# Liver Flukes



## Hasligrove (Dec 10, 2008)

Well to make a long story short...I was brainstorming ways to keep algea out of the stock water tanks and I thought of useing snails. Luckily I talk to some goat people and they said DO NOT USE SNAILS! They can carry liver flukes. So I started to do some research and got to worrying. I live in prime conditions to have liver flukes. Do people Deworm with something that prevents liver flukes on a refular basis? I read that.... "Currently, there are only two drugs available that are effective against liver flukes in goats. Both work best against the adult flukes, but there is some effect on the migrating juvenile flukes. Clorsulon is effective only against liver flukes and it is sold alone as CuratremÂ® or in combination with ivermectin as IvomecÂ® Plus. Thus, CuratremÂ® can be used to kill the flukes or IvomecÂ® Plus can be used to kill the flukes plus the internal parasites (worms) and external parasites (sucking lice). Additionally, albendazole (ValbazenÂ®) has activity against flukes and internal parasites." a good article at -- http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152&Itemid=171

They also say that they look very similar to common stomach worms...and I wonder if my vet could miss it when doing fecals.

Has anyone had any experience with Liver Flukes? What are people treating their goats with?


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

Either Valbazen or Ivomec Plus gets rid of them. You can find them anywhere where it's really wet . They are not super common but if you have marshy ground or a seasonal stream you should be checking fecals for them.

Most vets need to be asked to look. Especially since they tend to only do the usual tests.


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## steve morgan (Dec 13, 2008)

Rachel, Up here on the peninsula there are lots of liver flukes. They were brought to this area in the late 1800's by a farmer that lived on the upper Hoh river via the cattle he moved to his farm. The flukes then moved into the local elk herds. They do very well in the rain forest. When elk hunting we never think of keeping the liver even if it looks ok. The liver will have what looks like puss pockets all over it and if the pockets are cut into a bunch of mud looking crap will come out. In this pocket will also be a liver fluke that will be about the size of a quarter but elongated. One end will have a small opening that looks like sucker. They are flat and brown. We have found them in the Quillayute river system, the Hoh, Queets, and the Quinault. The river bottems are the worst. Steve


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## Hasligrove (Dec 10, 2008)

I don't recall seeing anything in the liver of the game we have shot around here but I don't doubt they are around. It's wet here for sure. I will have the vet look the next time I do fecals. Hopefully they will know what to look for. The last time I did fecals...they said there were no visible eggs at all. This always makes me a bit concerned. There are usually a few right? I do keep up on my deworming so I guess it's working.


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## hend_rex (Feb 28, 2009)

I know this is an old topic but I just finally got a chance to really check out the forum and wanted to share my experience with liver flukes.

I live in north Idaho and last summer a couple of my bottle baby rescue kids nearly died from liver fluke infestation. They seemed to be doing fine and I was starting to wean them. Life got a little busy for a few days so they just got the regular morning look-see to be sure they were running to the feeder and diving into there meals before I went to work. My husband got home early that day to find one of the little guys out flat on his side in the sun almost dead.

Apparently, they just weren't drinking enough water on there own (without the bottle feedings) to keep up with hidration with the underlying fluke infestation that I had never heard of before. It took a lot of IV fluids and intensive care to save his life. The twin to this kid was not far behind him but we caught it in time to keep him from going so far down hill. Fecal exams revealed the fluke problem. I wormed everyone with Ivomec*Plus right a way but I had to wait until my kid was a bit stronger to worm him.

Our local deer population is fairly healthy but we always check our livers for flukes. For some reason it never occured to me to check my goats. It should have since the deer come in and graze with the goats in the back yard all summer long. We have a lot of snails here as well and they are also a vector for liver flukes.

I did a lot of research and found that the current consensus is that you actually should NOT worm every goat in the heard if only one is having a problem. Pasture rotation and manure management seems to be the key. The feeling is that if you only worm the goats that seem to need it the most and leave the healthier ones alone the goats will have better natural defenses. Also, if you only worm the goats that seem to need it the most you will have less trouble with chemical resistant parisites. The unwormed goats keep the parisite gene pool diluted by having only a small portion of the parisites exposed to the worming chemicals rather than all of them.

I do my own fecals now and also use the FAMANCH chart. The FAMANCHA chart can be purchase on line. Its a great tool to gauge how anemic your goats are and when they need worming. My goats seem a lot better off for it. And I spend a lot less money on wormers now.

http://www.barnonemeatgoats.com/worms.html

This a great page for wormers and dosages. The worst thing you can do is underdose your wormer. The goats don't get the full benefit of it and the worms get resistant quickly. Unless your wormer is labeled for goats you usually have to double the dosage listed for cattle or horses.

Glenna


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## jross (Dec 20, 2008)

Thanks, Glenna, for the excellent post.


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

FAMACHA is changing the face of how we think about and respond to worm loads. Their premise is that if it's not broke don't fix it. But it does require some additional vigilance on the part of the owner.
I'll try to get an article posted on it.


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