results tandem with famacha=comfort.

Also, what works can be heavily regional, so you may not get the ultimate answer for your area here.

I use hoeggers usually, and use a normal wormer on one or two goats occasionally, maybe a few times a year, then recheck those one or two after maybe 7 to 10days.

Whatever you do, I recommend fecaling pale goats, and don't be adverse to using normal wormers and redcell to pull them out of a tailspin when necessary. There is no shame in that. Plus some wormers have little to no milk withdrawal or are fairly safe. But using the big guns less often is a very good thing on the goat front so team herbal with fecals for validation is always a great place to start.

Very good point on being regional. I never even thought about that but it makes so much sense. Thank you. I have a microscope and slides and need to get the fecal float solution and the and odds and ends but everyone looks and acts great -- all high femacha scores, no one pale, etc. I do have a thing of red cell from a friend who just sold her goats and a horse dewormer she used on her goats (also unopened, though I don't recall the name). I definitely would not drink milk after using chemicals even if it proclaims it's safe, which is part of the reason I think herbal deworming sounds more favorable for my herd but I'd definitely go that route if I discovered they had a heavy load.

The type I had planned on buying is out of stock (Molly's Herbals) which is why I asked. Thanks so much for your advice and response. Definitely a lot to consider.

 

[Mini Horses]

Certain forages are herbal dewormers -- they make the digestive tract unattractive. So things with high tannins come into that category, acorns, pine, wormwood, some tree leaves, chicory, rape/brassicas, etc., as well as the alliums...wild onion, garlic, etc. The type and intensity varies with weather, season & growth stage of the plant. So regional comes into play -- and your own farm forage & browse.

Having fun yet??

 

[rachels.haven]

If you don't mind it not being super shelf stable I think you can find a recipe for float solution. It's good you're set up.

I've heard good things about molly's and land of H. I went hoeggers as a starting point and haven't felt the need to move on so far. Growing antiparasitic forages if your climate and soil support it is an amazing idea. Pasture rotation is another tool you may be able to use to your advantage to minimize normal wormer use. Eventually taking weaker animals from your herd can help too. A little early to think about at the moment probably.

Crops grow and stock get fat under the eye of the farmer though, so stay alert whatever you do as you figure out what works for you. It may not be as hard as you think (or it could be harder for all I know). Good luck from me over here. Let us know what winds up working for you wherever you are and you might be able to help someone else in your area with the same question.

 

[ORgoatGirl]

Certain forages are herbal dewormers -- they make the digestive tract unattractive. So things with high tannins come into that category, acorns, pine, wormwood, some tree leaves, chicory, rape/brassicas, etc., as well as the alliums...wild onion, garlic, etc. The type and intensity varies with weather, season & growth stage of the plant. So regional comes into play -- and your own farm forage & browse.

Having fun yet??

We don't have a lot of those but I do give them free choice garlic and the eat lots of cedar and doug fir which I've read help, as well as seasonal birds foot trefoil. We have wild chives but I've never seen them eat them as they're on a farther part of the property they don't often frequent. I'll look into the others but I know some don't grow prolifically in Oregon. Thank you!

 

[ORgoatGirl]

If you don't mind it not being super shelf stable I think you can find a recipe for float solution. It's good you're set up.

I've heard good things about molly's and land of H. I went hoeggers as a starting point and haven't felt the need to move on so far. Growing antiparasitic forages if your climate and soil support it is an amazing idea. Pasture rotation is another tool you may be able to use to your advantage to minimize normal wormer use. Eventually taking weaker animals from your herd can help too. A little early to think about at the moment probably.

Crops grow and stock get fat under the eye of the farmer though, so stay alert whatever you do as you figure out what works for you. It may not be as hard as you think (or it could be harder for all I know). Good luck from me over here. Let us know what winds up working for you wherever you are and you might be able to help someone else in your area with the same question.

Thank you! I definitely plan on growing a lot more forage for them, especially because we have an entire 2 acre meadow that is currently not in use. It's not fenced yet though so that's part of the hold up, at least as letting them forage free-range style.

I'll be reading up on float testing, recipes and the like. So excited to be learning to do this on my own. Our nearest vet that sees goats is an hour away and I don't drive (plus I had a HORRIBLE experience with him once) so taking fecals to him is pretty out of the question. The next closest vet is a bit farther and is $300 just to walk in the door and over-charges for everything ($45/fecal x 8 goats + $300 office visit is out of my budget at least). So learning will be both fun and practical. I mean as "fun" as pop can be, heh.

I'll look at Land of H and the one you mentioned too, and see who may offer things closest to what we can grow here (Oregon) so I can start making my own. I make most of our family's human herbal remedies so there's really no reason I shouldn't be making it for my goaties. ♡

 

[rachels.haven]

If I were you and had that much fenced in space I'd have not been afraid to just jump in with a few goats and see what happens while getting yourself set up for fecals and deciding what herbals to try. Keep the feed off the ground, keep the hay off the ground and keep the stalls nice and clean and you might get lucky. Lots of nice long pasture should go a long way.

 

[ORgoatGirl]

If I were you and had that much fenced in space I'd have not been afraid to just jump in with a few goats and see what happens while getting yourself set up for fecals and deciding what herbals to try. Keep the feed off the ground, keep the hay off the ground and keep the stalls nice and clean and you might get lucky. Lots of nice long pasture should go a long way.

Very good points. They never have feed or hay on the ground and if there ever is a spillage the chickens peck it up faster than I can grab it which is a huge plus. I think having a small flock in with the goats has been a great move tbh. And my apologies for the delay in response -- I have a doe about ready to kid so haven't been wanting to leave her side.

Their current area isn't huge but it's big and tidy and will increase by about a quarter acre within the next 2 or 3 weeks. Then we'll add another acre once I can afford more fencing. I should be ready to do fecals next week. ♡

 

[rachels.haven]

Good luck, and have fun!