All Natural Anti-Parasite Treatment For Goats?

I found a recipe for an all natural anti-parasite treat online and got very excited about it. Until I couldn't find a single other recipe like it anywhere else, so of course I was skeptical. I know that garlic can be used in chicken's water to prevent worms, sickness, and promote egg laying but I'm not sure about everything else and with goats. So, I figure I'd post it here and see if anyone can shed some light on the subject.

INGREDIENTS:
-1 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds
-1 cup flax meal or flax seeds
-1 head of garlic (about 10 cloves)
-2-4 inch tuber of fresh ginger
-2 Tbsp of raw organic honey
-2 Tbsp raw organic black strap molasses
-1 tsp ground cloves
-1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-5 drops lemongrass E.O
-10 drops sweet orange E.O

Pulse all ingredients in your food processor or blender until sticky enough to form 1-2" balls. Roll in flax meal and stick in the fridge to use right away or the freezer for later use. Break up and give 1 ball to your goat 2 days before and after a full moon (4-5 days total) .


Alright, what do we think? Sounds good on paper right? Worth it?

That looks like a healthy blend that give the goats even some nutrition.

I have heard about using garlic and even apple cider vinegar.

It will be interesting to hear what other folks are using to deworm their goats and other animals.

Mr. Google suggested these ingredients:    

fennel seed
dehydrated garlic
oregano
thyme
sage
pumpkin seed
hyssop
red clover

I am looking forward to the replies.

Make sure they have access to some appropriate tannin rich feed.  Tannins are a mixed bag, on one hand they decrease digestibility and on the other hand they help with parasites.

They also evolved as browsers not grazers.  Brush will not have nearly the worm load grass pasture has.  And almost any brushy area is going to have some tannin rich species for the goats to pick from.

We went from set stocking to 30ish day rotations and saw improvements as well, but gradually transitioned to sheep as the brush was consumed.

personally to me that looks like a snack. I am sure it would help them. It looks more like a immune boost.

I used to feed them Molly's herbal wormer Look here for more details.

The problem i had was the goats would not always eat the balls. They would drop them on the ground. Be prepared to pick them up. Also keep them handy so that when you need to you can offer them to the goat.

I have tried offering them "loose herbs" Just in a container for them to self administer.

I give my milker copper wire particles. She gets about 4grams every 2 months or so. Really helps with feet issues and her coat always looks nice. I give it to her in a dry date(fruit) which i cut in halve and remove the pit from. They eat it readily. Plus they are easy to have on hand.


I now also give them soap in their waterer every now and than. The soap is easy to administer and they always drink the water. I use a non toxic dish washing soap. I would use basic h if i felt like buying something different than the dish soap i use now.

I use an herbal dewormer from a company called Land of Havilah. It does seem to keep my goats healthy. It has more ingredients than the wormer recipe above; important ingredients, I am thinking. The herbalist also recommends making a fresh garlic/ ginger paste to mix with it to make it even more effective. The goats I have now will eat it just fine sprinkled over their alfalfa pellets. Goats I had in the past were more picky, so I would mix the dose with water and give it to them in a drenching syringe.

The best protection against parasites is good management. I have never lost a goat to parasites, whereas most of my goat-people friends have. I always kept my stocking rate really low for my pasture size, so the pasture stayed high, keeping the goats from eating anywhere near the ground. I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii, where parasites flourish year-round, but plants also grew quickly year-round. My friends that would chronically lose goats to barber-pole always had too many goats for their pasture and I would see the goats eating little, few-inch-tall weeds right next to piles of poop. Goats will naturally avoid these kinds of meals, but they are so desperate for fresh, green food that they will eat close to the ground, even near poop, if they don't have any better options.

I've recently moved to a different area of the country (Central Texas), where I know the pasture will not grow nearly as fast. When things start to grow in the spring, I plan to rotate pastures. I don't have enough pasture to rotate them constantly, so when the pastures need to rest and re-grow, I will dry-lot them (keep them in a pen with no greenery in it at all) and feed only hay, or cut forage hung up off the ground, on the fence. It'll be a learning experience; how to best use my 3 small pastures and keep the goats from eating close to the ground, and also how to grow an abundance of forage that I can cut for them. Thankfully I have found a good source for organic grass hay that the goats actually love, and it's affordable, so that takes some pressure off.

