Goat Care with Meds and Doses
I have decided to make a reference guide for new goat owners. Over the past 10 years we have learned a lot of tricks to keep our goats as healthy as we can. I hope this helps you too. This page will list common medications to have on hand and where to get them. Some medications are now very difficult to obtain in an emergency so keeping on hand is very important.
Parasites
Parasites are the leading cause of illnesses and death of goats. Depending on where you live many parasites are resistant to some medications out there now. Parasites include internal worms, Coccidia(most concerning for goat kids under 6 months), External parasites such as lice and mites. Warm and wet weather or stress either due to birthing or even new goats just arriving to your farm really cause parasite infestations to rise so it is important to know what to look for and to treat accordingly. Here on our farm we do not treat for internal worms on a schedule as that leads to resistance but we do use other methods to keep our goats healthy.
INTERNAL WORM TYPES
Haemonchus contortus, also known as the Barberpole worm is the most prevalent, and often deadliest, parasite that infects goats. This parasite resides in the abomasum, the fourth chamber of the ruminant stomach, and feeds on blood, which causes anemia and bottle jaw. Goats succumbing to the anemia exhibit poor coats, most will also look skinny and often is accompanied with diarrhea.
Teladorsagia or Ostertagia, also known as the Brown stomach worm, penetrates the gastric glands in the abomasum, which causes a loss of plasma. Goats infected with this parasite show signs of diarrhea, reduced appetite.
Trichostrongylus, also known as the Bankrupt worm, burrows into the mucosal crypts in the small intestine. Goats infected with this parasite show signs of diarrhea, reduced appetite.
Paralaphostrongylus tenuis, also called the Meningeal worm, brain worm or deer worm causes neurological issues in goats when the parasite moves into the spinal cord and travels to the brain. Infection can eventually lead to death. This parasite commonly infects white-tailed deer but causes no significant problems to this species. The parasite completes its life cycle within the deer and then passes in the feces. Snails and slugs can then become infected with the parasite and goats become infected with the parasite when they ingest infected snails or slugs. It takes approximately 10 to 14 days for the parasite to migrate to the spinal cord or brain once the goat ingests an infected snail or slug.
Dictoyocaulus Filaria known as Lungworm. The adult females of this parasite live in the bronchial tubes of the lungs. Goats cough up the parasite and then swallow them. This parasite causes coughing, rapid breathing, nasal discharge, loss of appetite.
Tapeworms. Flat, ribbon-shaped worms live in the intestines of goats. They are made up of segments that contain eggs. These segments can easily be seen in feces but are relatively harmless unless in large numbers. They rob nutrients from the goats so measures should always be taken to remove them. Kids most often tend to get them.
Taking a fecal sample to the vet insures you will know what kind of worm you are dealing with and this is very important. Below I are some wonderful charts to use for wormers. Also you will notice even with injectable wormers you orally dose them unless your are treating for mites or liver flukes. When we treat a goat for worms we use what I call the 10/10/10 method. The first dose then dose again 10 days later and dose again 10 days later. This helps eliminate the lifecycle of the worm.
The next chart is horse wormer paste and is sometimes easier to find in big box stores such as Tractor Supply simply look for the common name of the wormer you are needing. I suggest Zimectrin Gold if you have a kid with tapeworms. It is very safe and I say this because I had a tube malfunction once on an 8 week old kid and they got the entire tube but had no ill effects.
INTERNAL WORM TYPES
Haemonchus contortus, also known as the Barberpole worm is the most prevalent, and often deadliest, parasite that infects goats. This parasite resides in the abomasum, the fourth chamber of the ruminant stomach, and feeds on blood, which causes anemia and bottle jaw. Goats succumbing to the anemia exhibit poor coats, most will also look skinny and often is accompanied with diarrhea.
Teladorsagia or Ostertagia, also known as the Brown stomach worm, penetrates the gastric glands in the abomasum, which causes a loss of plasma. Goats infected with this parasite show signs of diarrhea, reduced appetite.
Trichostrongylus, also known as the Bankrupt worm, burrows into the mucosal crypts in the small intestine. Goats infected with this parasite show signs of diarrhea, reduced appetite.
Paralaphostrongylus tenuis, also called the Meningeal worm, brain worm or deer worm causes neurological issues in goats when the parasite moves into the spinal cord and travels to the brain. Infection can eventually lead to death. This parasite commonly infects white-tailed deer but causes no significant problems to this species. The parasite completes its life cycle within the deer and then passes in the feces. Snails and slugs can then become infected with the parasite and goats become infected with the parasite when they ingest infected snails or slugs. It takes approximately 10 to 14 days for the parasite to migrate to the spinal cord or brain once the goat ingests an infected snail or slug.
