Deworming Dairy Goats

Deworming is an essential part of keeping goats. Dairy goats need to be dewormed every 3-6 months. A calendar should be kept with all of the important dates like deworming, giving shots, hoof trimming, etc. The dewormers we use are Valbazen, Safeguard and Ivamec (which is the same a Ivermectin or Ivomec). Ivomec drench or ivomec injectable can be used. Every time you use a goat dewormer, you should use a different dewormer than the time before, and keep rotating all year since the different dewormers kill different types of worms. It is possible to examine their nanny berries in a microscope to see what type of worms they have so you'll know which type of dewormer would be most effective. For example, Safeguard is good to kill off flukes. If you don't have a microscope or you don't know how to tell what kind of worms you are looking at, you can take a sample of the nanny berry to the vet.

If you rotate using the different dewormers, you can be pretty sure they probably don't have too many worms. The smaller the area you keep your dairy goats in, the more likely they will get lots of worms, so that is a good reason to rotate pastures. Of course some people don't have a large enough property to rotate pastures or the funds to put up extra fencing, so just do the best you can.

Another good way to keep the worm population down is to keep chickens or turkeys with your dairy goats since the chickens eat the worms which would have gone in your goats.

Make sure you read the label on the dewormer to see how long you need to wait before you drink the milk. If you have several dairy goats milking, then it is a good idea to deworm them at different times so you don't have to be without milk at any time if you rely on their milk to drink. There are herbal wormers on the market that are safe on pregnant does and lactating does. They are generally not as effective though. You can get dewormers at feed stores. If the only bottle of Ivermectin you can find is for sheep, that is okay, and you can just use the recommended weight for sheep. To weigh your dairy goat, you can purchase a special tape measure that you wrap right under their front arm pits and across their back. It will show the weight on the tape for their size, and then you will know how much dewormer to give them.

It's a good idea to purchase a drench syringe. You fill the liquid de-wormer into the syringe and then put the nozzle in the left side of the goat's mouth and slowly release it into the back of their mouth. Using this instrument, you don't have to worry about the goat accidentally biting you. If the long piece that goes into the goat's mouth gets difficult to pull out of the drench syringe piece, use olive oil to lubricate it.

I always keep a good stock of needles and syringes of varying sizes to administer medication such as de-wormers.

A sign you can look for that reveals your goat might have worms is when they have a rough, coarse coat.

Don't de-worm your goat if its immune system is already stressed.

Avoid Valbazen in pregnant goats; it causes abortions. Ivermectin and Safeguard are both okay to use on pregnant does.

You can spray just a little bit of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar on your goat's concentrate each day. This helps keep them healthy and helps de-worm them as well. If you start them on this when they are kids, they will most likely not mind it, but if you try to add it when they are older, they might refuse it.