# Best goat worming methods?



## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

I am new to goats but now have six friendly, intelligent and beautiful pets that I think are absolutely great.

I got the first two individually and the remaining four as two pairs from different people. The second doe came to me with a pretty nasty cough. I called several people and they said that the fact it was so hot and dry was likely the reason. My other goat didn't have this so I began researching the cause and came upon lung worms. Basically, there were 3 or so wormers that were suggested. These included Valbazen, Ivomec Plus, and Cydectin. I hear that Ivomec (regular) is a joke and that Valbazen is the only one that will effectively treat tapeworms. I also was told about Tramisol but avoided that one as there is no margin for error.

Once I figured this was likely lungworms, I went to the local farm supply store and they were sold out of everything but Ivomec Plus so that is what I got. I treated her that day I could see an improvment in just a few short hours. It is now 8 days later and she is doing much better but still coughing a little. She is also filling out and putting on some weight as I thought she was too thin.

The second set of goats came with another coughing goat so I treated both of them with the same Ivomec Plus.

The third set of goats came treated with Valbazen at the time of purchase. One goat seems fine and has no issues. The other crapped out a huge tapeworm in pieces the entire next day. At least I assume this is what it was as it looked like a flat pasta noodle. This goat also has a cough so I assume it might have had lungworms too. Again, the cough is getting better with time.

My question is how to re-treat these goats. I plan on treating them again 12 days after the initial worming to be sure and planned to use Valbazen on the ones that had been treated with Ivomec Plus and and Ivomec Plus on the ones that had been treated with Valbazen. Does this sound like a good strategy?

The second doe was likely the wormiest based on the severity of her cough and overall appearance. She seemed underweight but her eyelids were good and pink. He coat is also much coarser than the other goats but I think some of this is just her nature and not all worm-related. She also tries to get into dog food which I understand is common in wormy goats.

Any other suggestions? I used the highest suggested doses I could find as I understand that under dosing can lead to resistant worm populations (not good). I want to mix up my wormers for this reason too.

Thank you,

Conor


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## fd123 (May 29, 2012)

You should take temps on them and have fecals done.. I would NOT rec guessing..when goats get sick most of the time they go down quick, and you will lose them before you realize what happened...Might i also add once you get your herd healthy DO NOT put a new goat in with them when you first bring them home.. Especially a goat that you already know has something going on..cough, worms, etc... As you dont want one goat to spread whatever sickness it has to your healthy herd...
Most vets will do a fecal for like 5 bucks!! That will be the best 5 dollars youll ever spend... That way you arent guessing and treating for the wrong illness..
Best of luck to you!!! There is alot of VERY KNOWLEDGABLE PEOPLE on this forum that can offer tons of GREAT advice.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. I will do fecals from now so I don't have to guess but treated the goats in question with follow up of Cydectin and Valbazen. The problem went away. Either way, a fecal is cheaper than a worming treatment and less farmful too.

Thanks,

Conor


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

If you seen tape segments in a Doe then ....that goat needs to be treated with Valbezen....right away...then again 10 days later... I would do this 3x ...10 days apart to be sure to kill the tapes off..... I give 1 cc per 33 lbs.... :hug:


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

If the goat is a bred doe Valbazen is not safe. Use Safeguard for tape worm on a bred doe. 3days in a row and then in 10 days 3 more days in a row.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Another wormer that gets rid of tapes and is safe for pregnant does is Praziquantel.... I use horse paste wormers when neccesary and Zimectrin Gold contains both Prazi and Ivermectin. Triple the goats weight then dose accordingly...with paste wormers, a 6cc tube is broken down into doses by cc and 1cc of paste will worm a goat with the tripled weight of 208lbs( 70lb goat)


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I assume... that these Does were not preggo right?...if they are by all means... do not give the Valbezen.....Ivomec plus isn't safe for preggers either.... :wink:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

:wave: Welcome to the world of goats!!!! 

I'm glad your girl is getting better! Pat Coleby recommends giving a course of vitamin E after a lungworm infestation. She says it dramatically reduces lung scarring and thus the breathing rate.

As to mixing up wormers, that is not recommended because once the worms become resistant, they will be resistant to not just one wormer, but all of them! It's recommended to use just one wormer until it stops working, then switch to another.

BTW...we would love to see pictures of your goats! 

Edit - I should also add, there are other ways of keeping down the worms, such as using herbal wormers, rotating pastures, and supplementing copper. The better your management, the fewer worms your goats will have.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Zimctrin Gold has the same ingredients I think as Equamax only the Equamax has twice the amount of Prazinquantel than Zimectrin does. Both of these are good wormers if used correctly as advised on here.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I wish my vet would do a fecal for $5 even 20. The only goat vets here charge $50! for a fecal


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