Illness Prevention Questions

Hey there goat friends!
I am reaching out because I'm a new owner of some Nigerian dwarf goats. We've got all the books and we've been educated by the breeder, but I still had some questions on vaccinations and worming. The breeder gave them their first shots, but he says that's usually all he does and doesn't usually vaccinate his heard.
Also I'm not sure when to worry about worming. Do I just wait until I see a problem or is worming medication something I should be integrating into their diet? These are just pets for us-we're not selling, breeding or milking. Thank you so much in advance!

rasheika said:

Hey there goat friends!
I am reaching out because I'm a new owner of some Nigerian dwarf goats. We've got all the books and we've been educated by the breeder, but I still had some questions on vaccinations and worming. The breeder gave them their first shots, but he says that's usually all he does and doesn't usually vaccinate his heard.
Also I'm not sure when to worry about worming. Do I just wait until I see a problem or is worming medication something I should be integrating into their diet? These are just pets for us-we're not selling, breeding or milking. Thank you so much in advance!

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Take a fecal to a vet and ask them to teach you how to do it yourself. Many will do it for $10-$15. Treat as needed for the particular parasites they have too much of on an as needed basis, not a schedule. If you have a problem with coccidia (a protozoan, not a worm) you may want to look into medicated feed for prevention for that.

Everyone feeds differently, but most would agree they need long stemmed fiber to keep their rumen going, loose goat minerals, water, and probably some amount of a goat feed to keep them in good condition. If you have wethers, try to keep their Calcium/ Phosphorus ratio at a 2:1-3:1 to prevent UC.

Some of the introduction to goat books I've seen haven't been totally accurate. Not saying yours aren't, just FYI.

Great advice!!! Thanks so much-that's why I finally asked. I didn't want to sound like a dummy, but I just was not finding the answers to my questions in those books.
Also asked some questions regarding feeding in the feeding forum. They are predominately on feed. We are building them in the areas that they can be in pasture-not a lot to forage where they are currently.

This is a good schedule for the CD & T
Since the breeder does NOT vaccinate his/her herd you will need to follow the schedule for goats coming from unvaccinated dams.
http://articles.extension.org/pages/27116/goat-vaccination-program

As far as deworming-
Goats coming onto a new farn should have a fecal run about 7 days afterward.
Goats can get a "bloom" of parasites. For young kids coccidia is what affects them the most. Coccidia are not worms so dewormers are ineffective but cocci kills.
There are many false notions about cocci.
One- they do not have to have diarrhea to have cocci.
Two- they don't have to have bloody stool either.
Three- they don't have to look "sick"

It is very important so this can be treated if there is a bloom, if gone unchecked it can have serious consequences.

Worms- fecals are best especially EPG counts
I have written some articles on worming-

https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/understanding-famacha-fecal-analysis.56/
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/the-mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis.55/
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/mcmasters-method-fecal-analysis-part2.57/
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/what-is-a-high-load-when-to-de-worm.41/

thank you!!!

I think it's also important to see the overall health of the goat. Don't just go off of a fecal EPG (eggs per gram) or the FAMACHA score. Some goats with a high EPG may be very healthy and just have a better immune system.

These are the goats you would want to breed, from what I've read, in order to pass along those good genetics.

This is a REALLY good video on fecal testing


You also want to test regularly to see how your goats react to a particular treatment and take into consideration the time of year. If your goat has lower numbers when it is a high season for worms, that goat probably has a good immune system.

Anyway, I'm just learning all this too!

BlessedBGoats said:

I think it's also important to see the overall health of the goat. Don't just go off of a fecal EPG (eggs per gram) or the FAMACHA score. Some goats with a high EPG may be very healthy and just have a better immune system.

These are the goats you would want to breed, from what I've read, in order to pass along those good genetics.

This is a REALLY good video on fecal testing

You also want to test regularly to see how your goats react to a particular treatment and take into consideration the time of year. If your goat has lower numbers when it is a high season for worms, that goat probably has a good immune system.

Anyway, I'm just learning all this too!

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Yes, understanding that it is not just a number is very important.
Connecting those numbers with the overall health of the goat is key... it is a combination and understanding the individual goat as well as where the whole herd's overall health is.
Those numbers also show how well your dewormers are working. That is very important to know and without the numbers it all becomes a guess.

yeah... without the numbers to back it all up it's all guess work... you'd just be "wingin' it" Sorry SBC, couldn't resist...