Has anyone had luck raising goats without chemicals?

Hi,

I would love to hear from anyone who has been successful at raising goats without using chemical dewormer or other medications. Is this possible? What did you do to accomplish this?

Thanks!

Prevention and keeping the animal healthy enough to carry a subclinical wormload works well.  It's providing the best environment we can and trusting the animals know what they need (and learning how to listen when they ask for something)

See ths book, Natural Goat Care by Coleby as a good starting place.

Or just as good, but an easier read, https://permies.com/t/111481f6/Backyard-Dairy-Goats-ebook

I've been raising goats 100% naturally for 12 years now. It definitely is possible.

We've built up a herd over time that thrives on our land without chemicals.

Some things that have been helpful:
Understanding that goats are browsers and not grazers by nature - many of the worm problems that people think are common in goats are because they are forcing their goats to graze grass that is too low or has not been rested long enough. Goats have high mineral needs, and by providing mineral-rich feed, either from access to trees, or through a mineral lick, will help them become resilient to parasites and other health problems. Keeping their food well off the ground, either by keeping them as forest animals, in pasture at least 6” high, or fed hay in hay racks, will help them to avoid ingesting parasites.

Understanding that you don’t need a zero worm count to have a healthy goat. Some parasite load can be OK if the goat is healthy in other ways, so it’s always best to just observe your goats first for signs of health rather than relying on worm counts.

It’s far easier to prevent health issues in the first place with good management, than it is to deal with full-blown health problems. Backyard Dairy Goats goes into a lot of detail about signs of health to look for, preventative remedies, and simple natural remedies you can use to nip a problem in the bud.

The ideal situation is to start with goats from a breeder who has been raising them without chemicals - that way you are starting out with the best genetic potential for your needs rather than having to do many years of selective breeding like I have. Some of the best goats we’ve bred have come from “no-name” bucks of random origin rather than pedigree animals, because the best breeding animals have not necessarily been selected to thrive without chemicals - different breeders will take different approaches to that. So if you’re looking for your first goats, it’s best to ask a lot of questions of breeders about whether they use chemicals, how they deal with health issues, and how they manage their goats.

Tori Escobar wrote:Hi,

I would love to hear from anyone who has been successful at raising goats without using chemical dewormer or other medications. Is this possible? What did you do to accomplish this?

Thanks!

yeah it hard  but possible.  It’s a lot of management, good pasture rotation, low stocking, c lean ground and breeding for parasite resistance.

Kate Downham wrote:I've been raising goats 100% naturally for 12 years now. It definitely is possible.

We've built up a herd over time that thrives on our land without chemicals.

Some things that have been helpful:
Understanding that goats are browsers and not grazers by nature - many of the worm problems that people think are common in goats are because they are forcing their goats to graze grass that is too low or has not been rested long enough. Goats have high mineral needs, and by providing mineral-rich feed, either from access to trees, or through a mineral lick, will help them become resilient to parasites and other health problems. Keeping their food well off the ground, either by keeping them as forest animals, in pasture at least 6” high, or fed hay in hay racks, will help them to avoid ingesting parasites.

Understanding that you don’t need a zero worm count to have a healthy goat. Some parasite load can be OK if the goat is healthy in other ways, so it’s always best to just observe your goats first for signs of health rather than relying on worm counts.

It’s far easier to prevent health issues in the first place with good management, than it is to deal with full-blown health problems. Backyard Dairy Goats goes into a lot of detail about signs of health to look for, preventative remedies, and simple natural remedies you can use to nip a problem in the bud.

The ideal situation is to start with goats from a breeder who has been raising them without chemicals - that way you are starting out with the best genetic potential for your needs rather than having to do many years of selective breeding like I have. Some of the best goats we’ve bred have come from “no-name” bucks of random origin rather than pedigree animals, because the best breeding animals have not necessarily been selected to thrive without chemicals - different breeders will take different approaches to that. So if you’re looking for your first goats, it’s best to ask a lot of questions of breeders about whether they use chemicals, how they deal with health issues, and how they manage their goats.

Thank you for this input. It is very encouraging.
Here’s the deal with my setup.
I have had goats for just about 2 years. They are rotationally grazed through our land which includes lots of trees, bushes and browsing options. They are never in one place more than 2 days.
They go in a shed at night and when weather is very bad. I only have three right now. They have only received herbal dewormer and have access at night to a full mineral bar.
My one milk doe who kidded in December is so thin. She is a nubian but looks to be just loosing weight since kidding. I’ve been milking her but decided to stop because of her condition. She gets some supplemented oats and alfalfa pellets but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
What would you do?
Is this a situation where she’s just not a good fit for the farm or do I use chemical dewormer to save her from continued weight loss?
Her doeling I hope will be more suited to our management.

Do you deworm for symptoms only or on a schedule. I'm a big fan of keeping wormers (hebal or other) for when the animals ask for it.  It makes the wormer more powerful and if the animal is used to a sub clinical worm load (worms with no symptoms), then worm sign becomes the canary to indicate there is a subtle but more serious issue in the flock/heard.

How are the gums and undereyes and other signs? Do you have a vet that can give a fecal teast for worms (or a microscope to save money and do it yourself).  Quite often we get fixated on one specific problem (usually becase a local farmer who don't know goats but has lots of loud opinions decided that was the problem and convinced us) that we become blind to other possibilities.

Goats look so thin when first milking.   The farm i helped out at when considering dairy goats was big into prevention and thought medicine a waste of money unless the goat truly needed it.  

I was amazed at how much grain she fed her goats while milking.  Almost a gallon (but not suddenly, grain is introduced gradually).  She used half goat tex which is a mix with added molasses and vitamin,  and half barley (oats in cooler weather).  She kept the goats healthy and milking for about 6 years between kidding.  She said working goats need nearly double the nutrients of non working goats...i haven't read anywhere to confirm it's that much, but her goats were very happy.

I didn't end up getting dairy goats in the end as my hands couldn't handle the arthritis pain, but I ended up helping from time to time at various goat farms and seeing different approaches.  Her goats seemed the healthiest of the ones I met and she was very good at listening to what each individual goat needed.  And if se couldn't tell from expierence, she would run tests like fecal sample and bloodwork, before treating.