Anyway, I could never tell for sure if the herbal wormers were really what kept my goats' parasite load low, or if it was just that they were not constantly consuming parasites, like some of my friends' goats. I will also say I did have one doeling that came to me with parasites, and I treated her and treated her for months with herbal wormers, and she was always thin, small, and bony, could never get ahead of it. But I was convinced for a long time that the chemical wormer would do more harm than good. Finally I asked one of my goat-friends what she would recommend as a chemical wormer, and she gave me a dose of Cydectin for her. That goat got so healthy, and grew so fast after that! I wormed her twice, maybe 3 times,  I think 10 days apart, (I can't remember, it was a few years ago) and she never needed a chemical wormer again. That was the only time I had to use a chemical wormer on any of my goats in 6 years, but that was a time it was definitely needed.

I also had a friend that got really excited about herbal wormer and tried to make her own to save money. She had one of her goats die of barber-pole that year. I'd rather spend a little more and leave the formulating to an herbalist who has been testing and refining her recipe for years.

Hi there,
That recipe sounds a bit more like a treat recipe. A delicious one! :)
We follow this recipe to make our own herbal dewormer.

https://libertyhomesteadfarm.com/herbal-remedies/homemade-herbal-animal-dewormer-tonic/
1 cup Anise Seed powder (optional)
1 cup Black Walnut hull powder*
1 cup Cayenne Pepper powder*
1 cup Cinnamon powder
1 cup Garlic (powder or minced)*
1 cup Ginger Root powder
1 cup Mustard seed powder
1 cup Psyllium seed powder
1 cup Rosemary leaf powder
2 cups Sage leaf
2 cups Thyme leaf
2 cups Wormwood* (caution with pregnant does)

We make the dosage balls with over ripe bananas. Molasses or peanut butter. Sometimes I roll the balls in flaxmeal. I freeze and defrost as needed. I give these once a week and three days near the full moon.

Since we have does in milk, i chop up veggies and coat them in herbs. Our does love it. They clean out their feed buckets to eat as much as the herb as possible. This keeps us from having to feed so much grain when on the milk stand. Too much grain can upset their rumen.

We aren't so good about pasture rotation. I know I need to be better. We have a lot of things going on at the farm. Soon this summer rotation pastures will be better. Until then...I am providing the herbs with chopped veggies daily. I add crushed garlic to the water once a week. Next month I'll switch the herb to thyme tea in their water.

The best thing for parasite load reduction is pasture rotation. Be sure to be checking famancha scores too. It will let you know how effective your herbal treatments are.

Thanks for posting this question. Great discussion.

....Tell me more of this soap in the water? Quite curious....

Oh, I also wanted to add, I used to be in a natural goat care group, and a lot of people in there had started using essential oils for worming their goats. I do think Sweet Orange EO was one of them, but I think you were supposed to use it in combination with a few others (possibly clove and/ or oregano EO), which I don't remember since I never actually wanted to invest in the high-quality EOs that would be needed for it to be effective.

But I do remember that you were supposed to mix the EOs in with a small amount of edible carrier oil, like olive oil, before dosing, to dilute them. They can't be diluted in water or anything else, because the EO droplets won't actually mix with other liquids. That is my understanding, anyway. So if you use EOs in any worming treatment, I think it would be good to mix them with a small amount of edible oil, and then mix into the rest of the recipe. The folks that were using EOs for worming were not making complex worming recipes, like the one above, though. As far as I remember, they were just a few different EOs mixed with an edible carrier oil and then added to I-don't-remember-what in order to dose it. I'm guessing Kristi Miller, the owner of Land of Havilah Herbals would probably have that info, if anyone is interested in doing it. The goat group I was in back then no longer exists for me to get the specific info.

I'm new to owing goats. Only have had goats for about a year. But I read a great book "Backyard Dairy Goats: A natural approach to keeping goats in any yard."

