Background:
Alright, so I noticed that Isabels eyelids were pale and under the advisement of my wonderful mentor I gave her Ivomec and after the second dose I had not seen much improvement. While I was away at an overnight babysitting job David said he noticed the goats had dog-like poops. When I got back I took a look and sure enough that is what I saw. The next Day the BM's looked normal and stayed normal... so I guessed that since I had wormed them and their berries were back to normal they had probably just picked up something that did not agree with them. However I was keeping an eye out for a nice fresh pile to take to the vet for analysis.
This morning:
It may have just been the ridiculous cold or maybe they are getting really comfortable. But they usually come running when I open the door in the morning, and this morning neither one got up off their bed. Isabel, the friendlier of the two did not respond at all to me, even as I approached her! I was so scared that she was dead!! Thank the Lord she was alive!! She lifted up her head as I bent down next to her, but neither of them got up even as I left for work. Thankfully, I heard some berries hitting the floor... I told David what happened and called home about every 2 hours from work to see how they were and what they were doing... after about 8:00 am they went to romp around in the yard...so I felt a lot better.
When I got home this afternoon I collected the samples from their bed and labeled them based on where I found them and which goat sleeps in that spot. I also marked on there that they were pregnant and gave their due dates, (and told him verbally when I spoke to him), I took them straight away to the vet in Mississippi, and he gave me a dose for each of Cydectin (sp?). I Went to a babysitting job, from there and administered the blue stuff right when I got home.
He said...
That I should not have to repeat the dosage in one week or 3o days as I was under the impression one should do when worming He also said I would not need to give them any red cell... he said that this dose should be fine for 3 months and that I should repeat it so every 3 months...This conflicts with stuff I have read and talked about with other goat people including some on this forum...What is your personal opinion here?
Thanks!
Replies
Safeguard is okay during pregnancy. You can also get morantel tartrate as a feed additive, rather than a complete feed, so you can sprinkle it on the feed they normally eat. I've seen it at Tractor Supply here, but not sure who would have it in your area. Ask the person you bought them from if she knows of any resistance to dewormers on her farm. It's possible she doesn't know she has a problem yet. Most people don't know until they've had an animal or two die. If she says no, then just ask her what she has used, and if you use that, watch the goats very carefully to make sure it actually works.
Adrienne said:
Thank you Deborah!
I have not really been all that sure about the goat vets in my area...Both are in Mississippi, I have asked around, but not found a goat vet on my side of the state line any closer than two or more hours away. I'm glad I read and ask questions...Somewhere in my mind I knew he wasn't really giving me good advice. I didn't really want to start an argument with the guy though.. He gave me nearly 3 CC's each for my girls that are 5o lbs. And I did administer orally. I will measure them again with the weight tape and add 10 lbs, when I need to take another sample.
If they are resistant to Ivomec, and won't eat the Morantol Tartrate, and we are trying to save the Cydectin for the worse cases, What are my other choices...That would be safe for pregnant/lactating does?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Repeating a deworming in two weeks or a month or three months or "just because" is old advice. New advice is to NOT use a dewormer unless there is a documented reason to do so -- such as anemia or high fecal egg count. If you are worried about them in a couple weeks, take another fecal to the vet. If they did not respond to ivermectin, it means the parasites are resistant to it, which means it is VERY, VERY important -- I cannot stress that enough -- that you do NOT deworm them unless there is a real reason to do so. Cydectin is the last resort dewormer. Once it doesn't work, you have to start using all three classes of dewormer each time you deworm, and when that doesn't work, you have dead goats. You should NOT repeat the dewormer in three months unless they need it, because the more you use Cydectin, the sooner the worms will become resistant. Hopefully he also gave you the correct dosage for goats. The purple/blue stuff is pour-on, which really should not be given orally, and I haven't used it so I'm not sure of the dosage, but with most dewormers it's two or three times as much as the cattle or sheep dosage. If you underdose, you get resistance quicker. It's like vaccinating the worms.