Goats are not small cows, and the 'pour-on' dewormers are not well-absorbed by goats, so we recommend that if you choose to use the pour-on formulations, that you give them orally, as a drench. Dosage(twice the cattle dose) and route of administration(over the back of the tongue - not just squirted in their mouth) are very important, and it is equally important to only deworm those animals which are anemic as a result of heavy parasite burden - NOT wholesale deworming of the entire flock, which just serves to rush you faster down the road toward selection of a population of resistant nematode parasites.
Thanks Lucky_p Are you saying I don't really have to deworm them? I have 2 mini pygmy females as pets..I don't see any indication of worms,but I don't want them getting them and becoming sick either. What product do you recommend?? If I use it orally,should I just get the drench dewormer for goats?? I had someone come here last fall to deworm them anf they did it along their back with ivermectin. I thought they knew what they were doing,as I was a newbie,I now want to do it myself and use the best product for them ..
bee, It may well be that you don't need to deworm them - a lot depends upon where you are located and how you manage them. Goats were designed to be browsers, not grazers. Grass is 'famine' food for goats - and since the 'worms' and coccidia parasites are present in fecal material, the higher/farther away from feces you can keep goats while allowing them to procure their food, the longer you'll avoid gastrointestinal parasite problems. Some of the biggest parasite problems we see here in the Southeastern US arise from goat producers treating their animals like small cows, and expecting them to do well on pasture; goats browsing overgrown, scrubby/brushy properties will do well with minimal parasite problems, but if they're forced to graze...well, parasite problems are increased exponentially due to the proximity to feces and infectious larvae/oocysts. I can't/won't recommend an anthelminthic to you, but will strongly recommend that you seek out and develop a relationship with a veterinarian who has experience with and interest in goats - and be forewarned that not all do. Some of the biggest trainwrecks I've seen with regard to goats & sheep have been facilitated by well-meaning but uninformed veterinarians who really had no knowledge of the current state of small ruminant medicine and management. As I stated earlier, wholesale deworming of the entire flock without regard to actual need, and frequent 'rotation' of classes of anthelminthics used will rapidly result in you developing a population of highly-resistant parasites on your premises. See the link below for more info on FAMACHA testing, etc.
lucky_p
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