Built on the Rock Farm of Naturally Raised Nigerian Dwarf Goats in Minnesota
ADGA/AGS Registered Nigerian Dwarf Goats in Minnesota MN
To declare the Lord is upright; He is my Rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalms 92:15
NATURAL DEWORMERS FOR GOATS
***Disclaimer: We are simple farmers and not veterinarians. This is for informational purpose only. What we do on our farm may not be what is best for your farm so please do your own research. This is not intended to replace professional veterinary and/or medical advice. We disclaim all liability in connection with the use of these products and/or information.
First thing you must know about herbs is they are going to be more expensive and more time consuming to treat anything. We feel that healthy animal and good breeding practices will help eliminate some of the need for medicines and wormers in general. Keeping a good free choice 2:1 loose mineral meant for goats (not sheep also or it will not contain enough copper), free choice good hay that is kept off the ground, a properly rationed grain, copper bolusing, will help keep your animal happy and healthy. Good breeding practices mean that if there is an animal that is always having to be wormed, or has constant hoof problems, or is just a high maintenance goat, then that goat should be culled from your breeding stock. If you continue to breed unhealthy animals that need constant maintenance then your herd will then be filled with unhealthy animals that need constant maintenance. Options for these animals are pets, meat, or auction.
Do you have a worm problem to begin with? Learn how to run your own fecals here. Don't forget to check their FAMACHA score. Don't know what a FAMACHA score is, then you can find out here.
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What we use:
1. Molly's Herbal Wormer (There are alot of people that use Land of Havilah wormer, we thought we would try it out and personally did not find that mixture very useful on our farm and went back to Molly's)
2. Tumeric Powder
3. Cayanne Pepper Powder
4. Clove Powder
5. Pumpkin Seeds
6. Papaya Seeds
7. HerbPharm Coptis Tincture
8. Aloe Vera Plants
9. Copper Bolus
10. Whole Garlic Cloves
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Where to find the items listed above?
1. You can purchase Molly's Wormer here.
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2. Copper Bolus we purchase here.
3. We purchase our bulk herbs from several locations. We shop around each time and get the best prices at the time. If you watch you can get free shipping or sale prices if you spend over a certain dollar amount. We purchase all organic herbs mostly in 1lb packages. Please watch for country of origin though. Organic items from China have been independently tested and have contained high amounts of chemicals and contaminates. We avoid herbs from China.
Vitacost
Swanson Vitamins
iHerb
Walmart
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What we do:
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Maintenance
1. We take a bag of Molly's Herbal Wormer and combine it with 1 tbsp cayanne pepper (as an internal blood stop), 2 tbsp cloves and 5 tbsp of tumeric (treatment of coccidioses), and mix together in another bag. We increase the suggested dosage by .25. So if your dosage was a tsp then you would use 1 1/4 tsp. We add to warm water and drench the herb along with coptis. The coptis dosage is 3/4 a dropper full for a full size ND and we use about 1/4 a dropper on kids. We start the kids at 2-3 weeks old. It is recommended to use Molly's Herbal #1 every 6-8 weeks except on pregnant goats. Then you will want to use Molly's Herbal #2, we will explain why later. You will want to treat them 3 days in a row.
2. Molly's recommends using herbal #2 weekly during the 5-7 weeks you are not using #1. We normally do not have to do it that often although if it is really wet and hot then it is a good time to use extra.
3. We add random wormers inbetween the 6-8 weeks. That can be drenching them for 3 days with Wormer #2, adding some pumpkin seeds to their feed, whole garlic cloves, drenching with fresh aloe gel, or a tbsp of ground papaya seeds per adult. You do need to be cautious when adding anything to the bucks or wethers feed. For instance, Pumpkin seeds are about 1:2 calcium phosphorus ratio so if you give them some then adding some extra alfalfa pellets will help fix the calcium phosphorus ratio.
4. We copper bolus not just for the benefit of the extra copper in their diets but studies have shown that the copper makes the rumen inhospitable for barberpole worms. We use a bolus gun and start bolusing when the kids are 3 months old. We do this every 3-5 months but some areas are not copper defecient like we are. Also, hard water makes it harder for their bodies to absorb copper so people with hard water will likely need to bolus more.
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Other Circumstances:
Coccidiosis in kids: We use the Molly's Herbal mixture # 1 for the 3 days but we also add using coptis tincture 4 times a day with water drenched.