She said goats have less issue with worms when they get enough copper. It was a little more nuanced then that, but great read. I haven't had an issue with worms. Also keeping their feed off the ground and making sure they have all the variety and nutrients they need (discussed more in the book). Your recipe does look more like a preventative/immune boost. I'd also recommend diatomaceous earth. I mix it with other seeds/treats I give them. You can also sprinkle DE on their coats to prevent bugs on their skin if that's an issue.

I’ve never wormed my goats.  Judging by the inner surface of their eye lids, they don’t have a dangerous parasite load.  (Red, not pink or blanched)

I don’t put their hay on the ground, if they are going out to graze, I wait until the grass has dried.  Which, incidentally, allows the grasses to make some sugars for them, so the food is more nutritious.

I also give copper oxide wire particles regularly, mixed in peanut butter, then packed in the peanut shell, and I give them a few regular peanuts before the copper laden one.

They get sea salt from a prehistoric ocean, and they get free choice kelp.  Mixed grass and alfalfa hay.

I cull the goats that don’t remain robust on this diet.

I can’t say if I am just lucky, or if the negligible parasite load is due to their regimen.  

One more thing, I have used diatomaceous earth to worm my cats, mixed it with hamburger…. it was extremely effective.  I think if I thought my goats needed some kind of wormer, I might try DE mixed into peanut butter, since they love peanuts

I have never raised goats. For people, Mimosa Pudica seed is used as an anti-parasitic and also papaya seed and black walnut hull and wormwood.  These may also be safe for goats, but you need to check with your vet or animal herbalist.

Gray Henon wrote:Make sure they have access to some appropriate tannin rich feed.  Tannins are a mixed bag, on one hand they decrease digestibility and on the other hand they help with parasites.

They also evolved as browsers not grazers.  Brush will not have nearly the worm load grass pasture has.  And almost any brushy area is going to have some tannin rich species for the goats to pick from.

We went from set stocking to 30ish day rotations and saw improvements as well, but gradually transitioned to sheep as the brush was consumed.

Goats have an enzyme in their saliva that neutralizes tannins so can safely consume a lot more of it than a cow, or other livestock could.  

And another wonderful thing about goats is , when they have access to plenty of food and diverse plants, they won’t poison themselves.  There are people who go out of their way to provide access to “poisonous” plants for their goats.  “The dose makes the poison” is applicable to most living organisms.  Medicinal in tiny amounts can be lethal in larger amounts.  

My goats have flourished when grazing in wild brush-forest-meadow- pasture situation.

One of the farmers I apprenticed with gave her goats 1/4 tsp of a copper supplement daily in their feed. She'd been doing it for years with no bad result. She never had a worm problem. So the copper wire particles mentioned seem to endorse that copper supplementation works.
I know nothing about goats but I'd be worried that feeding wire particles would be dangerous, like maybe leading to a perforation? I dunno, though, if it's working for others. Personally, I'd go with the copper supplement.

M Wilcox wrote:One of the farmers I apprenticed with gave her goats 1/4 tsp of a copper supplement daily in their feed. She'd been doing it for years with no bad result. She never had a worm problem. So the copper wire particles mentioned seem to endorse that copper supplementation works.
I know nothing about goats but I'd be worried that feeding wire particles would be dangerous, like maybe leading to a perforation? I dunno, though, if it's working for others. Personally, I'd go with the copper supplement.

I just wanted to clarify for anyone reading this that wire particles are not just any particles. You buy special "copper boluses" specially made for goats. They are basically big capsule-type pills containing lots of little copper rods. They are meant to imbed in the lining of the rumen and dissolve slowly. I do use them occasionally. A lot of people that try to keep their goats very naturally choose not to.

The thing about supplementing with other forms of copper, like in a powder form, is you have to be really careful not to overdose them. I would think 1/4 teaspoon every day would be too much. With the copper rods, since they dissolve slowly, are less likely to cause an overdose. But you do still have to follow the directions.

Goat mineral mixes also do contain copper, and for some goats, depending what else they are eating, this may be enough copper. I always leave out goat minerals for them to eat free choice.

