There is a lot of misinformation about worming goats. Ask a veterinarian if a goat's system processes things much faster than a cow and horse and they will agree that yes, it does. Ask them how you should worm them, and they will give you pretty much the same regiment as for a cow or horse. Why? I have no idea. But it happens all the time. And it can create huge problems for a herd.
Chemical wormers such as ivermectin and fenbendazole kill adult worms. They do not kill larva or eggs, so for the wormer to kill all the worms and interrupt their life cycle, the wormer has to stay in the system long enough for the most recently laid eggs to mature. Most internal parasitic worms have a life cycle of about three to four weeks, though some can be longer. For a cow or horse, the wormer stays in their system for some weeks, long enough to kill whatever is there. With horses, they are often repeated over 6-8 weeks. For a goat, it stays in the system only for a few days, long enough only to kill adults. That means 2/3 of the worm population is unaffected. So, for a goat, you basically have to worm them three times within the life cycle period, once to kill the adults, then the larva as they mature, then the eggs as they mature.
Worm resistance is built in a goat when they are wormed like a cow or horse. Usually they are also greatly underdosed, but more on that. Worms become resistant when not all of them are killed, either by the animal not receiving a sufficient dose and leaving adults left to adapt, or using the same chemical wormer for too long. There will always be some, a special few, that outlive a chemical regiment. That's actually fine. Animals will always have worms. It's the amount that you care about. Another thing that can happen is worming a goat for no reason. This occurs when people worm whole herds on a regiment with a chemical wormer instead of individually. ALWAYS worm individually as the goat needs it. NEVER worm the whole herd, unless you just bought the whole herd.
There are only two times you should always worm a goat: after birth and after purchase. You engage in the 30-day worm regiment because the doe's system is compromised during birth. Remember those few worms who are always present? There is a risk they can explode in numbers and overwhelm the doe. So, you should worm her then. It won't hurt the kids. Worming after purchase when the goat gets to your farm (and should be in quarantine for two weeks) is done because you have no idea what came with the goat, even in well managed places. There is just no way to know.
Checking the whole herd at least once a month for feet trimming, worming, and general health should be part of any herd's general care, so it's a time to check if the goat needs it. This is part of worming individually, as the animal presents the need. There is a very easy way to check for parasitic worms. It's called the FaMancha Test. It basically looks for a goat's general blood level. The lower the blood level, the higher the parasitic, blood-sucking worm load. To do the test, you pull down the goat's lower eyelid and look at the color. The color, from white (no blood - near death) to a nice robust pinkish red (lots of blood - healthy) shows the worm load. It really is that simple and takes about three seconds. Once the goat reaches a certain level of paleness to their eye membrane, you should worm them.
There are only two times you should always worm a goat: after birth and after purchase. You engage in the 30-day worm regiment because the doe's system is compromised during birth. Remember those few worms who are always present? There is a risk they can explode in numbers and overwhelm the doe. So, you should worm her then. It won't hurt the kids. Worming after purchase when the goat gets to your farm (and should be in quarantine for two weeks) is done because you have no idea what came with the goat, even in well managed places. There is just no way to know.
Checking the whole herd at least once a month for feet trimming, worming, and general health should be part of any herd's general care, so it's a time to check if the goat needs it. This is part of worming individually, as the animal presents the need. There is a very easy way to check for parasitic worms. It's called the FaMancha Test. It basically looks for a goat's general blood level. The lower the blood level, the higher the parasitic, blood-sucking worm load. To do the test, you pull down the goat's lower eyelid and look at the color. The color, from white (no blood - near death) to a nice robust pinkish red (lots of blood - healthy) shows the worm load. It really is that simple and takes about three seconds. Once the goat reaches a certain level of paleness to their eye membrane, you should worm them.
There are three types of wormer: chemical, herbal, and diatomaceous earth (DE). Worms can become resistant to chemical wormers. They cannot become resistant to herbal wormers and DE. Why would anyone use chemical wormers then? Convenience and speed. Chemicals work fast. If your goat has a critical infestation such as bottlejaw, an herbal wormer won't work fast enough to save the animal. Even if you use an herbal regiment, it is best to keep one or two chemical wormers around for emergencies. Chemicals also don't have to be given than often. Herbals, such as Molly's Herbal Wormer (probably the best herbal wormer you can buy) work more slowly and have to be given once a week, or sometimes even daily as a topdressing. If you form little dosage balls, goats usually quite like to munch their herbal wormer, so worming them is actually kind of fun. Food-grade (not pool-grade!) DE can be made into dosage balls or used an a topdressing and must be fed daily. Some goats don't mind it, but some do. To learn more about how DE should be given and dosages, please go to Wolf Creek Ranch. Even though DE has to be given daily, it is also a great source of dozens of minerals.
As a side note for chemical wormers, fenbendazole (brand name SafeGuard and Panacur) have largely become completely obsolete for usage in sheep and goats. The only thing it is good for now is tapeworms. It won't touch any other worm. So, unless your goat has ,characterized by little grains of "rice", don't use fenbendazole. You are wasting your time and money. With that in mind, no wormer kills everything. Ivomec Plus is the only wormer on the market that kills liver fluke. Nothing else does that.
