Goats can easily pick up worms, and they can get very sick and die if you don’t manage them. In fact, some say that 85% or more of goat health issues are somehow related to worms. When goats have worms, they can become lethargic, lose their appetite, and have diarrhea. They can get very sick quickly if they have worms. It is important to make sure that you have a worming program in place to keep them healthy. Continue reading to learn how to tell if your goats have worms.
Send a Fecal Sample to the Vet
The best way to find out if your goat has worms is to send a fecal sample to the vet. Your vet will mix the goat feces with a solution and look at it under a microscope, where they will be able to see how many parasite eggs are there. In past years, goat owners simply wormed their goats once a month, but this led to parasites becoming resistant to the treatments. Today, vets recommend worming your goat when you have a confirmed problem as well as regular worming twice a year.
Another important time to worm your goat is right after it has kids. The stress from the pregnancy and the birth can make the goat even more susceptible to worms, and the goat can die. If you aren’t able to test your goat during this time, you should worm the goat as a precautionary measure.
Check the Color of Your Goat’s Lower Eyelid
Another way to check your goat for worms is to pull the lower eyelid away from the eye. You can check the color because worms cause anemia in goats, and they often become anemic. You are looking for the eyelid to be a bright vibrant shade of pink. However, if your goat has worms, it is likely that the eyelid will be pale pink or white. This is a sign that your goat has worms.
The first thing to do is to worm your goat. You will need to repeat this process again in 11 days to kill any lingering larva. Then, you can give your goat probiotics. This will help to improve the health of your goat’s digestive track, which can be harmed by worms. You should also start an iron supplement to help your goat build up red blood cells. This is the way to start treating your goat for worms.
Have a Regular Worming Schedule
This method won’t tell you if your goat has worms, but it is a preventative way of making sure that your goat stays healthy. Normally, you will worm your goat twice a year unless you have a problem and need to do an extra treatment. You need to switch the brands so that the parasites do not become immune to one type of wormer. The most common types of wormer are ivermectin, albendazole, and morantel tartrate. Although these wormers are sold under different brand names, you can find these names on the label as the type of wormer it is.
It is important to make sure that you have a plan in place because worms can kill goats very easily. Some types of worms can attack your goat very quickly, so the best insurance is to make sure that you have a protocol in place. Once your goat has worms, it is difficult to know how many it has, and you will need to treat it right away.
The thing to remember is that goats are grazers, and they will pick up worms by grazing in the pastures. This is especially true if there is feces in the pasture already and an infected animal leaves droppings behind. If you are not on a regular worming program, the best way to begin is by taking a fecal sample to the vet. You will want to know the type of worms your goat has so that you can effectively treat it.