Since this thread started, I have become aware that ONE of my goats may have a dangerous load of barber pole worm.

Her bitter milk made me begin to pay more attention.  Her FAMACHA score is too low and she is looking emaciated, her coat very rough, with most of the hairs broken off.

I began researching what to do, and find no solid recommendations.  As we all know, goats are different from most other farm animals, and have not had their needs and treatment researched thoroughly nor with much rigor.  

My local feed store has a row of different ivermectin based wormers, and nothing else.  A couple women in the feed store suggested using bovine or equine “back pour” wormer , either poured on her back, or on her food.

The reputable internet people say there aren’t any good treatment options.  Prevention is the key.

I am treating for her symptoms of anemia, though she doesn’t appear to be out of breath or lacking energy, but since when she gets to that point, there won’t be much time, I am doing what I can now.

Diatomaceous Earth has mixed reviews, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, with two main theories as to the mechanism:  it desiccates the parasites, or it scratches their surface, (allowing the desication?  I dunno, and apparently neither does anyone else).

So, diatomaceous earth, with crossed fingers, and iron supplements… in the form of pills for humans from the health food store.  Oats and kelp meal and sunflower seeds with the DE about 3/4 cup of each, 2 or 3 times a day because her condition has declined, to which I add a couple tablespoons human back strap molasses.  I once bought molasses from the feed store, but it was so dilute that it was subject to fermentation.

Interesting thing about her bad condition, she is  the boss goat of the herd (total 3 adults, 3 doelings) so she eats first, and I have been feeding excess, so there is always hay in the feeder. The other adults look fine, for end of winter.

Another thing I learned in my research, does are more susceptible to increase in barber pole load after kidding.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Since this thread started, I have become aware that ONE of my goats may have a dangerous load of barber pole worm.

Her bitter milk made me begin to pay more attention.  Her FAMACHA score is too low and she is looking emaciated, her coat very rough, with most of the hairs broken off.

I began researching what to do, and find no solid recommendations.  As we all know, goats are different from most other farm animals, and have not had their needs and treatment researched thoroughly nor with much rigor.  

My local feed store has a row of different ivermectin based wormers, and nothing else.  A couple women in the feed store suggested using bovine or equine “back pour” wormer , either poured on her back, or on her food.

The reputable internet people say there aren’t any good treatment options.  Prevention is the key.

I am treating for her symptoms of anemia, though she doesn’t appear to be out of breath or lacking energy, but since when she gets to that point, there won’t be much time, I am doing what I can now.

Diatomaceous Earth has mixed reviews, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, with two main theories as to the mechanism:  it desiccates the parasites, or it scratches their surface, (allowing the desication?  I dunno, and apparently neither does anyone else).

So, diatomaceous earth, with crossed fingers, and iron supplements… in the form of pills for humans from the health food store.  Oats and kelp meal and sunflower seeds with the DE about 3/4 cup of each, 2 or 3 times a day because her condition has declined, to which I add a couple tablespoons human back strap molasses.  I once bought molasses from the feed store, but it was so dilute that it was subject to fermentation.

Interesting thing about her bad condition, she is  the boss goat of the herd (total 3 adults, 3 doelings) so she eats first, and I have been feeding excess, so there is always hay in the feeder. The other adults look fine, for end of winter.

Another thing I learned in my research, does are more susceptible to increase in barber pole load after kidding.

If you decide to go the chemical route for her, thegoatspot.net has many very experienced goat owners that may be able to help you out with choosing a wormer. I know that some wormers are ineffective in certain areas due to overuse, which causes wormer-resistant worms. So most people that use chemical wormers regularly have to mix it up and use different ones from time to time. The only chemical wormer I ever used was Cydectin, for a doeling that just was just responding to herbal treatments. My understanding is Cydectin is pretty powerful and effective, but it is $100 at my local Tractor Supply (only comes in a big container that I'll never use up before it expires). They now make a sheep drench, and you have to adjust the dose for goats (goats need a higher dose, nearly twice the sheep dose). If your goat has a real infestation, I would honestly go for a powerful chemical wormer to knock it out, and then support your goats going forward with herbal wormers and as good of management as you can.

