This past spring, I had a terrible time with thread worms. I used really good, holistic practices for parasite control, not putting the goats out on wet pasture, rotating their pen every day or two at most, and not going back to a space until it had been mowed with a mulching mower and left alone for at least a month.
I dewormed and then cleaned, and cleaned, and re-cleaned the barn. I sprayed everything down with bleach water, letting it dry completely before sprinkling DE on the floors and covering them with clean straw.
None of this seemed to help much at all. I battled things from May through the first week of August. When I was about as tired as I could imagine being, and ready to give up, it all quit. No more yucky poops, eyelids getting pinker, appetites normalizing.
I did breed for earlier kidding for next spring, hoping that might help. Last spring the kids came between April 23 and May 2. I don't dare try before March, and even March could be very cold. I should have kids due between March 1 and 9 next spring.
This is complicated by the fact that thread worms live in soils throughout the world in a free living form, meaning they don't need a host. They can go through their entire life cycle without ever having a host, but under certain conditions the second stage larva will molt into an infective form of the third stage larva. They get into the goat orally and go straight to the intestines, or get into the goat through the soft, moist tissue between the toes, get into the blood stream and to the lungs where they are coughed up and swallowed and get to the intestines, completing their life cycle there.
SO, it would seem that rotational grazing wouldn't really be helpful if I happen to have property heavily infested with thread worms?
Anyone have any thoughts? As I get nearer another spring, and kidding season, I'm dreading the possibility of having to deal with this again.
Replies
Deborah, I consider you very fortunate as well. I do have a dog, border collie/lab mix. She's awesome during the day. She keeps large birds out of the yard, as well as anything else that might come along. The deer come right up by the house as soon as it's dark. At chore time in the evening we bring Katie out with us. Often there are deer grazing and she chases them away. In the morning before it's all the way light, she often sees deer out the window and asks to go out. The deer seem to know when she's out and when she's not, and they come right in when she's inside.
Unfortunately, we have tons of wolves here, so we can't leave her outside. We've been hearing them howling on the hills behind our house a lot lately. Maybe the deer are attracting them.
The hard thing about where we live is there's not much grassy land. Most of it is forested. The deer are really attracted to the grassy areas after the leaves fall off the trees and shrubs, and before they grow again. They're grazing every yard and roadside this time of year. We've gone on a trip to Duluth, the nearest large town (about a 2.5 hour drive), and the kids have counted hundreds of deer just grazing the ditches on the way there.
Some day, perhaps we'll get the whole property fenced in, and have a dog out all the time. It will probably take me years to get that far, though. One step at a time! :)
Deer stay away from our house, so I was thinking that there might be a part of Patty's property where the deer stay away -- maybe an area where a dog spends a lot of time or something like that. Our area doesn't have a lot of houses, so it isn't hard for the deer to stay farther away from us. In densely populated areas, however, I'm sure people have more trouble with them. We've only had the get into our garden once in ten years! I consider us very lucky!
Sorry Deborah, I found the thread about the deer, and that is a little troubling, however I still don't know about the interbreeding part. I already know what the results are with sheep/goat breedings. Would it be the same or would they not breed at all. Does anyone know?
Deborah, why do you say where deer stay away? We asked about deer on another thread the other day. I did not see a response yet. I will look for it in case but haven't noticed it yet. We may be fixing to move close to some and I am concerned because I don't know the effects of being by them as far as parasites go or if they will try to interbreed etc. We were at the house today and my 12yr old son started down a trail and saw a doe and about 4 little ones so there must have been other does around too.
One of the things we've done here is to bring moms and babies out into the front yard in temporary pens in the spring. The only time we put goats there is in spring, so the grass is "clean" by just about anyone's definition because goats are only on that grass once a year. If you have an area -- close to your house maybe? -- where deer stay away, maybe you could put the there in the spring?
Okay, thanks Deborah. That helps a lot, actually, even though I really don't like the idea of having to keep them inside that long. :(
Yes. The folks at Premier are in Iowa, so their spring is a little earlier.
Patty Meyer said:
Hmmm...I was thinking of doing something like that, but maybe May would be late enough in the year here? Last spring it was VERY wet and there was almost no grass growing in May here. That's pretty normal, actually. I'd assume that if I were going to use that approach, I'd have to wait until the grass was taller and things were a bit more dried up? Would that be the object? Thanks, Deborah! :)
That sounds terrible! I don't have any experience with them, but a couple weeks ago I was reading on Premier's website, and they said that they keep their goats in the barn until May because they have too many parasite problems if they put them on pasture in the spring. Sounds drastic but it might work in your situation combined with earlier kidding.
I know nothing about them, but I can sympathize with your dread of another year like that. I would be petrified with fear myself after all you have been through already with them. I hope someone can help you get an early start on prevention of this. Best wishes, Patty!