Raising Goats Naturally

by Deborah Niemann

  Another Approach

  It is estimated that at any given time, about 90 percent of the worms on a farm are actually on the pasture, not in the animals. It’s easy to see that by trying to kill worms inside animals, you’re fighting a losing battle, but previous attempts to kill worms on pasture have failed. In April 2018, a new product was introduced in New Zealand and the US and is expected to be released in Australia and Europe before this book hits store shelves. Duddingtonia flagrans is a worm-eating fungus that is given as a daily feed supplement. It passes through the goat’s digestive system unchanged, but it eats the worm larvae after manure lands in the pasture. It specifically feeds on the larvae of roundworms, such as barber pole and brown stomach worm. This prevents reinfection, which has proved to be a key in combating intestinal parasites and will be especially helpful for those who are losing large numbers of goats to dewormer resistant parasites annually. Even if you don’t take advantage of this new product, preventing infection needs to be your primary strategy in parasite management.

  Preventing Infection

  If fighting internal parasites with dewormers is ultimately a losing battle, what can you do to keep your goats healthy and productive? There are a number of environmental controls that can be utilized to eliminate parasite problems almost entirely. If goats needed dewormers to survive, they would have all become extinct before dewormers were invented. Many of the following ideas are not new, simply rediscovered from the era before drugs were developed. There was an old Scottish shepherd’s saying that one should “never let the church bell strike thrice on the same pasture,” meaning that sheep should be moved to new pasture at least every couple of weeks.

  Pasture Rotation

  Pasture rotation is one of the most important management tools you have in preventing parasite problems. Worms and coccidia can contaminate a pasture and cause continual reinfestation of goats eating the grass. The shorter the time goats spend on pasture before being moved to fresh ground and the longer they stay off previously grazed pasture, the fewer parasite problems you will have. For example, if you could give goats a clean pasture every day and never put them back on any section for a full year, you would probably never have any parasite problems. Of course, few people have that much pasture or the time to rotate their goats every day, especially if they have a large herd, which may require the help of several people to move. Ideally, goats should be moved off a piece of grass within five to seven days and should not return to that spot for six weeks. However, the more often you can move them and the longer they can stay off of a piece of ground, the better. The following criteria represent a perfect world, but don’t assume that you should do nothing if you can’t do this perfectly. Any rotation is better than no rotation at all. Simply use the following criteria to do the best you can.

  Weather

  Weather plays a big role in the rotation schedule. If temperatures are above 95°F and it is very dry, you will be able to leave goats on a piece of pasture much longer than if it is 70°F and raining every other day. You can usually let goats graze in a pasture until you get at least half an inch of rain, which provides the perfect environment for larvae to thrive. When temperatures are in the upper 90s, you can probably let a pasture rest for as little as five or six weeks. However, keeping goats off pasture for at least three months in more moderate temperatures is necessary to help prevent ingestion of worm larvae left on the pasture during the previous grazing period.

  Grass Height

  Height of grass is an important consideration when goats are on pasture. Because most larvae are on the lower two or three inches of grass, it is a good idea to move goats to the next pasture when the grass is about five or six inches tall in their current pasture and definitely by the time it is grazed down to four inches. Early in the grazing season, some varieties of grass may not get very tall, so you will have to move goats to fresh pasture sooner than you will have to do later in the grazing season.

  This is one reason it is better to create many smaller paddocks and move goats more frequently. Goats in a very large pasture will completely ignore some areas and overgraze others, and the longer the goats are there, the worse the problem gets. Young grass is tender and sweet; taller grass begins to grow tough and becomes less appetizing. Sections of untouched grass can be mistaken for an abundance of grass in the pasture, but unfortunately, goats will keep going back to the grass that is extremely short, tender, and nutritious, but covered with infective larvae. This is why you need to actually walk through the pasture every few days. It can look completely different from the edge of the field than it does when you are standing in the middle of it.

  Mixing Species

  Integrating other species such as poultry, horses, cattle, or pigs into the pasture rotation can help you utilize pasture more effectively than if you only have one species. Grass is at its most nutritious about 30 days after it was last grazed or cut, but that is also when larvae tend to be at the most highly infective stage. However, horses, cattle, and pigs are not susceptible to worms that infect goats and are able to digest the larvae. In other words, cattle, horses, and pigs can clean up a pasture, making it safe for goats to graze sooner than would otherwise be safe. Using sheep, alpacas, or llamas is not effective, however, because some goat worms can also infect them. Chickens can peck open goat fecal pellets, causing the larvae to dry out and die, reducing infective larvae on pasture.

  Browse

  Providing goats with areas to browse is also an effective tool for controlling parasites. Goats have a much harder time dealing with parasites than sheep and cattle because, as mentioned earlier, goats have not been grazers throughout history, like sheep and cattle. Although goats will eat grass, they are browsers and prefer to eat small trees and shrubs, which have no parasite larvae on them.

  Dry Lot

  It might be tempting to keep goats on a dry lot or in a barn to avoid grass and the inevitable parasites on it. However, when goats are kept inside, the bedding needs to be kept cleaner than you would expect, in order to avoid coccidiosis in kids. If a stall is too dirty for you to sit down in, it isn’t clean enough for kids. A dry lot needs to be large enough that there isn’t a buildup of manure in it. Even in a dry lot a goat can become infected when it sticks its head through the fence to eat the grass that has been infected by other goats pooping along the fence line. Also keep in mind that not all parasites need grass. Intestinal thread worm (Strongyloides papillosus) can hatch in bedding or soil and infect a goat through its skin, although it is not a common parasite.