Dictoyocaulus Filaria known as Lungworm. The adult females of this parasite live in the bronchial tubes of the lungs. Goats cough up the parasite and then swallow them. This parasite causes coughing, rapid breathing, nasal discharge, loss of appetite.
Tapeworms. Flat, ribbon-shaped worms live in the intestines of goats. They are made up of segments that contain eggs. These segments can easily be seen in feces but are relatively harmless unless in large numbers. They rob nutrients from the goats so measures should always be taken to remove them. Kids most often tend to get them.
Taking a fecal sample to the vet insures you will know what kind of worm you are dealing with and this is very important. Below I are some wonderful charts to use for wormers. Also you will notice even with injectable wormers you orally dose them unless your are treating for mites or liver flukes. When we treat a goat for worms we use what I call the 10/10/10 method. The first dose then dose again 10 days later and dose again 10 days later. This helps eliminate the lifecycle of the worm.
The next chart is horse wormer paste and is sometimes easier to find in big box stores such as Tractor Supply simply look for the common name of the wormer you are needing. I suggest Zimectrin Gold if you have a kid with tapeworms. It is very safe and I say this because I had a tube malfunction once on an 8 week old kid and they got the entire tube but had no ill effects.
Dual worming is also a good way to take care of Barberpole worms. Here is a guide to help. My suggestion would be Valbazen and Cydectin or Quest unless the goat is pregnant. If the goat is pregnant you can try Panacur or Safeguard in place of Valbazen but Fenbendazole the active ingredient in those two is basically useless against Barberpole Worms.
Anemia can also cause Bottle jaw. Goats in this condition are in serious trouble and needs treatment immediately. Notice the swelling under the jaw of the goat below.
Below is a chart for treating Anemia. We have had success with using plain old Unsulfered Blackstrap Molasses at a rate of 1cc per 20# once a day or twice a day for a few days if needed. I prefer to use Molasses as it is very high in iron and it gives them added energy as well. I also think that on kids this is much safer. Anemia will not be cured overnight. It will take 30+ days to rebuild red blood cells.
Copper Bolus
We bolus our goat with copper every six month on all goats over 4 months of age. Goats need copper more than you think. We feel copper also helps the goats resist worm loads as well. Below I will put of link on where to find boluses and the proper bolus gun to use as the goats need to swallow whole for it to be effective. There are two types but both work just fine. One is metal and more expensive. The plastic one will require you to purchase one for each of the two sizes of boluses and will wear out pretty fast.
In addition to copper it is important to keep a good loose goat mineral available at all times for your goats.
We bolus our goat with copper every six month on all goats over 4 months of age. Goats need copper more than you think. We feel copper also helps the goats resist worm loads as well. Below I will put of link on where to find boluses and the proper bolus gun to use as the goats need to swallow whole for it to be effective. There are two types but both work just fine. One is metal and more expensive. The plastic one will require you to purchase one for each of the two sizes of boluses and will wear out pretty fast.
In addition to copper it is important to keep a good loose goat mineral available at all times for your goats.
Coccidia Prevention and Treatment
Coccidia is a huge problem is wet areas of the country and goat kids have a very hard time with it until around 4 to 6 months of age. It is in the ground everywhere and you can not avoid it. This single-celled parasite causes diarrhea, which can be bloody. The diarrhea causes secondary dehydration, emaciation, weakness, anorexia and death. Although coccidia are parasites, they must be treated with different products than other internal parasites. Below are the common doses of different types of medications. We use Toltrazuril but it is expensive and must be found online. The ease of use is why we use it. SulfaMed 40% is our second choice. It is found online as well and is less expensive. Injectable used ORALLY. You will need a syringe to get it out of the bottle. I do not recommended Corid due to it being a Thiamine inhibitor but use the instructions below if you're in a crunch because it is easy to find. I will put some button link below on where to find the good stuff.
Treating Scours/Diarrhea
Scours can happen even without having parasite issues but needs to be taken care of quickly as it can cause dehydration quick especially in goat kids. We use Spectogard anytime we have scour issues and it works really really well. I suggest keeping on hand at all times. You can find online but TSC also carries it. When goats have scours it is also important to make sure they get plenty of electrolytes and probiotics. We use a powder we mix in water called 68 Soluble. We drench this daily. It is a electrolyte and probiotic in one with trace minerals. Click the buttons for the link.