# most effective dewormer in cattle for spring



## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

Curious to know who uses what and how they administer the dewormer.


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I use the Eprinex Pour On, I read a lot of good recommendations for it. I have two Jerseys and anything that I can pour on works for me...lol I do in the late fall and early spring. Did my two last week. I bring them into the barn and give them some treats(timothy pellets) and while they are eating I just pour it on...same with my fly stuff. The vet sold me a gallon of some kinda of stuff that I just pour on about every two to three weeks for flys and bugs. And they have fly mask...lol


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## dannyw (Dec 26, 2012)

I use Ivermectin sub-q injections AND Ivomec pour on in the fall and the spring. While i'm at it, i use a Permethrin for fly control and a 7-way vaccination sub-q injection.


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

I don't.


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## ramiller5675 (Mar 31, 2009)

I used to think that my cattle didn't need routine worming because "they looked alright", "healthy cattle on healthy grass didn't need wormed", "it didn't really pay to worm", blah, blah, blah.

Then, when I was looking at another hot and dry, drought of a summer last year, I decided to use some generic Ivomectin pour-on wormer (at an outrageous cost of about 50 cents a head or so) as insurance since the grass didn't look all that healthy anymore.

I treated them about May and then about August, and at the end of the summer they seemed to be in better shape than they had been the previous summer even though it had been even hotter and drier. The calves all looked better, too. As a bonus, they had almost no flies the entire summer. 

I don't know how effective it was at killing worms, but I think it was worth the money and effort.


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

ramiller5675 said:


> I used to think that my cattle didn't need routine worming because "they looked alright", "healthy cattle on healthy grass didn't need wormed", "it didn't really pay to worm", blah, blah, blah.
> 
> Then, when I was looking at another hot and dry, drought of a summer last year, I decided to use some generic Ivomectin pour-on wormer (at an outrageous cost of about 50 cents a head or so) as insurance since the grass didn't look all that healthy anymore.
> 
> ...


How's your population of earth worms and dung beetles? Numerous and active? Yes, your cattle may have looked better and I'm certainly in favor of healthy animals, but no decision we make is made in a vacuum. I didn't come here to be argumentative, I just want people to understand that doing nothing is sometimes a viable alternative and doing something isn't always beneficial. 

I have friends and neighbors who worm and I like them all. :cowboy: But I still think they're misguided. eep: ound:


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

But you don't say why, Gabriel.

I've not wormed our cows, either, because we have lush pastures. But I'm always interested in learning something new from this forum, and helpful, if possible.

Hold forth!


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

Ivomec pour on. Usually after first frost and again in late spring/early summer. As soon as the weather looks like it will be dry for a few days I will run them thru the chute. 

Later in early summer I will put in fly tags and give them a shot of 7-way.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I know of few places where parasitic worms and grubs don't exist. Part of their life cycle is to get onto the blades of grass. That is their point of entry. They eat organs and weaken arteries. 

Earthworms, dung beetles, DE, kelp meal, garlic or tobacco juice do not protect the insides of your cattle from parasites.

Failure to use a real wormer, encourages the continuously increasing cycle of parasites, making progress towards eradication much harder. Like not weeding your garden for a few years and allowing the weed seeds to build up.


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## ramiller5675 (Mar 31, 2009)

Gabriel said:


> How's your population of earth worms and dung beetles? Numerous and active? Yes, your cattle may have looked better and I'm certainly in favor of healthy animals, but no decision we make is made in a vacuum. I didn't come here to be argumentative, I just want people to understand that doing nothing is sometimes a viable alternative and doing something isn't always beneficial.
> 
> I have friends and neighbors who worm and I like them all. :cowboy: But I still think they're misguided. eep: ound:


Dung beetles were one of the reasons I didn't worm much in the past, but I thought it was worth the risk to have healthier cattle and help me get through my drought conditions. From what I've sen, dung beetles multiply quick enough that they should be able to offset any impact from the pour-on. I might be wrong, but I still had a healthy population of dung beetles after I used the wormer. 

If I was overly concerned about it or didn't have that many dung beetles, I'd use Cydectin.

I've never taken a survey of my earthworm population, but whenever it rains, I still see the castings from the earthworms I have in my pastures. I find it hard to believe that pouring about a little bit of wormer on each one of my cattle, then having them spread it all over my pastures would result in a high enough concentration of anything that could harm an earthworm.


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

Doc said:


> But you don't say why, Gabriel.
> 
> Hold forth!


