# Worming...what works best for dairy goats?



## shawncentpa (May 7, 2009)

Hello everyone, we check the forum often, don't post much but read as much as we can. We have nubians and alpines and we were wondering what others were using for worming. We told a certain type of wormer to use by a Veternarian and told something else by a breeder. We are just trying to narrow down to what works the best for most who have dairy goats.

Thanks,
Shawn and Beth


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Welcome to the weird and wonderfully wacky world of goats. :bouncy:

You may know that what you posted is, almost literally, a can of worms. There is *much* controversy about dewormers.

First request:
Go to User CP in the blue strip above. That's your User Control Panel. Put in your location (doesn't have to be exact) so that we can have an idea of level of humidity/aridity, freezes, forage, etc.

It also helps to describe your general goat husbandry. If your goats are dry lotted and never graze, your worms problems will be less.

In some regions of the country, certain dewormers have become ineffective. 

Some folks swear by herbal dewomers, and some swear at them.

ALWAYS get a fecal test done by someone who is good at it and can tell you which worms/eggs they are seeing and the concentration. That way, you will know *if* you need to deworm and with which chemical you should deworm.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Use "Cydectin" it does not harm "dung beetles"...Topside


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Deworm does before breeding and the day they kid.

Do not give ANY dewormer during the first 50 days of pregnancy.

Cydectin Pour On for Cattle is given ORALLY for goats.
1 ml per 22 pounds of goat. Repeat in ten days.


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## betsy h. (Sep 28, 2008)

The good Dr.'s at U. of TN vet school says do not bother with worming 10 days after to get the L4 stage of parasites. They say it only creates resistant strains of worms. Ask them your self- [email protected] (Dr. Sharon Patton, past Pres. of the Am.Society of Vet Parasitologists).


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

That's interesting. First I've ever heard of that. Do you have a link to an article?


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I use Molly's Herbal wormer. http://fiascofarm.com/herbs/wormer.htm
It is all natural and does a great job. 
There is only a 24 hour milk withholding time, and that is only for pregnant women.
The milk with holding times on some others can be up to 56 days.
http://www.luresext.edu/goats/training/Goatmeds.pdf
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/goats/presentations/drugwithdrawtimeJan05.pdf


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Steff, you have the benefit of living in the far north where you have winter freezes to kill eggs in the soil every year, reducing the likelihood of re-infestation from ground harbored larvae in the spring. That is a big assist to your deworming protocol.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

The proper answer to your question depends entirely on your location. Please post your general area.
Those of us in MO and those of us in NY cannot use the same worm control or we will have dead goats. So location is extremely pertinant.
Also, what did the vet and the goat breeder advise?


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## shawncentpa (May 7, 2009)

We are in central Pennsylvania, about halfway between Harrisburg and State College. The vet said Cydectin (equine) and the breeder suggested using a pellet feed wormer. We have used both over the past couple of years, the nubians are fussy and don't like the pellet, the alpines weren't to picky they ate it. We were just wondering if there was a dairy goat specific wormer.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

No. Safeguard (fenbendazole) is one of the very few dewormers that is even labeled for goats at all. It has been overused to the point that the worms are immune to it. Same problem with pelleted dewormers.

Most of the other wormers are used "off label" for goats.

Here's some info:
http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?board=12.0


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I use Quest and Strongid, both are paste horse dewormers but they work for my goats. As others have said, your location makes a huge difference. What works here may or may not work for you there.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

I like and use Cydectin.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I wonder if those of you living in areas you believe to be too warm have ever tried the herbals. I f it were me I would try them faithfully and fecal to see how they worked. Might be that you can get away with using the chemicals only once a year and the herbals the rest of the time.
It is the dumping of the milk for 56 days that would kill my dairy.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Steff,
Yes, goat owners who live in the hot humid south *have* tried herbals. They may *help*, but it's just not enough.

Raising healthy goats is such an incredible challenge, isn't it? Soooooo many factors.

I wish we could use just the herbals.

Alice


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I alternate wormers "yearly". I like both Cydectin Pour On and Ivermectin Plus.


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