jettesunn05
Chillin' with the herd
What is a good broad spectrum wormer and where can I get it?
This is great advise and I would agree. I once thought worms were worms and almost lost one of my goats. The right wormer for your area may not be right for mine. Good vets will tell you which wormer is working with an "office visit"Roll farms said:Asking here is dangerous to YOUR animals, because if I live in dry Texas and tell you Safe-Guard is best, and you're in Georgia and your animals have Liver Flukes...and you don't treat them properly...your goats can and probably WILL die.
ohiofarmgirl said:and their help is invaluable and great for newbies like me who have a hard time sorting thru all the hubbub. i've found that everyone has a different opinion and sometimes doing with the pro's do is quick and easy.. to a complicated problem.
Thanks I am taking one into the clinic that I work at this weekend and hope the only vet I know of that treats goats is around to read it for me. He did a c-section on a goat one time. To bad I was not at work for that one! I did my research and figured that was where I needed to start just needed to ask. Thanks!helmstead said:A call to your dept of ag can also lead you to the state vet, who can be helpful if your local vets aren't.
Getting a fecal run is the first place to start so you'll have some idea of what you need to treat. In our case, it's roundworms and tapes (with extra coverage for flukes)...
Yes I know it is called dewormer. And yes I do not always spell things right on forums. Yes I know how to check for worms in goats and make sure they are getting the right minerals. Im new at goats but not new at taking care of animals and making sure they have everything food, water, minerals etc. I did not expect an easy answer to things and with animals are not easy and taking care of them is not easy. I understand that you can continuosly worm an animal whether it is dog, cat, horse, goat and they will never be completely free from worms and that it can make them sick. I am actually a pretty good learner and can do pretty good research on my own(Im a college student). And I do my research and then ask people what they think along with a vet that I work with, I just dont always get to seem him to ask. Thank you for your opinion!Roll farms said:This may come across as harsh, and I don't mean to...I just mean to be emphatic, because it IS a very important issue.
First off It's dewormer, and you should do your own research on parasites common in your area, learn to evaluate your own animals, and learn what dewormers work on which parasites.
Asking here is dangerous to YOUR animals, because if I live in dry Texas and tell you Safe-Guard is best, and you're in Georgia and your animals have Liver Flukes...and you don't treat them properly...your goats can and probably WILL die.
There is no easy answer, if you want one, I'm sorry.
I can be like some, and tell you to rotate this and that every month, and you can do it, and build up resistance to what might work, and it might knock the worms back down juuuust enough to let them come back better and stronger...to the point where NO dewormer will work.
I've had several people, some friends, even...who sell out of their goats in a few years because, "They just can't handle worms." As if it's the goat's fault!
It's what's happening more and more in the US because too many people are asking for the easy answer instead of learning.
If you want an easy answer, disregard my post.
Do you understand that you don't want your goats to have NO worm loads..? They (and their offspring) must be healthy enough to carry a light load their bodies can learn to deal with.
Do you know if your goats are getting enough copper? Low copper levels make goats more susceptible to parasite infestation. Changing their mineral alone may help combat worms.
Do your goats sometimes cough w/ no other apparent signs of illness...? That's likely lung worm.
THERE IS NO SIMPLE ANSWER!
If you want to learn, please check w/ a goat vet (not a dog or horse vet), research online (and don't believe everything your read, the first time you read it. If you see the same facts repeatedly from varying sources, then you can try it and see if it works for your animals), find a large-scale, local (to you, so you'll share the same issues) LONG TERM goat rancher and ask them questions.
Learn how to tell if your goats NEED dewormed...coat, eyelids, gums, etc.
If they don't...DON'T deworm them and contribute to the rampant problems that overuse of dewormers is causing.
Here are some good, informative links....hope you have the time...
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/U/UNP-0078/
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/wormswheretobegin.html
http://www.jackmauldin.com/article_2.htm
http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152&Itemid=171
http://www.arc.agric.za/home.asp?pid=3985
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/lungworms.html
Again, I don't mean to offend or preach. But we have to stop expecting to get the easy (and correct) answers from folks who live across the country or have a different breed of goat (yes, some ARE more hardy than others) or just plain do the wrong thing, with good intentions.