Post by Jenn on Dec 28, 2014 19:51:14 GMT -5
Someone asked me about wormer and I can't remember who or what thread any more, so I am posting this as it's own thread.
I had lamancha dairy goats for several years, then I got cows, then a Boer buck, then eventual had to go back to work outside the home and after not being able to take care of them how I was used to doing, got out of goats...until I retire and can give more time to them. I live in a WET climate, WORMS are the number one killer of goats in my area, especially the barber pole worm. Coccidosis in younger animals can be an issue too, but not to the extent that worms can....OR if they have a coccidosis issue, they probably also have a worm issue.
I have tried many different kinds of wormers, conventional and herbal. I did before and after fecals every time. Sometimes on just one animal, sometimes on all (when it was a smaller herd.)
I have always had really low coccidia counts. Barber pole worm has been the number one killer in my herd, sometimes the goat became noticeably off first, sometimes they just wander off by themselves, under the radar and died. Some were thin and rough coated first, some were in excellent flesh with good, full color coat. (That was the hardest, a grand daughter to my favorite doe and gorgeous red.) Some were barometers and a successful worming showed up immediately and dramatically in the milk bucket, some milked the same high worm load or low worm load.
Per fecals, copper oxide can greatly influence total worm count. Safeguard, not as much. A commercial wormer made by Fertrell (cayenne, garlic oil, DE, water?) was very effective, but it was expensive and the goats HATED IT. Too hot, I think. Hoegger's wormer didn't make any change in worm count at all. Molly's was good, but was expensive and wasn't getting the barber pole worm. Valbazen worked for MANY years, then when I dosed with Ivermectin too (mixed together) it worked, but not by itself. I never tried any of the others because of horror stories of goats dropping dead after overdosing by accident.
I started adding cayenne to the Molly's herbal and WOW. I did the job and my does would eat it straight or mixed with peanut butter. Eventually I played with making my own version of Molly's herbals with the help of a friend who had more herbal experience than I did. i eventually dropped the pumpkin seeds because they were expensive and ineffective. Eventually, I dropped some of the other stuff too. 1 tsp Cayenne (30,000 to 35,000 HU) powder or flakes and 1 TBS garlic (mostly to cut the heat of the cayenne) per goat is what I settled with, sometimes adding hyssop on really wet days and thyme too. Maybe less would have worked? I don't know, but it worked and was reasonably priced, so I stuck with it. I fed once a week or when I remembered or every day if it was a rainy, wet spring week.
There are, of course, other things that help, like proper pasture rotation , not letting them eat wet grass, not letting them lie in their own poop, etc.
I don't know what a cow dose would be, maybe double, but probably not a whole lot more. Miss Swiss would steal it if I was feeding it free choice, so I know at least one cow liked it.
-Jenn
I had lamancha dairy goats for several years, then I got cows, then a Boer buck, then eventual had to go back to work outside the home and after not being able to take care of them how I was used to doing, got out of goats...until I retire and can give more time to them. I live in a WET climate, WORMS are the number one killer of goats in my area, especially the barber pole worm. Coccidosis in younger animals can be an issue too, but not to the extent that worms can....OR if they have a coccidosis issue, they probably also have a worm issue.
I have tried many different kinds of wormers, conventional and herbal. I did before and after fecals every time. Sometimes on just one animal, sometimes on all (when it was a smaller herd.)
I have always had really low coccidia counts. Barber pole worm has been the number one killer in my herd, sometimes the goat became noticeably off first, sometimes they just wander off by themselves, under the radar and died. Some were thin and rough coated first, some were in excellent flesh with good, full color coat. (That was the hardest, a grand daughter to my favorite doe and gorgeous red.) Some were barometers and a successful worming showed up immediately and dramatically in the milk bucket, some milked the same high worm load or low worm load.
Per fecals, copper oxide can greatly influence total worm count. Safeguard, not as much. A commercial wormer made by Fertrell (cayenne, garlic oil, DE, water?) was very effective, but it was expensive and the goats HATED IT. Too hot, I think. Hoegger's wormer didn't make any change in worm count at all. Molly's was good, but was expensive and wasn't getting the barber pole worm. Valbazen worked for MANY years, then when I dosed with Ivermectin too (mixed together) it worked, but not by itself. I never tried any of the others because of horror stories of goats dropping dead after overdosing by accident.
I started adding cayenne to the Molly's herbal and WOW. I did the job and my does would eat it straight or mixed with peanut butter. Eventually I played with making my own version of Molly's herbals with the help of a friend who had more herbal experience than I did. i eventually dropped the pumpkin seeds because they were expensive and ineffective. Eventually, I dropped some of the other stuff too. 1 tsp Cayenne (30,000 to 35,000 HU) powder or flakes and 1 TBS garlic (mostly to cut the heat of the cayenne) per goat is what I settled with, sometimes adding hyssop on really wet days and thyme too. Maybe less would have worked? I don't know, but it worked and was reasonably priced, so I stuck with it. I fed once a week or when I remembered or every day if it was a rainy, wet spring week.
There are, of course, other things that help, like proper pasture rotation , not letting them eat wet grass, not letting them lie in their own poop, etc.
I don't know what a cow dose would be, maybe double, but probably not a whole lot more. Miss Swiss would steal it if I was feeding it free choice, so I know at least one cow liked it.
-Jenn