[Biskit]

Hi everyone , looking for some advice regarding my goats !
I grazed my 3 GG goats with my small flock of Ryelands sheep
Long story short not had the goats long all very wormy when they arrived after having a worm count - 3 months on we had an all clear well until the following month when once agin a high count !
Now my lambs had a high count so they had to be down too! The vet is now saying to graze my goats and sheep separately
Anybody else having the same problem ?? Anybody else graze sheep with goats ??
Any advice or opinions great appreciated xx

[Anke]

I have never grazed my goats and sheep together, except for Walter (the bottle lamb) who thinks he is a goat anyway… (and was with the goats from birth).


Adult sheep can tolerate quite a high worm count without visible signs and ill health, goats cannot. Goats are browsers (and prefer branches/shrubs etc) to grass, and as such have not developed the worm tolerance that sheep have.


That said, I only worm my ewes once per year now, after lambing. But I run a mostly closed flock nowadays.

[Biskit]

Hi there ,
Thank you - I only have 3 goats and 4 sheep ( plus this years 4 lambs ) they have been grazing together in same paddock ...
The goats keep my hedges neatly trimmed while the sheep keep the grass down for my horses !!
I’ve only just been told by the vet that it’s not advisable to graze the goats with the sheep !!

Do you have to worm your goats regularly as in monthly ? My previous worm count was clear for the goats but this month it was high again including the lambs !

[Biskit]

Also the vet told me milk withdrawal was 60 days after the worming treatment !! I’m sure I miss heard ( will ring on Monday to double check ) surely she meant 6 days Or I miss understood ??

[Anke]

Except for Eprizero no wormers are licensed for dairy goats. The vet can prescribe (or if yo have sheep it is easy to buy wormers in agri store, just don't tell them its for goats) under the cascade system, for most of the sheep wormers the goat dose is twice the sheep dose, for the yellow ones it is 1.5 times sheep dose. Drenches are recommended over injectables, but Eprinex/Eprizero is a pour-on.


For wormers not licensed for goats the usual milk withdrawal time (in the absence of a period given for cows) is 7 days, if you are organic then double that. Most wormers will say not to be used for animals producing milk for human consumption, as these have never been tested for that - too expensive for the drug development company to out medicines through the regulatory system for goats, but you have no choice but use them. I would also do a FEC ten days/two weeks after worming to test efficacy. It will probably take you a couple of years to get to really low worm counts, as long as you keep a closed flock.


Just out of interest - what wormer did you use and at what dose?

[Biskit]

The vet came to inject my goats and lambs
They used bimectin

We tried the drench ( double dose for goats ) back in May but the count was still high so she had an injection and then next count was clear and now this months worm count was high again so had another injection!
When you say closed flock do you mean no other animals on the land other than mine ?
I have only just had the problem with worms since buying my goats .i don’t want to sell them as we are now enjoying the milk for cheese and yoghurt (still trying to make yogurt as it more a drinkable yoghurt !!!) and I have kept her milk during this withdrawal period for attempting soap !!
The vet has explained the Nannie goat was riddled with worms ( I couldn’t leave her where she was !!) she is very thin , had the bloods taken for Cae and all clear ( I know I need to keep testing as a negative doesn’t mean she is Cae clear !)
I am very new to owning goats and hoping there will be a light at the end of the tunnel ‘n

[Anke]

If your nanny is very thin I would seriously think about letting her dry off, so she can put on some weight, you may also want to keep her away from the grazing (although it is so dry at the moment that I am surprised there are worms surviving…) and feed lots of branches, some fruit and veg (bananas are good) as well as a good concentrate ration. Readigrass is also very good once branches are gone in the autumn. Have you got a hard standing area the goats can use until next spring?


If you find that the worms she has are resistant to the wormer you se, go for a different class of wormer.


Have you had her tested for Johnes - both bloods and faeces?

[Biskit]

All the blood tests came back negative Johnes and Cae ... I am unsure if they tested faeces , I will check on Monday ... I think it was just the bloods ..

I have her now on a very small section of grass paddock ...hardly any grass now but she  she has sugar beet , hi-fi oil ( horse fibre ) she has the high yield goat mix - I cut branches/ hedge /brambles etc everyday for her - hay rack is kept full at all times and fruit and veg too ... salt lick and a sheep lick available at all times ..

[Anke]

That sounds as if you are doing all the right things just now, give her time. However a negative Johnes blood test does not mean she hasn't got it.... she may well develop it in future. I would annually test, it can be done from the same blood as taken for CAE.


Are you planning on kidding her next year? How old is she? If she is milked and fed well, she may well benefit from a year off kidding.


Goats do well without grass as long as they get a good amount of browse, maybe a mineral/vitamin drench (if you can source a small quantity) would do her good, or if not a daily supplement like Caprivite (start with really small quantities, they can detect it even at a pinch added to the soaked sugar beet - I hide it with a wee slurp of virgin olive oil, and then increase slowly to recommended daily amount).


Hope you can get the worm issue sorted.

[Biskit]

Yes we are to keep doing the bloods tests annually ! I have been giving her some metatone daily too ... she asctually loves that

She is very sweet and I don’t intend to take to Billy Goat this year as already decided she needs a break she is only 3 and I’ve no idea how many kids she has had in the past!!
I don’t milk her daily I am trying to dry her but she gets so full I have to take some off to give her some relief , while I am trying to dry her !!
Thank you for your advise I will keep on trying and hopefully get to the bottom of her worm problem ... I think she has just been neglected previously and I hope I can bring her back to full health... she is very sweet and I’ve grown very fond of her
Thanks again you have been very helpful as I am new to owning goats I just needed to know I am doing all the right things to help her
Xx

[mart6]

Lots of goat keepers that rarely have worm problems are reporting high worm counts this year
Wonder if it the result of the bad weather and rain over the winter,resulting in them being housed  for long periods

With this dry spell and heat one would expect numbers spread to fall

[Biskit]

That’s very interesting to know? I wouldn’t know about my goats as only purchased in April ....  looks like the term I should be using is rescued. Poor love she was in such a state and her hooves ! Well that is another story!!

[Anke]

Is she registered with the British Goat Society?

[Biskit]

No she isn’t registeredx

[Biskit]

Just spoken to vet and it’s 60 days milk withdrawal !
?