I'm realizing I had it really easy in my old home, and parasite management here is going to be more difficult. I have a 2-monthold doeling with diarrhea now, probably because I haven't been able to create a dry lot for them yet, and the weather has warmed dramatically, and everyone has been eating little bits of new grass close to the ground. I bought electric fence stuff to make a dry lot today, and will also be cleaning their goat house and treating the baby with herbal wormer. herbal coccidia treatment to see if she responds. Otherwise I will get the chemical stuff. I also got electric net fencing from Premier 1 that I can move around the property to give them some more fresh grazing land, besides the 3 small pastures that are already permanently fenced.

Hi Lila, Cydectin was the one I decided looked best… and I hadn’t thought of tractor supply, and we do have a local one😊

Not sure I will go for the big bottle…. It’s a tough choice between buying a hundred dose bottle locally, or supporting “Bezos the greedy” but they do have it listed on Amazon.

The good news is that Cedar seems to be a little better.  Her coat has a little shine to it, and she may be less emaciated.  Though I am not taking much, her 3 doelings are nursing, so she is still producing, so I can milk out a little, and it seems to be getting less watery.  FAMACHA seems improved, though wishful thinking could sway me.  It’s kind of subjective.

Hopefully Cedar’s case will be one where DEwas effective.

Good luck with your goats at your new place!  I used electric goat netting from Premier for several years.  The only problem I had was losing too much charge through pasture touching the bottom wires.  I was using a solar energizer, and I think a stronger energizer with regular current might have worked better.  I gave it all away when I moved.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Hi Lila, Cydectin was the one I decided looked best… and I hadn’t thought of tractor supply, and we do have a local one😊

Not sure I will go for the big bottle…. It’s a tough choice between buying a hundred dose bottle locally, or supporting “Bezos the greedy” but they do have it listed on Amazon.

The good news is that Cedar seems to be a little better.  Her coat has a little shine to it, and she may be less emaciated.  Though I am not taking much, her 3 doelings are nursing, so she is still producing, so I can milk out a little, and it seems to be getting less watery.  FAMACHA seems improved, though wishful thinking could sway me.  It’s kind of subjective.

Hopefully Cedar’s case will be one where DEwas effective.

Good luck with your goats at your new place!  I used electric goat netting from Premier for several years.  The only problem I had was losing too much charge through pasture touching the bottom wires.  I was using a solar energizer, and I think a stronger energizer with regular current might have worked better.  I gave it all away when I moved.

I'm really glad she is doing better! I treated my little goatlet with Land of Havilah Herbal Wormer, at acute doses, for 2 days, and her diarrhea cleared up. Another goat got clumpy poos right around that time, so I treated everyone, and everyone is doing great now. So I really do think I can recommend Land of Havilah as a good option too; definitely something I will always try before reaching for the big guns like Cydectin. I looked on Amazon, btw, and the only Cydectin I saw was the cattle pour-on, which isn't really the best for goats, though some people have used it orally for goats. People usually recommend the sheep drench, which is something you can use orally for goats. Thankfully I am in the clear for now and don't have to buy any.

With FAMANCHA, you can find the color key online and actually compare your goats' inner eyelid colors to that. If they are not dark enough, you know you have a problem. That way it doesn't have to be subjective. If what you are doing is working, then eyelid color should come up within a few days, I think. If it doesn't, I would try something else.

I did end up buying a Premier 1 poultry fence. I figured it would help keep smaller kids from slipping through. But if I were to do it again I would probably just get the sheep/ goat fence; I'm sure less wires make it easier and lighter to move around. It's working well, but unfortunately I just don't think I have enough land to really do this well. I may have to sell a few goats if I really want to support them mostly on pasture, and more importantly, not have major parasite issues. Things are just getting really growing again for spring here in Texas, though, so I will re-evaluate in about a month. I think how good our pasture is will also depend greatly on how much rain we get.

Yes, she is continuing to improve.  Not that she seemed listless before, but she is spunkier now.

And her coat is more colorful.  I can feel her ribs more than I like, but she is not the poor looking bloomless goat that grabbed my attention awhile back.

