New goat farmer-worms
- Thread starter Embray
- Start date
Greetings and welcome to BYH. You say you missed the signs, then asked what are the signs?
All goats have worms... it's a fact of herbivore life. It's a function of how well they deal with them and if they are out of control requiring treatment. Some goats regulate their worm loads quite well on their own and rarely have issues requiring deworming. Others don't do so well, and will have parasite blooms, requiring deworming to get the loads back to manageable levels. Any events that cause unnatural stress to your animals can cause them to have a parasite bloom. Even though you may not have thought the event stressful, or may not have witnessed the event, if the goat got stressed, they could develop a worm overload, or bloom.
Unless you can actually see the worms in their poo (which is rare as mostly the indicator is eggs present in the poo), the only way to be sure is to have a fecal analysis done. Collect some fresh poo and get it to a vet. If the vet determines that the worm load is too high and treatment is warranted, the vet should prescribe the proper dewormer to eliminate the worms that are the problem. There are many different types of parasitic worms and not all dewormers work on all types of worms. You have to know what parasite you're trying to kill to determine what dewormer will do the job. And equally important, you MUST follow the directions and give the full course of treatment. if it calls for 4 doses over a weeks time, then that's what you must do, you can't do only one then stop because your goat "looks better".
General indications that there may be a worm problem are multiple and varied depending on the type worm. If it's a blood sucking worm, the goat will become anemic... if you pull out the lower eyelid, the membrane inside will be progressively less "pink" as the animal loses more blood. When it's mostly white, the goat is at death's door and treatment at that point may be too late. Also with blood suckers, you have to be careful not to kill all the worms at once/too fast as when they detach, the goat can bleed out internally. If your goat is slowly losing weight and can't maintain good body condition, it could be worms, or it could be a mineral deficiency. If your goat starts to get a "barrel belly" it could be due to a high worm load. Diarrhea (scours), loose stool, bloody stool, could all indicate worms (or cocci in very young animals, less often but not impossible, in adult animals).
I suggest that you try to find a good large animal (farm) vet nearby that you can use when it's required. Try to avoid "pet vets" as they really don't know farm animals. If you can find a vet that knows goats, give praise... they seem to be very hard to find!
Anyway, spend some time reading here in the forums and threads. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience freely shared. If you do have a problem or issue that you need help with, there are some really great folks here who routinely jump in to help others in need. It's best when asking for help if you can provide pictures of the issue and specific details. One of the first things anyone trying to help will most likely ask is "did you take their temperature"? You should get a thermometer (basic under the tounge type from walgreens is fine) that you can stick up their butt and add it to your "goat repair kit". A high temp almost always indicates some sort of infection or problem. If it's an emergency, life or death, we are no substitute for veterinary help.
Over time, you should keep records and notes about your animals, and you'll get to "know" each one as an individual. That will go a long way in helping you "see" when something just isn't "right". sorry I didn't see this post sooner. Good luck!
All goats have worms... it's a fact of herbivore life. It's a function of how well they deal with them and if they are out of control requiring treatment. Some goats regulate their worm loads quite well on their own and rarely have issues requiring deworming. Others don't do so well, and will have parasite blooms, requiring deworming to get the loads back to manageable levels. Any events that cause unnatural stress to your animals can cause them to have a parasite bloom. Even though you may not have thought the event stressful, or may not have witnessed the event, if the goat got stressed, they could develop a worm overload, or bloom.
Unless you can actually see the worms in their poo (which is rare as mostly the indicator is eggs present in the poo), the only way to be sure is to have a fecal analysis done. Collect some fresh poo and get it to a vet. If the vet determines that the worm load is too high and treatment is warranted, the vet should prescribe the proper dewormer to eliminate the worms that are the problem. There are many different types of parasitic worms and not all dewormers work on all types of worms. You have to know what parasite you're trying to kill to determine what dewormer will do the job. And equally important, you MUST follow the directions and give the full course of treatment. if it calls for 4 doses over a weeks time, then that's what you must do, you can't do only one then stop because your goat "looks better".
General indications that there may be a worm problem are multiple and varied depending on the type worm. If it's a blood sucking worm, the goat will become anemic... if you pull out the lower eyelid, the membrane inside will be progressively less "pink" as the animal loses more blood. When it's mostly white, the goat is at death's door and treatment at that point may be too late. Also with blood suckers, you have to be careful not to kill all the worms at once/too fast as when they detach, the goat can bleed out internally. If your goat is slowly losing weight and can't maintain good body condition, it could be worms, or it could be a mineral deficiency. If your goat starts to get a "barrel belly" it could be due to a high worm load. Diarrhea (scours), loose stool, bloody stool, could all indicate worms (or cocci in very young animals, less often but not impossible, in adult animals).
I suggest that you try to find a good large animal (farm) vet nearby that you can use when it's required. Try to avoid "pet vets" as they really don't know farm animals. If you can find a vet that knows goats, give praise... they seem to be very hard to find!
Anyway, spend some time reading here in the forums and threads. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience freely shared. If you do have a problem or issue that you need help with, there are some really great folks here who routinely jump in to help others in need. It's best when asking for help if you can provide pictures of the issue and specific details. One of the first things anyone trying to help will most likely ask is "did you take their temperature"? You should get a thermometer (basic under the tounge type from walgreens is fine) that you can stick up their butt and add it to your "goat repair kit". A high temp almost always indicates some sort of infection or problem. If it's an emergency, life or death, we are no substitute for veterinary help.
Over time, you should keep records and notes about your animals, and you'll get to "know" each one as an individual. That will go a long way in helping you "see" when something just isn't "right". sorry I didn't see this post sooner. Good luck!
Southern by choice
Herd Master
This will help bring a good understanding of the eyelid check which is called FAMACHA method.
Also understanding fecal analysisi
http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/understanding-famacha-fecal-analysis.56/
Also understanding fecal analysisi
http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/understanding-famacha-fecal-analysis.56/