Let me start by saying that I do worm my goats, so I don't sit on my hands _all the time_. But cattle are not goats and should not need to be wormed. How often do you worm yourself? Humans can and do get worms, but it's unusual and it's when they've been living very unhealthily. Same for cattle. In an environment that has a low worm load they'll develop resistance. If there's a high worm load in the whole herd you should change your management, if it's just a couple then cull them, you don't want those genetics! 

Wormers are hard on soil life. Healthy soil life is the base of the pasture pyramid, if you destroy it the top will suffer, even if it's not visible to the human eye. We should always look at the whole, not just any given part.


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## ramiller5675 (Mar 31, 2009)

How would you know which cattle to cull to improve your genetics, unless you did a fecal worm count on each and every animal in your herd?


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

> How often do you worm yourself?


Every time I worm my horses/Jerseys ound: I have one horse that seems to get it all over me and the bottle of the Jersey's worm medicine for some reason seems to leak from under the lid when I squeeze into the measuring cups...

So lets see I had Zimectrin Gold all over my hands one day and next day I had Eprinex ...I told DH I had my worming for the next 6 months..

Sorry couldnt resist..


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Not worming animals in an area that is known to be infested with parasites is neglect, IMHO. I don't believe there are animals with "natural resistance". But rather that otherwise strong, healthy animals can carry quite a load of parasites before you notice their performance decline. With liver flukes and some of the nastier ones, it just might be too late before you figure it out. Some environments do help control parasites, such as desert. We use a pour-on in the spring, injectable in the fall. We still have bugs galore, enough to attract cattle egrets and other birds who hunt for bugs along with the cattle grazing. I think my free range chickens take out more dung beetles than Ivermectin.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

MO_cows said:


> Not worming animals in an area that is known to be infested with parasites is neglect, IMHO. I don't believe there are animals with "natural resistance". But rather that otherwise strong, healthy animals can carry quite a load of parasites before you notice their performance decline. With liver flukes and some of the nastier ones, it just might be too late before you figure it out. Some environments do help control parasites, such as desert. We use a pour-on in the spring, injectable in the fall. We still have bugs galore, enough to attract cattle egrets and other birds who hunt for bugs along with the cattle grazing. I think my free range chickens take out more dung beetles than Ivermectin.


Who do you think worms all the cattle in India? Those cattle do have a natural resistance to parasites. I only worm an animal that has an unthrifty appearance. A bovine that appears in great condition should be able to tolerate a minimal level of parasites. Did the American Indians worm the buffalo?

Do you see any animals that need worming.
I only remember worming 2 animals in the last 12 months. This herd is coming out of Winter having had no grain, cubes or hay.


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## ramiller5675 (Mar 31, 2009)

Do the feral cattle in India have a calf each and every year? How many of those calves survive to weaning age, yearling age, or breeding age?


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Agman, your cattle look good. How much better could they look and how many more pounds would you have to sell if they weren't carrying a load of parasites??


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm just curious as how you can tell for certain they dont have worms....my horses all look good and healthy...but yet I wormed the other day and I found a couple of botfly larvae in one of the mares piles...yes I go looking after I worm..lol

Didnt find any in the Jerseys. And didnt find any in the other horses...except for a fecal count I dont see how anyone can be for certain. Maybe cattle are different..if so let me know how?


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

This short article doesn't speak directly to wormers, but it makes my point better than I did. http://farmprogress.com/blogs-i-like-tweet-ranchers-forage-business-6872 You must look at the health of the whole and realize that interfering in one area affects the others.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Gabriel said:


> Let me start by saying that I do worm my goats, so I don't sit on my hands _all the time_. But cattle are not goats and should not need to be wormed. How often do you worm yourself? Humans can and do get worms, but it's unusual and it's when they've been living very unhealthily. Same for cattle. In an environment that has a low worm load they'll develop resistance. If there's a high worm load in the whole herd you should change your management, if it's just a couple then cull them, you don't want those genetics!
> 
> Wormers are hard on soil life. Healthy soil life is the base of the pasture pyramid, if you destroy it the top will suffer, even if it's not visible to the human eye. We should always look at the whole, not just any given part.


http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=675209 Maybe worms in humans isn't as unusual as we might think.


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

haypoint said:


> http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=675209 Maybe worms in humans isn't as unusual as we might think.


Interesting article, thanks for the link. 



> Tapeworm infection is common in Third World countries because of inadequate sanitation and hygiene...


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Gabriel said:


> Interesting article, thanks for the link.


 40,000 to 160,000 each year in the United States


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## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

haypoint said:


> 40,000 to 160,000 each year in the United States


True, but: "The good news is that good hygiene and food preparation can prevent it."

So in reference to the original post, _don't force your cattle to graze closely over their own poop. _


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