Worm issues with pregnant does: We use Molly's Herbal #1 for 3 days. The reason it is not recommended to use Molly's #1 in pregnant does is because it contains wormwood and black walnut. Both of these herbs show strong worming properties but they also have a risk of miscarriage. We have used #1 several times in our does with no adverse affects (but not in the last month of pregnancy). Just because we have never had an issue does not mean that we never will and it does not mean that you will not so this is an area you will need to decide how to proceed.
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What we do NOT recommend:
Diatomaceous Earth or DE: How DE works, in essence, is it dries out and cuts up the exoskeleton of parasites. This is good in theory, and I am a firm believer in the use of DE (WITH sulfur) for external issues but DE getting wet completely prevents it from doing what you would like it to do. It serves absolutely no purpose except some extra minerals if taken internally. There have been multiple studies confirming the inability of DE to be effective when wet.
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Some different studies relating natural treatments. Not all are related to goats but cocciciosis for instance is in many species and treatment (like Corrid in goats and chickens etc) is effective.
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3% Tumeric for Coccidiosis in Poultry
Misc Plant Treatment Options for Coccidosis in Poultry
Curcumin (Tumeric) Treatment for Coccidiosis in Rabbits
Garlic and Tumeric in Broilers for Coccidiosis
Wormwood as a Parasitic
Wormwood as a Parasitic including Malaria
Papaya as a natural wormer
CHEMICAL DEWORMERS FOR GOATS
*** Disclaimer: I am NOT a vet. I implore you to contact a vet if you are unsure of diagnosis or treatment options in your animal. This is for informational purpose only and many of these medications are off label uses in goats. What works on one farm may not work on another and what works on one animal may not work on another. This is not intended to replace professional veterinary and/or medical advice. Medications should be used only under supervision of a knowledgeable veterinarian. We disclaim all liability in connection with the use of these products and/or information.
We try to keep everything as natural as possible on our farm. Situations do arise though where a natural treatment may not be effective enough. Following are some chemical options for parasite overload and some things to consider when giving your animal any medications. Fecals are an important aspect of determining worm load and you can learn how to run your own fecal's here, you can send in a fecal to MidAmercian Ag here, or you can have your local vet run a fecal.
1. Only use medications under the direct supervision of a veterinarian.
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2. DO NOT USE AN ANTHELMINTIC WITHOUT VERIFYING WORM LOAD WITH A FECAL.This means do NOT deworm on a schedule and always verify the need for a anthelmintic before giving. This will help prevent parasite resistance to anthelmintics so they actually work when you need them. Treating parasite overload is also difficult when you do not know WHAT parasite you are treating for because all medications are not designed to treat all parasites and some parasites need multiple dewormers to properly treat. The symptoms you are assuming to be parasite overload could be other illnesses that you may not catch if you just assume it is parasites.
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3. Run a fecal before. Run a fecal after. This way you can also verify if the parasites are resistant to the dewormer used. Frequent fecals can help you get a better idea of health status of your animals also. Some goats have a more natural resistance to parasites than others. You will see a higher count but no symptoms in some animals. You will see a lower count with symptoms in other animals. This way you will get an idea of what is "normal" for each of your goats. If your goats aren't pets but breeders then it is best to keep the goats that remain healthy with a higher parasite load.
4. Any medication can cause a reaction in a goat. It is always beneficial to have an epi pen available incase of an allergic reaction.
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5. Most medications are off label for goats so recommended dosage can vary.
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6. Some medications are not safe for pregnant animals so let your veterinarian know if your animal is pregnant.
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7. There are withdrawal times on medications for both butchering the animal and drinking the milk. Please verify this information with your vet before butchering or drinking the milk.
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8. Use one dewormer until it no longer is effective on your farm and then switch to another. This helps stop parasite resistance to all dewormers.
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9. Verifying FAMACHA score will let you know if other treatment options are needed beside dewormers such as b-complex and iron. Learn more about FAMACHA scoring here.
COCCIDIOSIS: (very common in kids, most adults have built up an immunity)
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1. MEDICATED FEED: I do not recommend medicated feed. I believe that a kid does not get enough medication to actually prevent the infestation. It stops them from developing a natural immunity to coccidiosis and are in my opinion much more likely to get infected. I have purchased kids on medicated feed that have had sever cocci infestations.
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2. TOLTRAZURIL: 1CC to 5lbs orally once as a treatment or preventive and again 21 days later.
