Goats are the toughest of all animals to own because they are highly resistant to most of the deworming products. On the other hand, since goats like to feed in an open environment, they are more susceptible to parasites. So, it is essential to know how often you need to deworm goats.

How do Goats get Worms?

Baby worms or worm larvae are already present in the pasture. Goats pick them up through grazing. For your information, worms can survive on the field for three months during summers and six months in winters.

How to Check Goats for Worms?

You can check whether it is time to worm your goat by checking the animal’s mucous membranes. To do this, you need to pull down the goat’s lower eyelid. If you see a nice pink color, there is no need to worm the goat. However, if you see pale pink or white color, this means the animal is anemic, and it is time to deworm.

When should you inspect your Goats for Deworming?

Ideally, you must inspect your goats after two weeks. This practice will help in deworming only those goats that need it. It is a good idea to consult your vet before using any deworming products on your goats.

How often should you worm goats?

Goats are vulnerable to different types of internal parasites throughout their lifecycle. Hence, under normal conditions where parasitic exposure is not very high, you can deworm your goats at around eight weeks of age. Continue to deworm them during all stages of the animal’s life. Deworming can increase their efficiency and prevent potential illnesses within the herd.

How to protect your goats from worms

There are several ways to limit the effect of worm infection on your goats, such as:

• Managing grazing with minimal anthelmintic treatment.
• Ensuring safe grazing, especially for younger goats. Safe grazing refers to pasture that isn’t grazed by goats during the second half of the previous year, or ungrazed pasture until mid-July. This is the time when overwintered larvae usually die off.
• You can delay grazing the goats until the overwintered larvae present on the pasture die off by mid-July.
• If safe grazing is possible in the spring, deworm at kidding time and again in June before moving on to safe pasture.
• In case safe pasture is unavailable, do worm the goats in spring at kidding time, and then after every three weeks until autumn.
• If the grass is tall enough, the goats won’t pick up a large number of worms. Grazing a few goats in a particular area or pastures will allow the grass to catch up.
• If your goats are grazing short pasture between August and July, they might pick up more worms. In dry weather, worm larvae stay close to the ground because they dry out quickly.
• Cattle and horse never share worms with goats, sheep, alpacas, and llamas, so they usually vacuum the pasture’s worms. This prevents your goats from picking up more worms.

Final Thoughts

Check for worms every three months, at least during cold climate and once during the hot weather. Between June and October, when the weather is dry and hot, the goats graze for shorter pastures. Give extra attention to animals under one year of age as their resistance and immunity level will be low, and they may die from worms rather quickly.