Do herbal wormers actually work?

[Green Acres Farm]

Do herbal wormers actually work? Maybe just as a preventative?
I have never used any, but I know some significant goat websites sell them and claim they do...

 

[ldawntaylor]

Welcome to BYH,

If you put herbal dewormers in the search box - under your username at the top of the page - you will find there has been some discussion about that subject.

It seems to be like some of the herbal remedies that people use. They work for some but not others.

Again welcome,

Lisa

 

[mysunwolf]

We have friends that use herbal wormers for goats (Mollys) and have great success. They also keep their goats in a dry woodlot with plenty of browse. We have not had great success with herbal wormers, except as a preventative in adult animals.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

To evaluate if these herbal "wormers" work, you really need to do fecals using the McMasters method.

I have had people tell me that is works great and that they have no worm issues because of the magical herbal wormer...Not realizing that having 4 goats, lots of wooded land, and being fed off the ground might have something to do with it.

Unfortunately many get swept in hearing "Natural Wormer" and don't research it, no looking at data, nothing. Glad to see you are looking around!

I can't tell you how many times I have seen goats severely anemic and on deaths door with owners not realizing something is wrong because the goat is "wormed" weekly. Others having kids dropping dead dropping dead like flies but still think their herbs work.

I DO think that SOME of these herbs do have good properties. But, they still aren't de-wormers. Some may inhibit parasite reproduction and feeding. I feed lespedeza to my goats and I have personally seen a reduced parasite load via McMasters fecal test. But it is not a wormer. It coats the parasite- making it hard for the parasite to suck and reproduce. I also can't expect to see results when I only throw a handful to the goats when I think their is a problem. Just doesn't work like that. You just cannot expect to toss some herbs out and then you never will have parasites in your herd.

The hardest thing with these herbal "wormers" is that very little people will continue to run fecals and check for parasite reduction. Most don't know how they work. Honestly- with most people they just have a fantasy that is works but wont look at the facts (or poop, eyelids LOL).

I hear many folks mix up some miracle "wormer" and are sure its the best thing ever... When asked what reduction % they see, or how it works, I never get an answer

Not trying to sound harsh, I am not anti-herbal at all! I just don't understand why nobody follows thru with the fecals. They are incredibly easy to run and the start-up costs are not bad. Even if you aren't doing an official study, wouldn't you want to see the affects it has on your herd?

If you decide to do this, I encourage you to do so but you still need to run fecals. Keep records, and see how it does in your herd. Just don't get swept away in it all

 

[samssimonsays]

I know people who swear by Molly's herbals. I haven't tried them but Every area is different. Some areas are heavier parasite loads than others.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I know people who swear by Molly's herbals. I haven't tried them but Every area is different. Some areas are heavier parasite loads than others.

Do you know if they do McMasters EPG counts to monitor reduction?

 

[samssimonsays]

Do you know if they do McMasters EPG counts to monitor reduction?

They run their own fecals now but started out bringing them to the vet. We have freezing temps most of the year here... It could very well attribute to the success.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

They run their own fecals now but started out bringing them to the vet. We have freezing temps most of the year here... It could very well attribute to the success.

As long as they are monitoring it and aren't going in blind, that is great!

 

[samssimonsays]

As long as they are monitoring it and aren't going in blind, that is great!

That doesn't account for the stories I have heard of folks loosing animals due to using only herbals and not monitoring them though... Very sad.

 

[Silky ma]

Yes herbals do work but as with any medicine -herbal or man made one cannot forget that you can do just as much harm as good if you do not monitor and keep a close eye on what you are doing.

Too much of anything can heal or kill.