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bramble_farm

Worming Goats

bramble_farm
18 years ago

Hi all,

I'm hoping to put my goats on a daily or weekly worming schedule by feeding rather than medicating. I was planning to add pumpkin seeds to their nightly rations and hoped someone here might know an appropriate dosage. (I always add feed and supplements gradually).

Even better, does anyone have a daily or weekly worming recipe they'd care to share? I'd rather stay away from wormwood as several of my does are pregnant, and will be milked by both humans and kids. TIA!

Comments (2)

  • vetivert8
    18 years ago

    I took a look in J de Bairacli Levy's Handbook. She advises that black or white mustard seed, two ounces per lamb given in milk is effective.

    She also states that food additions of raw grated carrot, raw dessicated coconut, seeds of pumpkins, nasturtium, grapes, melon, raw grated radish and turnip, and charcoal.

    I know from experience that charcoal is excellent for calming upset digestions in dogs, and our local herbalist says she uses it in cases of poisoning.

    If J de BL is using two ounces as her measure for lambs/kids I'd be looking at a handful for each beast. Carrots and turnips could be fed daily, as for horses, mixed with the dry feed. You could also add seaweed meal from a safe source to improve health and resistance to some of the lung worms.

    One thing she does say, and I'd endorse, is to clean up the pasture with a thorough liming. If you have enough pasture available, then the goats could follow on from cattle to keep the parasite numbers down and the pasture health up.

    Another source says that reinfestation can be guaranteed is the areas around the hay racks are not kept clean. Perhaps one of those feed systems that limit the amount pulled out onto the ground would be useful to you.

    Pasture rotation, using your electric fence, will let the paddocks get a rest for any oversowing and topdressing you need. And the addition of browse (branches, stalks) also acts as an internal 'brush' to keep the digestive system cleaner, and resistance higher. A good mixture of browse from the woodlot is better than just one sort.(Of course, nothing compares with the great taste of Our Human's treasured roses, willows, and fruit trees...!)

    If you can pasture the herd away for a month over summer to spell the ground and help break the life cycle of several of the parasites, that could help.

  • bramble_farm
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks!

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