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3. CORID (straight): 6CC to 25lbs orally for 5 days. You MUST give injectable b-complex daily with Corid or you risk a polio infection. B -complex injectable (100mg Thiamin per ml) is 1CC per 20lb of body weight once a day for 5 days.
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4. ALBON: There are two strengths. 12.5% is 1 CC per 5lbs orally or 40% is 1CC 15-20lbs orally once a day for 5 days. Di-methox is the common name for 12.5% Albon.
BARBERPOLE WORM: (can be a death sentence in goats, causes anemia and bottle jaw)
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1. COPPER BOLUS: Copper particles from bolusing have shown in studies to drastically decrease the fecal count of barber pole worms for a short period of time. There is always a risk of copper toxicity so a bolus should not be given more then 4 times a year. If you are in a high copper area then more caution must be used when copper bolusing. Copper bolus is NOT the same as copper sulfate. The copper particles in bolusing is a slow release copper so it is much less likely to overdose. There is a high risk of toxicity with the use of copper sulfate. No studies have stated copper in other forms besides bolusing particles help with barber pole. This is more for maintenance not for urgent treatment but can be used in addition to the treatment options below.
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2. ANTHELMENTIC: If your fecal count shows a high number of barber pole eggs but your goat's FAMACHA score is good then just use one anthelmintic and recheck fecal. If the goats FAMACHA score is bad then use one anthelmentic from two seperate classes. Give again in 12 hours and again in 10 days. Give once last time in 10 more days if still needed. Barberpole infestation can kill a goat very quickly so urgent treatment is needed.
Class 1: Benzimidazole
a. Albendozole (Vabazen) 1 cc per 10 lbs (NOT safe in pregnancy)
b. Fenbendazole (Panacur, SafeGuard) 1cc per 10 lbs
c. Oxfendozole (Synanthic injectable) 1CC per 35 lbs orally (NOT safe for pregnancy)
Class 2: Imidazothiazole/tetrahydropyrimidine (DO NOT USE PROHIBIT UNLESS LAST RESORT)
a. Levomisole (Trannisol, Prohibit)
b. Morantel Tartrate (Rumatel) Not recommended
c. Pyrantel (Strongid) 1CC per 10lbs
Class 3: Macrocyclic Lactone
a. Moxidextin (Cydectin oral drench) 4.5cc per 25lbs or injectable 1CC orally 25-50lbs
(Quest) 1CC per 100lbs normal worm load or 1CC per 50lbs for heavy worm load
b. Doramectin (Dectomax) injectable 1CC per 20-30lbs
c. Preziquantel (Equinax) 1CC per 30lbs
(Quest Plus) 1CC per 50lbs
d. Ivermectin (Ivomec) Injectable 1% orally 1CC 20-30 lbs
Plus orally 1CC 20-30lbs
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3. ANEMIA TREATMENT: Do the following if your goat's FAMACHA score is poor and/or they have bottle jaw.
a. B-Complex injections: 1CC for ever 25lbs. Do this every 12 hours for 5 days then once a day for 9
more days.
b. Red Cell: 6CC for every 100 lb of body weight (do not copper bolus if giving Red Cell) for 5 days then once a week until full improvement
c. Nutridrench: 1 fluid ounce per 100 lb of body weight every 8 hours for 2-3 days. You can also use molasses with goat electrolytes if you do not have nutridrench.
COMMON ANTHELMINTICS (some info on what they are commonly used for but they may be effective on other parasites not mentioned):
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Vabazen 1CC 10 lbs (roundworms, tapeworms, & flukes)
Equinax 1CC per 30lbs (tapeworm, some flukes, no roundworms)
QuestPlus 1CC per 50lbs (tapeworms, some flukes, roundworms)
Quest 1CC per 100 lbs normal worm load with 1CC per 50lbs heavy worm load
Cydictin Oral Drench for Sheep 4.5CC per 25lbs or injectable orally 1CC 25-50lbs
Dectomax injectable 1CC per 20-30lbs (roundworms, lice, mites)
Strongid 1CC per 10lbs (roundworms)
Synanthic injectable orally 1CC per 35lbs (roundworms & tapeworms)
Panacur 1CC per 10lbs (roundworms, liver fluke (higher dosage needed), tapeworms, lung worms)
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SafeGuard 1CC per 10 lbs (roundworms, liver fluke (higher dosage needed), tapeworms, lung worms)
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Ivomec injectable 1% orally 1CC 20-30lbs (roundworms, lungworms)
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Ivomec Plus orally 1CC 20-30lbs (roundworms, lungworms)