We’re out of DE, though I gave her more than 8 cups over a short period of time.  She continues on the other feeds I listed, plus molasses and iron pills.

I know about the online FAMACHA chart, the subjectivity comes in with wrestling her to expose the inner eyelid, and trying to gauge what I see with what I remember…

But she’s getting redder, for sure!

I am going to pick up some fresh  ramial peach prunings.  I think that will also boost her health in many ways

I’ll look at the herbal cure you mentioned.  It would be good to have on hand.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Yes, she is continuing to improve.  Not that she seemed listless before, but she is spunkier now.

And her coat is more colorful.  I can feel her ribs more than I like, but she is not the poor looking bloomless goat that grabbed my attention awhile back.

We’re out of DE, though I gave her more than 8 cups over a short period of time.  She continues on the other feeds I listed, plus molasses and iron pills.

I know about the online FAMACHA chart, the subjectivity comes in with wrestling her to expose the inner eyelid, and trying to gauge what I see with what I remember…

But she’s getting redder, for sure!

I am going to pick up some fresh  ramial peach prunings.  I think that will also boost her health in many ways

I’ll look at the herbal cure you mentioned.  It would be good to have on hand.

That's great! Yes, I see photos of people holding the FAMANCHA chart right next to their goat's perfectly exposed inner eyelid, and I'm like "how?" Then I remember they must have someone helping them, and possibly some kind of nifty goat-containment chute or something as well. And I agree that fresh, green food is often the best medicine. Sometimes other medicine is needed as well, but I think people forget that animals are like us and they need that fresh food just as much as we do, especially when they are sick.

Right!

A helper and a containment device(I just use the milk stand).  Not great lighting , AND the best help is a docile goat😂

Anyone else in the pen will allow it with out much attempt to resist!  Of course 3
are babies

I checked Cedar just after my last post.  No more doubt!!! She is definitely into the healthy zone.

I’ll try her milk tomorrow, and see if the flavor has improved.  Certainly her production is up!

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Right!

A helper and a containment device(I just use the milk stand).  Not great lighting , AND the best help is a docile goat😂

Anyone else in the pen will allow it with out much attempt to resist!  Of course 3
are babies

I checked Cedar just after my last post.  No more doubt!!! She is definitely into the healthy zone.

I’ll try her milk tomorrow, and see if the flavor has improved.  Certainly her production is up!

Awesome! I'm super curious if it helps the flavor of her milk.

I've been managing my Nigerians with a combination of browses (sweetgum, and black walnut seem to be effective medicine - very high in oils,) as well as herbaceous plants like sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and comfrey. They love all of them.

In babies if I see some coccidia signs (even slightly drooping eyes) I will dust some feed with cayenne, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, fennel and possibly wormwood if there's clumping of the poop. Fixes that within hours. As long as I give the above mentioned browse and fresh herbs  to the big girls occasionally they have zero problems. I also rotate pastures every week, so that's a factor too. For minerals I give several, and one is a cattle breeder mineral with 2400 ppm copper. Also a sheep selenium salt, and a more balanced meat goat mineral as well for different ratios to choose from. In an ideal world I think cafeteria mineral style is the way to go. Seems with goats an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

We had a rough winter, could not get hay the goats would even eat and they were run down, anemic and I wormed and wormed them with everything known to man.  Then for lice.  It was not until I read Pat Coleman’s recommendation for extra copper sulphate and giving them kelp free choice to address the entire internal and external parasite problem.  The kelp is more for iodine and other trace minerals just to boost their system, not direct parasite control; however, the copper does work for that.  They were getting free choice goat mineral so I could not believe they were so deficient.  They were so deficient my adult goats required 1 tsp. Copper sulphate (and a little dolomite lime for protection from copper overdose) to correct the problem.  Within days they looked better and two months later, everyone has gained weight, had healthy, bouncing babies and looking good, with shiny coats.  We were finally able to find a source of good hay, both grass hay and alfalfa and that has helped a lot too.  I just mix the copper and a half tsp. Dolomite into their sprouted oats and sunflower ration, add a little dried beet root, and a tsp. Of flax.  The iodine in the kelp makes coats shiny, along with zinc.  

