Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TOGETHER
Dr. Niki Whitley
Fort Valley State University
Cooperative Extension
whitleyn@fvsu.edu; 478-825-6577
Thanks to Susan
Schoenian for slides and
pictures
Internal parasites
■ Internal parasites are the primary
health problem in goats/sheep
(they share worms)
■ Worst one is barberpole worm
(Haemonchus contortus) which
sucks blood; coccidia are internal
parasites but not worms
■ Worms are rapidly becoming
resistant (‘immune’) to
dewormers.
www.wormx.info
Internal parasites
■ Beware of myths/anecdotal stories about things that
help control parasites; use only trusted resources if
online (i.e. wormx.info; wormboss; University sites,
vet manuals)
■ Work with an up-to-date small ruminant veterinarian
and other small ruminant experts
■ We need to use every method we can to control
worms not just dewormers alone
“Whole farm” Approach
• Understand parasites
• Manage animals for their problem level
• Create clean or safe pastures
• Consider multi-species grazing
• Use pasture rest and rotation
• Consider alternative forages
• Understand the role of nutrition
• Could use zero grazing
• Use genetic selection
• Manage refugia (worms that will die when treated)
• Use multiple measures of worm infection to decide
which to deworm
Barberpole worm
Direct lifecycle of around 17-21 days – eggs
from animal (manure, grass), ingested by
animal, matures, eggs from animal
Videos: http://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/video/
Fecal egg counts-what do they mean?
Three drug classes (in US)
Look for the DRUG name on the label, not the name brand
1) Benzimidazoles
Chemical name ends in '..dazole
Fenbendazole, Albendazole,
Oxybendazole
2) Macrocyclic lactones,
Chemical name ends in “-ectin”
a) Avermectins – ivermectin,
doramectin, eprinomectin
b) Milbemycins - moxidectin
*Valbazen should not be used in pregnant animals (check label); do not rotate! If only
using single dewormers, use one until it no longer works!
Deworming
■ 3 classes: levamisole or “Other” class (i.e. Prohibit®;
Strongid®) and moxidectin (Cydectin®/Quest®) are
more likely to work in many areas, but growing
resistance, especially in Southeastern U.S
■ Do not use levamisole on dehydrated animals or those
that are not eating and do not overdose
■ It is not recommended to use feed-through
dewormers unless each animal is fed individually and
will eat their full amount
Deworming
■ Works best if given orally and,
FOR GOATS, at higher than
labeled dose (usually 1.5-2x;
see www.wormx.info goat
deworming chart; consult
vet).
■ Do not under-dose
(weigh/tape for dairy only)
■ Use sheep products first, then
cattle or horse
– Using pour-ons orally not
recommended
www.infovets.com/books/smrm/c/c098.htm (weigh tape use)
Deworming
■ Use sheep products first, then cattle or horse
– Using pour-ons orally not recommended
■ Dose on top of tongue at back
of mouth (feeding or dosing
syringe)
■ Store correctly, mix carefully
(levamisole), watch expiration
dates
■ Consider fasting overnight (-
dazaoles/-ectins); repeated
dosing (-dazoles)
Consult your vet for extra-label drug use!
Deworming
■ Consider using dewormers and COWP at
same time (?)
■ Use a DrenchRite test or FECRT to
determine which work on your farm (?)
■ Again, research indicates using one from all
three classes to slow resistance; if do this,
use longest withdrawal time
Sheep are sensitive to copper, so care should be taken if using copper-based treatments. More information:
www.wormx.info and https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=216
Parasite control requires an integrated/whole farm
approach.
Mixed species
grazing Proper Anthelmintic Use
Clean Pastures
Browsing
Genetic selection
Strategic
Fecal egg counts
deworming