Skimming this thread I have not noticed (tho maybe I missed it) anyone suggesting getting a fecal done to get some clue what if any worm load the goat HAS. This should NOT require a vet visit, assuming you have a client relationship with some vet somewhere for some other animals e.g. cats dogs whatever... just call to make sure they'll do it, then bring 'em a baggie of fresh poo. I believe last time I had one done (on a cat, but species is irrelevant) it was something like $20-30.
Worms do not shed their eggs completely uniformly thru time, and tapeworms in particular can be hard to reliably pick up on a *single* fecal float, but still, it is a good cheap way to get a useful idea of what kind of party's goin on inside the animal.
The results may influence what you choose to do. I do not know whether different wormers are used in goats for different worms as they are in horses, but there might be that consideration. Also, personally I would be VERY VERY reluctant to skip commercial wormers entirely on an animal that has a whole lotta worm eggs in the sample, but I might well be inclined to try some sort of fairly nontoxic and safe herbal remedy *first* as long as the animal seems in good health otherwise, then follow it up a week later with ivermectin or whatever. (Unless keeping your pastures clean for any other or future goats is a big priority in which case with horses the strategy is to give ivermectin as soon as the horse is brought home, while still stalled, and wait 12-24 hrs before turning out). If OTOH the goat appears to have only a light worm load, I think a better argument can be made for similar-but-different merits of chemical vs herbal/natural wormers, and you pays your money you takes your choice.
To me it boils down to this. The effects of ivermectin and other chemical wormers are fairly well documented -- their numerical effectiveness against each stage of each type of worm, the necessary doseage to achieve that, the maximum safe doseage, their effects on the animals, and (to a lesser but nonzero extent) their effects on the pasture ecosystem once they exit via poo.
That information is basically 100% UNavailable for any herbal/natural wormer. Sure, people say 'I do such-and-such and it works for me b/c my animals are healthy and seem worm-free' but while this is an interesting particle of information it does not give you any much idea of the larger picture. NUMBERS and CONTROLLED TRIALS in particular are lacking. This is a sad, inexcusable state of affairs -- people OUGHT to be doing the same sorts of studies on herbal/natural wormers to see what if anything they do, good/bad/indifferent -- but it is the way things *are*, right now.
If you like to operate on belief and an inner knowledge that you instinctually know what is the right thing to do in life, then that is probably irrelevant to you.
If OTOH you believe that God gave us eyes for the purpose of looking and brains for the purpose of thinking, and if an animal seems to be laboring under a significant worm burden would prefer to use something with DOCUMENTED effectiveness (and in a large-population controlled-trial numerical sense, not just opinion/impression/anecdote sense), then using chemical wormers as directed on labels is pretty safe.
Those concerned with puttin' synthetic chemicals into meat, compost, soil, etc could consider that using it once does not commit you to mega-doses every month or two for the rest of your life. THere are MOST CERTAINLY in-between strategies
(Testing regularly and treating only when significant worm populations seem present is one good one; other reasonable possibilities exist too, including use of herbal/natural things in an attempt to *prevent*, not so much *cure*, worms)
JMHO,
Pat
