What type of dewormer do you use on your goats?

[Love my Critters!]

I am looking for a good all around dewormer to give to my two nigerion does. Please give me your input and how much you give and how often. I live in the desert and we are very dry here, the only animals the goats are around are the chickens.

Thanks for your time

 

[lasergrl]

moxidectin, and ivermectin is what I use. Most other wormers, parasites are resistent to at this point. Dosages can be found at fiascofarm.com

 

[glenolam]

My suggestion is to only worm them if they need to be wormed. If you start them on a "schedule" this only increases the resistance the worms have against the medication and you'll be setting yourself up for failure. You can either take poops to the vet for a fecal sample or check the color of their eyelids against the FAMACHA chart. Obviously, a fecal sample may be more accurate, but if you can't have one done the FAMACHA chart will help.

I keep Ivomec 1% injectible for cattle on hand and if a goat needs to be wormed I give it at a rate of 1cc/30# orally, and follow up again in 10 days.

 

[Love my Critters!]

Thanks for the replies, I have always considered the "as needed" approach with the goats, but others speak differently about that on here. I have a doe that seems to have loose stool but everything else seems normal (activity, appetite, etc.) so I was going to worm her and see if there was an improvement.

 

[glenolam]

FWIW - I wouldn't worm her just because of loose stool. She could have just eaten something she's not used to or even gorged on grain/hay more than usual. I'd check her eye lids and see if they are pale or not. That would give you a starting place.

What does the loose stool look like? Does it stink more than normal? How long has she been this way? She may just have a bacterial infection somewhere that's running it's course and all you'll need to do is make sure she stays hydrated and has her minerals/nutrients.

Don't get me wrong, I often follow the 'treat all the sypmtoms as everything they could be and hopefully something works' method but only after I've let my goats try to get through it on their own first. IMO that helps build up their immune system, kinda like humans.

To each his own, though.

ETA some links to help you - and another question. How old are they? Have they ever been treated for coccidia?

http://www.jackmauldin.com/health/diarrhea.htm

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/scours.html