I am watching the goats get thinner and thinner. I have given them shots of triple dosages of Ivermectin 10 days apart and also Copasure, wire copper particles which attach themselves to their stomachs and impart tiny dosages of copper, as well as help control worms. The goats have minerals and salts, both loose and formulated for their digestion. They are fed the best hay and second cut alfalfa, and still, they are growing thinner. I am positive the worm counts are escalating. The does are pregnant too. Judging by the Famaacha test, their eyelids are light pink, which is borderline anemic. If the colour fades further, bringing them back to health may not be possible. I have been reading all that I can on wormer resistance and treatment. My last hope is to give them an oral wormer in a dosage three times that of recommended for other ruminants due to the high metabolism rates of the goat physiology. I will buy a horse paste wormer and administer it by mouth at half a tube per goat. The same dosage will need to be given approximately 10 days following, as the worm medication only remains in the system of a goat for about three days. For other species, the medicine will remain longer and a second dosage is not necessary.
Once this is done, I am hoping the worms will be erradicated. The goats are on hay fed from feeders, not off the ground and although they will remain in their pen, the reinfection should be limited since they are not eating pasture grass or from the ground.
I love the goats, with their comical ways and funny attributes. I can stand and watch them and their antics for a long time, and it breaks my heart to see them so unthrifty. I have tried everything else I can think of. They were on Molly's herbal wormer and it did hold the worms at bay for quite some time, but something changed. The Nubian babies that were here all died of worms. Unfortunately, the veterinarian did not give me the correct information to correct the infestation. Giving an injection of a higher dosage will not erradicate worms in goats. However, when infestations are particularly bad, as it was here and still is, the injection does kill some of the worms so a mass bleed in the gut does not happen, which in turn would kill the goat. Instead, some worms are killed by the injection and then when the medicine if followed with a strong oral dosage and repeated ten days thereafter, the worms should all die. The repeat dosage addresses the newly hatched worms so the cycle cannot continue.
Hopefully, once the goats are better, the problem will not arise again. Worm resistance in goats is becoming a huge problem. It is hard to identify. Farmers believe they are addressing the worm issues with standard treatments and they are only encouraging worm resistance because not all worms are killed and strong survive and breed more strong babies. What we should be doing instead of routine worming is selecting does that are naturally worm resistant and only breeding them so the offspring continue the resistance factors.
The horse wormer paste is very expensive. I am praying it works. I am praying the goats recover and become well. It is not the will of the Creator for creatures to suffer. If you pray, please pray for the goaties too. Thank you.
Once this is done, I am hoping the worms will be erradicated. The goats are on hay fed from feeders, not off the ground and although they will remain in their pen, the reinfection should be limited since they are not eating pasture grass or from the ground.
I love the goats, with their comical ways and funny attributes. I can stand and watch them and their antics for a long time, and it breaks my heart to see them so unthrifty. I have tried everything else I can think of. They were on Molly's herbal wormer and it did hold the worms at bay for quite some time, but something changed. The Nubian babies that were here all died of worms. Unfortunately, the veterinarian did not give me the correct information to correct the infestation. Giving an injection of a higher dosage will not erradicate worms in goats. However, when infestations are particularly bad, as it was here and still is, the injection does kill some of the worms so a mass bleed in the gut does not happen, which in turn would kill the goat. Instead, some worms are killed by the injection and then when the medicine if followed with a strong oral dosage and repeated ten days thereafter, the worms should all die. The repeat dosage addresses the newly hatched worms so the cycle cannot continue.
Hopefully, once the goats are better, the problem will not arise again. Worm resistance in goats is becoming a huge problem. It is hard to identify. Farmers believe they are addressing the worm issues with standard treatments and they are only encouraging worm resistance because not all worms are killed and strong survive and breed more strong babies. What we should be doing instead of routine worming is selecting does that are naturally worm resistant and only breeding them so the offspring continue the resistance factors.
The horse wormer paste is very expensive. I am praying it works. I am praying the goats recover and become well. It is not the will of the Creator for creatures to suffer. If you pray, please pray for the goaties too. Thank you.
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