HOW TO KEEP GOATS PARASITE FREE

Goats and parasites are a big deal. It’s easy to think that because they’re so hardy in other ways, goats will combat worms will relative ease. In my experience, the opposite is actually true. Whilst sheep, for example, can tolerate a fairly high worm burden, goats have far less resistance and will be impacted by parasites far quicker. As owners it’s our responsibility, therefore, to ensure we keep parasite loads as low as possible.

I should state a few simple truths here; your goat will unlikely ever be without parasites. It’s quite natural for animals, yes - even us - to have the odd rogue nasty here and there. When you’re a goat grazing off the ground, then it’s very likely you’ll pick up the odd worm here and there. But there’s a lot we can do as goat owners to make sure those worm burdens don’t become so high they cause physical damage to our capricorn friend. The other truth is that without chemicals, it’s very difficult to eradicate a worm burden once it has manifested. It is far better to avoid big parasite quantities in the first place but if you have a problem - regardless of why it’s happened - it’s best to treat chemically and move on from there.

It is also important to have a vague understanding on the worm life cycle. Worms live inside the animal, reproducing and shedding their eggs in the poop. Egg hatch and the larvae crawl onto grass stems where they’re nibbled, ingested and the process starts again. It is VERY important to remember that when you treat goats with a chemical wormer, the first thing the mature worms will do is shed their eggs. So never worm and then move to a new pasture because all those worm eggs will come straight out in the poop. Instead, wait 24 - 48 hours and then move the goats to new accommodation.

With that said - here are some ways to keep your goats parasite free.

CHEMICAL WORMER

I’ve put this first because, as mentioned before, if you already have a high worm burden herbal remedies just won’t touch the sides. You need to act, and you need to act swiftly. A chemical wormer is the best solution so talk to your vet about potential products. There are a few of things to remember.

First, as I said, do not worm and then move your goats to fresh pasture because all those worm eggs will infect the new ground. Instead, wait 24 to 48 hours. I always do this with incoming animals to my herds. Ideally, I ask whoever I’m buying the animal from to worm them two days before I pick up. Alternatively, I worm the new goat as soon as it arrives and then isolate it on hardstanding for a couple of days before it moves onto grass.

Worm new goats before letting them join your herd

Second, the overuse of chemical wormers is making many of them useless against resistant worms. Therefore, do not use them on an ad-hoc basis and always rotate the types of wormers you’re using. A vet will have more details on this for you. Instead of simply worming for the sake of worming, consider using other methods such as fecal worm egg counts and FAMACHA tests.

Thirdly, do not under-dose and give oral medications. Goats have a very high metabolic rate which means worming injections will simply be absorbed before they have a chance to treat the parasites. Meanwhile, under dosing aids the rise of resistance in worms.

PASTURE ROTATION

One of the best ways to prevent a build-up of worms on your land is to rotate pasture. This is difficult to do if you only have a small plot, but even carving a small field into units rather than allowing goats over the whole area is better than nothing.

The idea behind this is that instead of allowing worms to infest your entire acreage, they will only drop their eggs in the current pasture your goats are grazing. If you rotate animals through several different paddocks, by the time they return to the starting field, many of the worm larvae have already died and will not be picked up again.

ACCESS TO NATURAL FORAGE

Along with pasture rotation, I try and give my goats access to natural forage alongside grass online. Animals are astonishingly good at finding medicinal herbs and plants and knowing what their system needs. You only have to watch a nanny head straight for the ivy after she’s given birth, or a goat chomp down on nettles in need of iron, to know this. For that reason, when you divide your land into pastures, try to include some natural forage in each one, whether that’s a hedgerow or a patch of brambles.

INTER-SPECIES GRAZING

Luckily for us and the goats, worms are species dependent - that is a goat worm cannot live in a chicken or cow, for example. For this reason, if you have other animals on your farm or homestead, it is well worthwhile rotating them through the goat paddocks after your herd has moved on. This means that any hatched eggs and larvae hanging out on blades of grass waiting to be picked up by a goat will have an unpleasant end being chomped on by something else.

OBSERVATION

Observation, as with all animal husbandry, is essential to keeping goats parasite free and making sure none of your herd gets sick. Some goats have better immunity to worms than others. Goats should be active, alert, having shiny coats and bright eyes. I keep Anglo Nubians which are naturally skinny, but get yourself used to condition scoring and feel your goats whenever you get the chance to make sure no one is becoming too thin. Use the FAMACHA score to check eyelids for anaemia levels, and if bottle-jaw appears, act immediately otherwise you could lose your goat to worms.

HAY MAINTENANCE

Something overlooked is often hay maintenance and by that, I mean keeping hay off the ground. Luckily goats are pretty picky when it comes to food - I don’t know about you, but mine love to spread as much hay on the floor as possible and then look at me with a ‘I’m not eating that now’ expression.

Hay tends to be fed in the same place. An area where goats congregate and therefore, allow more droppings to fall. Not only should you move their hay racks around to different areas, but do your best to ensure as little food falls on the floor as possible. Less eating off the ground will mean less worms are being picked up.

I hope these ideas have helped a little in how you can keep your goats parasite free. As I said - it’s unlikely they’ll ever be completely without but by taking action and controlling where your herd goes and what they do, will help eliminate problems from your beautiful animals.