As a side note for chemical wormers, fenbendazole (brand name SafeGuard and Panacur) have largely become completely obsolete for usage in sheep and goats. The only thing it is good for now is tapeworms. It won't touch any other worm. So, unless your goat has ,characterized by little grains of "rice", don't use fenbendazole. You are wasting your time and money. With that in mind, no wormer kills everything. Ivomec Plus is the only wormer on the market that kills liver fluke. Nothing else does that.
Chemical wormers can be given orally or as an injection*. Orally is probably easiest. Just use the wormer licensed for horses. They come in easily given syringes. Your goat won't eat it willingly, but horses don't either. However, oral wormers will not affect external parasites like blood-sucking lice, mites, and ticks. In that case, you would use an injectable wormer such as Ivomec. Given subcutaneously (SubQ), it will kill external as well as internal parasites.
*DO NOT give Ivomec injectable orally! Just don't. Really. It's not designed for that and I have seen pictures of what happens to a goat when given oral Ivomec. Some people do it. In my mind, if you're going to give oral ivermectin (Ivomec) why not get the oral horse ivermectin designed for that? Ivomec, because of how it is designed to work can work so fast and so aggressive, it can cause massive internal bleeding to a goat with a heavy enough worm load. Just don't do it.
Summary:
Chemical: quick, not given very often, can become resistant rapidly
Herbal: slower acting, give once a week depending on particularly wormer, no resistance
DE: slower acting, give daily, no resistance (also source of minerals)
Choose what is best for you. What matters is that you use it properly, whatever you do. I personally used Molly's Herbal wormer and DE when I had my goats as a preventative and tonic, and kept a couple horse wormers on the side. We had a monsoon rain after a really long dry spell and one of my goats got bottlejaw, so I used the horse wormer. That happened once. It was never been repeated.
Dosing for each other systems is different. For chemical horse/cow wormers, give 3x the weight of the goat. If the goat weighs 100 lb. give 300 lb. worth of wormer. So, let's say you're giving some random injectable ivermectin and the dosage for a horse is 1 cc (or 1 mL) per 100 lb. (I don't know. I'm making up numbers.) A 100 lb goat would then get 3 cc. This applies to the oral syringes also. A 100 lb. goat going through the 30-day regiment would then receive 900 lb. worth over the period. I calculate this as a little less than one horse wormer. Those are usually 1250 lb worth. I usually get three or four doses out of a horse wormer.
For herbal wormers, you should follow the instructions on the packaging. None are the same. Molly has a thorough page detailing how her wormers work.
DE dosage for a goat is 3 TB per 100 lb. and recommended free choice. This can of course be split up if you feed your goats more than once a day. The only note about DE is that it might prove ineffective against lungworm. Read up on lungworm to determine the symptoms or if it is a problem in your area.
*DO NOT give Ivomec injectable orally! Just don't. Really. It's not designed for that and I have seen pictures of what happens to a goat when given oral Ivomec. Some people do it. In my mind, if you're going to give oral ivermectin (Ivomec) why not get the oral horse ivermectin designed for that? Ivomec, because of how it is designed to work can work so fast and so aggressive, it can cause massive internal bleeding to a goat with a heavy enough worm load. Just don't do it.
Summary:
Chemical: quick, not given very often, can become resistant rapidly
Herbal: slower acting, give once a week depending on particularly wormer, no resistance
DE: slower acting, give daily, no resistance (also source of minerals)
Choose what is best for you. What matters is that you use it properly, whatever you do. I personally used Molly's Herbal wormer and DE when I had my goats as a preventative and tonic, and kept a couple horse wormers on the side. We had a monsoon rain after a really long dry spell and one of my goats got bottlejaw, so I used the horse wormer. That happened once. It was never been repeated.
Dosing for each other systems is different. For chemical horse/cow wormers, give 3x the weight of the goat. If the goat weighs 100 lb. give 300 lb. worth of wormer. So, let's say you're giving some random injectable ivermectin and the dosage for a horse is 1 cc (or 1 mL) per 100 lb. (I don't know. I'm making up numbers.) A 100 lb goat would then get 3 cc. This applies to the oral syringes also. A 100 lb. goat going through the 30-day regiment would then receive 900 lb. worth over the period. I calculate this as a little less than one horse wormer. Those are usually 1250 lb worth. I usually get three or four doses out of a horse wormer.
For herbal wormers, you should follow the instructions on the packaging. None are the same. Molly has a thorough page detailing how her wormers work.
DE dosage for a goat is 3 TB per 100 lb. and recommended free choice. This can of course be split up if you feed your goats more than once a day. The only note about DE is that it might prove ineffective against lungworm. Read up on lungworm to determine the symptoms or if it is a problem in your area.
