Deworming?

[ArtisticFarmer]

I'm a little lost on goat deworming. How do I tell if they need it? And, what type do I need to use? A lot of the dewormers I find are Morantel Tartrate (Rumatel). I have NO idea what I am looking for in a dewormer!!!!

 

[SheepGirl]

A goat (or sheep) with an internal parasite infection will be anemic, thin, scouring, and/or pot bellied. You need to assess the goat's symptoms to determine which parasite they are affected with, which then tells you which dewormer you need to purchase (or you can just get a fecal done), because the three different classes treat for different parasites. The most common drugs in each class are fenbendazole (Safeguard, class: BZD), levamisole (Prohibit, class: IMID), and ivermectin (Ivomec, class: ML).

Always make sure to use an anthelmintic labeled for the species you use it for.

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Ok, thanks! What about the initial deworming when you first get them? Assuming you need too?

 

[SheepGirl]

When new sheep come onto my place, I quarantine them away from the other sheep areas (even if you have no other sheep/goats when you get your first ones, quarantine them away from where they will permanently live so they don't infect their permanent area with germs). There they get three classes of dewormers (in my case I give Prohibit, Safeguard, and Cydectin), their hooves trimmed, put through a footbath of a zinc sulfate solution, and have their overall health assessed. They live there for 30 days and then they join the rest of the flock.

 

[elevan]

What we do here:

Quarantine procedure preferred is 60 days isolation (30 days minimum)
*testing during quarantine
--CAE
dont test if under 6 months of age may get inaccurate results
*Quarantine Drench to help avoid introducing drug resistant worms
--isolate animals to barn, dry lot or a sacrifice pasture not used for other sheep
--use more than one dewormer class, one of which should be cydectin and the other
probably levamisole (Prohibit)
--manure sample worm egg counts should be negative prior to turnout with other animals
do sample 2-3 weeks after deworming
--release from quarantine onto YOUR INFECTED pastures
you want the animal to pick up your non selected worms

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Thats elevan and sheepgirl!