Dewormers for Goats

Winter is almost over - thank goodness, but now we have the mud.  Every time you step your boot gets sucked off your foot and the goats are looking for dry ground.  The ten does and two bucks we have are doing fine, but I think I may have to deworm this month just because of the wet ground, and rain is expected this week, and I have not dewormed for quite some time.  

A good test of whether you need to deworm is to examine the inner lower eye membrane (not the gums) for coloration, and this is the FAMACHA examination.  Red to bright pink is a very low wormload, pink to light pink I deworm, and white needs immediate attention, and is probably anemic from liver flukes.

There are many dewormers to use on goats, but most of them are already ineffective.  I use valbrazen (the white wormer), but some people feel this is ineffective, I have good luck with it.  I administer 4 cc per 100 pds.  Please note DO NOT use valbrazen on pregnant does, it will cause an abortion.  I also use 1% Ivermectin injectable given orally at a rate of 1 cc per 50 lbs.  I alternate between the Valbrazen and Ivermectin as each of them kills different worms.

You should take the goats off of food for at least 12 hours before deworming.  Keep the animals in the same pen or pasture for up to 24 hours because they will be sloughing worms in their feces, and then move them to a fresh clean pen or pasture.

We deworm our kids at one month of age, doing so earlier is just a waste of time and money since they do not eat significant amounts of solid food until they are around three weeks old.  

You are told so many things about dewormers it is hard to deciper what you should do.  I think you need to do your research, consult with your vet and make your own decision.

Different Ways to Market Your Goats

The number one question I get asked when I say we raise goats is "what do you do with them?"  We raise them for meat is my answer.  Of course, the majority of the population knows nothing about goat meat and the taste is not that different from chicken or beef.  I was always told you can't get goat meat past a white woman's nose, and that is the truth.

Luckily there are ethnic groups who love goat meat.  There are various times of the year when it is more profitable to sell which are the ethnic and religious holidays.  A really good site is from Penn State which not only shows the best dates to sell, but also what type of goats they require for a particular ethnic holiday http://www.das.psu.edu/research-extension/goats/marketing/ethnic-holiday-calendar.

If you are near a meat packing plant, or any kind of factory, the hispanic population loves goat meat.  We have MBA Poultry in Tecumseh, but they moved the main factory to Waverly, consequently, most of our hispanic population went with it.  When they were here, we were selling one or two goats a week, and getting a $1.25/pound live weight.  We were sorry to see them go.  Now most of our goats are sold at the sale barn in Palmyra, Nebraska, and we still get a pretty good price.  There are many ways to market your goats, you just have to think out of the box.

I was also contacted by a small grocery store in Lincoln, Nebraska, he wanted 80 pounds of cubed goat meat a week.  of course there was no way I could supply that much goat meat a week, you would need a herd of hundreds.  This is where a coop of goat owners in an area would benefit all of us.  Goat milk is another source of income.  A gentleman wanted to buy 2 gallons a week - I just never wanted to get into the milking aspect of the operation.  From cheese to soap goats offer a variety of ways in which to make an income.

Breeds of Goats

There are many breeds of goats, but I chose the Kiko Breed after alot of research. The reason I chose the Kiko is the speed of growth, improved fertility and mothering abilities-they have to have at least twins, if not tripletts, less hoof trimming, and less deworming. The bucks are ready to breed at 4 months of age (I found this out the hard way), and they do not do the ceremonial dance to breed like the Boer Buck, they just get to it. A Kiko Buck can cover twice as many does as a Boer Buck.
Don't get me wrong, the Boer breed is fine, in fact, I have numerous does that are percentage kiko and boer, some who are spanish/kiko, and some just everything and kiko. They are hardy animals, and have some of the best of both breeds in them. Personally, I think the kiko and spanish are the hardiest of breeds, but they are also very hard to catch, they hate humans and do not ever want to be touched. It really is a pain to have to catch them for deworming or hoof trimming.
I know people are experimenting all the time to find a hardier breed of goat, and they are succeeding. We sell our goats for meat and breeding.

NEBRASKA GOATS

My husband and I started raising goats in May, 2002 and had our first kids on October 20, 2002. We live on 40 acres, and we also have a a few cattle. We have had so many experiences with illnesses, kidding, housing, grazing, diseases, and feeding (which I have heard a million times from my husband that they waste more hay than any animal he has ever seen!), and overall care of the animal.

I subscribe to numerous goat groups, which I will list in another post, but I have all of these people to thank for their answers to whenever a question I don't know the answer to. Like they always say, two heads are better than one.

I hope you enjoy this blog and the information I post will help someone like I have been helped in raising goats.