There are slaughter and milk withholding times for chemical and herbal wormers. Each of the chemical ones are slightly different, so you will have to research that, but keep the withholding times in mind if you are intending the animal for slaughter or milk production. I long ago said does should be wormed after giving birth. An herbal worming regiment can be a good way to circumvent milk withholding times on dairy goats while still worming them. You must by law abide by withholding times for chemical wormers in animals intended for any kind of sale, whether for their milk or meat.
Some chemical wormers cannot be given to pregnant animals, while some can. Ivermectin, pyrantal pamoate, and oxibendazole are labeled safe for pregnant mares. Wormwood herbal wormers CANNOT be given to pregnant animals. It stimulates menstrual bleeding and can cause miscarriage. It is safe in correct dosages at other times for animals. The reason Molly has a two part system is to overcome this wormwood restriction. She has a second wormer used in conjunction with the wormwood for pregnant animals. DE has no withholding time and is safe at any stage.
So, after all this (and it is a lot, I try to be thorough) how do you know if your goat needs to be wormed? Other than the FaMancha test? What other signs are there? Several. They are all basically tied to lack of blood, lack of nutrients. Imagine how you would feel if you were really anemic and had a really big tapeworm. You would be pale, sluggish, have poor hair and nails, have trouble keeping weight on and keeping yourself in good condition. You might not have a good appetite or stop eating altogether. A lactating goat would have a loss of milk production. It may have scours (diarrhea.)
The thing with worms is that it can cause other problems. If you take the animal to a vet the person may see the symptoms and treat the goat for something else, though it was the worms that actually caused it. So many things look the same with goats. If your goat has a problem, check for worms anyway even if you think it might be something else. Learn how to do fecals. They're actually really easy. Just in case.
One worm a goat person should always know and be able to recognize is the Haemonchus contortus worm, AKA the barberpole worm. It can be your worst nightmare. It can kill a goat in a little as 4-6 hours in critical cases. (That's a case for a chemical wormer. Seriously.) A barberpole worm infestation is called Bottle Jaw. As you can see from this photo, it causes the throat to swell like you stuck a water bottle in there. This most often happens after a heavy rain when there has been a drought. The worm population explodes with the rain. Always keep an eye for this. To my knowledge, none of the other internal worms have such obvious signs.
The meningeal worm (P. tenuis) also be a particular danger if you have a large deer population and your goats graze near a source of water such as a pond or creek. Slugs and snails act as intermediate host. The worm doesn't do much to deer, but they can be deadly to goats, sheep, and camelids such as llamas and alpacas. The worm travels up the spinal cord where the animal scratches and bites at it, until it gets to the brain and kills the animal. Before reaching the brain, the worm can weaken or completely paralyze the animal.
I'm sorry I write such long posts. I try to be comprehensive. >___>
Some chemical wormers cannot be given to pregnant animals, while some can. Ivermectin, pyrantal pamoate, and oxibendazole are labeled safe for pregnant mares. Wormwood herbal wormers CANNOT be given to pregnant animals. It stimulates menstrual bleeding and can cause miscarriage. It is safe in correct dosages at other times for animals. The reason Molly has a two part system is to overcome this wormwood restriction. She has a second wormer used in conjunction with the wormwood for pregnant animals. DE has no withholding time and is safe at any stage.
So, after all this (and it is a lot, I try to be thorough) how do you know if your goat needs to be wormed? Other than the FaMancha test? What other signs are there? Several. They are all basically tied to lack of blood, lack of nutrients. Imagine how you would feel if you were really anemic and had a really big tapeworm. You would be pale, sluggish, have poor hair and nails, have trouble keeping weight on and keeping yourself in good condition. You might not have a good appetite or stop eating altogether. A lactating goat would have a loss of milk production. It may have scours (diarrhea.)
The thing with worms is that it can cause other problems. If you take the animal to a vet the person may see the symptoms and treat the goat for something else, though it was the worms that actually caused it. So many things look the same with goats. If your goat has a problem, check for worms anyway even if you think it might be something else. Learn how to do fecals. They're actually really easy. Just in case.
One worm a goat person should always know and be able to recognize is the Haemonchus contortus worm, AKA the barberpole worm. It can be your worst nightmare. It can kill a goat in a little as 4-6 hours in critical cases. (That's a case for a chemical wormer. Seriously.) A barberpole worm infestation is called Bottle Jaw. As you can see from this photo, it causes the throat to swell like you stuck a water bottle in there. This most often happens after a heavy rain when there has been a drought. The worm population explodes with the rain. Always keep an eye for this. To my knowledge, none of the other internal worms have such obvious signs.
The meningeal worm (P. tenuis) also be a particular danger if you have a large deer population and your goats graze near a source of water such as a pond or creek. Slugs and snails act as intermediate host. The worm doesn't do much to deer, but they can be deadly to goats, sheep, and camelids such as llamas and alpacas. The worm travels up the spinal cord where the animal scratches and bites at it, until it gets to the brain and kills the animal. Before reaching the brain, the worm can weaken or completely paralyze the animal.
I'm sorry I write such long posts. I try to be comprehensive. >___>