Natural dewormers for goats

[BellaM]

Hi everyone ...
Just some background info - I currently treat (chemically) twice a year - beginning of summer, after the first good rains, and 6 months later - (the goat keepers around me deworm every 3-4 months - excessive I feel), and I rotate through the 3 different dewormers available to me annually.
I already dust their bedding with diatomaceous earth, their hay is off the ground, their pellets are served in buckets, they free-range, their enclosures are cleaned weekly and the pastures every second week ...

However, I've just read an article that says we shouldn't be routinely deworming (due to worm resistance) and that we should only treat animals that have an infestation.
I haven't had any issues to date (5 years on) so while I'm happy to move away from chemicals and onto more natural controls, I obviously have questions.

1. Would I need to "wean" off the chemical treatment? Where I am it's either hot and dry or hot and wet in summer so I'm concerned that if I just stop (the chemical treatment) my goats will be in trouble.
2. May I please have your suggestions and comments on natural dewormers?
One of the reasons I didn't go this route in the first place is because the information is uh, conflicting? Certainly a lot of what I've read says that there's no evidence that natural dewormers work?! So, yeah ...

I look forward to hearing from you...

 

[Baymule]

I don’t have goats, I have sheep. But both can get wormy and die. I tried the natural wormers and killed a ewe, lesson learned. I examined eye membranes. They can be bright pink and a ewe can be carrying a huge worm load, dropping worm eggs everywhere. And/or die. Another lesson learned.

A friend taught me how to take a fecal sample, process it and count worm eggs under a microscope. BEST lesson learned. It was a game changer. It identified which sheep were wormy, but showing no evidence of it. It showed me which ones to cull and which ones to keep.

Take fecal samples to the vet before you worm. Ask your county agent about any classes on doing your own fecal samples. Either way, you will have a clear picture of what you need to do.

@Mini Horses do you copper bolus your goats?