Almost all illnesses are actually deficiency symptoms of one or more minerals.  Pat Coleman’s book, Natural Goat Care goes into detail on serious goat diseases which an be eliminated through correct mineral supplementation.   She also said liver fluke can be prevalent and most wormers do not work for that, but people are often told, even by vets, it is a barber pole worm so they worm specifically for that.  Therefore it doesn’t work and animals can die from the anemia.  The copper sulphate works for that.  

Yes, I let them have access to black walnut leaves, high tannin oak, lespedicea, and other natural wormers too, which definitely helps.  Goats have an extremely high requirement for minerals which is why browse, with tree leaves, twigs, brambles are so good for them as they are high in many minerals.  Keep in mind that older animals with teeth perhaps worn down, may have trouble eating, so pamper them with softer foods.  Their digestion may not be as good as a younger animal, so help them with a little aloe now and then.  I just break a leaf into pieces and give to them, which they eat readily, whole leaf.  This can help heal leaky gut which is caused from glyphosate residue in feeds.  For more serious gut damage, use a little slippery elm mixed into feed.  If an animal has leaky gut syndrome, feces will be soft, smell bad and barn will smell bad.  Healthy animals do not smell bad, (except bucks which are not descented).   Soft stool can be also from over consumption of spring, wet pastures and they were not used to it yet, or from parasites which cause damage to lining of the gut.  

Great news , Faye!  Healthy goats are cause to celebrate.

I have Pat Coleman’s book too, and rely on it for many things.  One thing for Coleman newbies who might be hearing of her for the first time is to keep in mind that goats in Australia are on a different continent.  Well , I guess we’re all on different continents unless we’re on the same one!


What I am trying to say is goats’ mineral deficiencies reflect the land where their food grows.  

Here where I am located, we have a lot of selenium.  In many regions selenium supplementation is crucial.  Here we proceed with caution because too much selenium is as bad as too little.

Coleman’s recommendations are perfect for Australia, but for those of us elsewhere, we just need to be ware, and if a Coleman recommendation is not working, to look for different means.

Overall : yes to prevention via rotational grazing (longer gras and move before the second bite), hay and such fed off the ground and a diet with the right dose of minerals. Herbal dewormers? Honestly i haven't seen a real use/proof of working from these. As prevention they might have a place due to solving deficiency, but actually kicking worms out the back end not so much. Makes them more a cost for peace of mind then a usefull part of the diet. Means you'd be better of taking a critical look at the diet, adjust where needed and get things back on track with the addition of a chemical dewormer if needed.
Also : yes to doing your own fecal tests on your goats. Because not all lifephases of the worms shed eggs and not all eggshedding worms pass eggs along every time the animal poops, test your (suspect) goat twice daily for 5 days. A vet can't do that due to time and cost, so mostly an animal that fails to thrive and presents with could be worms symptoms will be wormed.
If you want to avoid chemical wormers due to cost, access or philosophy, you'll need to do fecal tests on your herd (mix or individual) every 6-8 weeks for 5 days twice a day as long as the gras grows/insects are active. And as part of a prevention plan that includes how you feed (off the ground), minerals and pasture management. Also once you know who your high wormegg load culprits are, worm them with chemical dewormer and test them again 2 weeks later and onto normal schedule to see if the load goes down or that they can't keep the worms suppressed by themselves. You may have to decide to cull/sell such animals both due to contributing to the higher parasite load on the property and the failure to thrive under your circumstances. A normal, healthy animal should be able to suppress the wormload to low just because they are healthy and the immunesystem handles such problems without a bother. Pretty much all animals in contact with living things and soil/organic material will have worms as mothers will pretty much pass them to ofspring through feces (eaten to start intestinal flora) and the curiosity of tasting pretty much anything (mouth is for animals what hands are for humans when it comes to that). So you can't get the wormburden to zero and it is not needed to try, health handles most if not all of those problems, so select for it in your animals. Healthy animals are cheapest to keep and don't keep you up at night worrying.