  Breeding for Resistance

  Selecting goats for parasite resistance is one of the most sustainable ways to deal with parasites. Some goats are clearly more parasite resistant than others, and research is under way to see if some breeds are more resistant than others. In the meantime, some researchers and veterinarians are encouraging breeders to cull animals that have an unusually hard time with parasites. By eliminating goats from your herd that need multiple dewormings, you reduce your dependency on dewormers. These are the animals causing most of the pasture contamination for other animals. I know one vet who raises goats and will cull an animal the second time it needs a dewormer. In my own herd, I only keep bucks with high parasite resistance, hoping they will pass along that trait to their offspring. As they say, “your buck is half your herd.” You should compare those of similar ages when you cull, such as doelings all together, mature does all together, and aged animals all together.

  This might also be a good use of fecal exams. Resilient animals are those that can have a high worm load but remain unaffected, and although that’s great, it not as good as having a goat that is actually resistant, meaning that it doesn’t have a high worm load naturally. While a resistant and a resilient goat look the same from the outside, you can tell the difference between them by examining their poop. The resistant goat will have a low fecal egg count, whereas the resilient animal will have a high fecal egg count. Although resilient animals cope with a high wor
m load, they also cause a lot of pasture contamination. Since egg counts can vary from time to time, I’d want to see multiple test results before making any permanent culling decisions. For that reason, this may only be a financially practical suggestion for those who do their own fecals.

  Seasonal Birthing

  It has been a common practice for many years for goat breeders to give a chemical dewormer to every doe as soon as she kids. An increase in worm load is thought to be a normal part of freshening, and the dose of dewormer at that time has been considered unavoidable. However, some breeders are starting to question this practice and are waiting to deworm until they see that a doe truly needs it. There is no doubt that some does have an increase in parasite load after kidding and they do require a chemical dewormer. There are alternatives for some goats, though.

  Most of my goats do not require dewormer after kidding if they give birth in January or February when parasites on the pasture are frozen or in late summer or early fall when it is hot and dry. If they give birth between March and June, however, the odds are not in their favor as there is a lot of rain and the grass is shorter. July is variable, based upon whether it is a dry or rainy summer. A number of breeders and researchers have begun to make similar observations about avoiding dewormers by timing kidding so that does are not freshening when parasites are at their highest level on the pasture. Keep in mind that the ideal time for kidding can vary from one location to another, depending upon your weather.

  Tannin Plants

  In addition to traditional herbs, there are a variety of tannin-producing plants such as sericea lespedeza, birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, and chicory that have been shown to reduce parasite loads. These are plants that grow wild in many places but can also be planted in your pasture. However, it is not as simple as seeing a few of these plants growing in the pasture and assuming that you don’t have to worry about parasites. Sericea lespedeza is the most studied of the natural anthelmintics, and it has been shown to reduce parasite levels at varying degrees. Goats grazing on fields of lespedeza daily have been shown to have no parasite problems. However, as their grazing time decreases, the parasite problems increase. Studies have also shown that goats eating lespedeza pellets or hay have decreased challenges with worms, as well as coccidia.

  As you have probably realized by now, there is no magic bullet. Controlling parasites has to be an integrated approach. And just when you think you have it figured out, things can change. This is why it is important that you understand the life cycle of the parasites, rather than simply memorizing a particular deworming protocol. An unusually mild winter or wet spring can make problems worse by providing the perfect environment for larvae to survive on pasture for an extended period of time. A drought may improve the problem by drying up the larvae on pasture. Raising goats sustainably doesn’t mean substituting a natural dewormer for a chemical one. It means creating a management plan and an environment in which goats can thrive with the fewest external inputs from humans.

  External Parasites

  A variety of lice, mites, ticks, and fleas can affect goats. Some are simply a nuisance, but others can cause health problems.

  Lice

  Chewing lice crawl around through the goat’s hair eating dead skin and other debris, whereas sucking lice attach themselves to the goat and feed on the goat’s blood. If you have an anemic goat that has a negative fecal exam for internal parasites, take a peek under the goat’s hair to see if you can find anything crawling around. Separating the hair over the shoulders is usually a good place to look, and you may need to stare for 15 seconds or so before you see movement. If you don’t have 20/20 vision, you may also need a magnifying glass. A goat that has a very rough-looking coat should also be checked for lice, as should any goat that is rubbing its body against fences and trees excessively. A kid scratching like a dog usually has lice. Lice on goats are host specific and so will not infect humans.

  Mites

  Several types of mites can infect goats and can cause crusty lesions, hair loss, or mange, as well as itching and scratching. A vet needs to do a skin scraping to get a positive diagnosis, although this is not always accurate. Goats can also get ear mites, which cause discharge and crusty lesions in the ear.

  Ticks

  Although ticks can infest goats, they are not common in most parts of the country. For example, I have found four or five ticks on my goats in 16 years, even though we have found hundreds of ticks on the humans on our Illinois farm during that same time frame. In contrast, in wooded areas on the Gulf Coast of the United States, dozens of ticks on goats have been reported, so this can vary tremendously depending on where you live. If only one goat has a problem with ticks, there may be a problem with its immune system.

  Fleas

  According to the textbooks, the species of flea that attaches itself to cats can also feed on goats, although this seems to be very uncommon. I have never found a flea on any of my goats, and I can’t recall hearing anyone else say they’ve found any either.

  Controlling External Parasites

  In addition to being used for internal parasites, ivermectin and moxidectin are sometimes used as a pour-on for external parasites, such as lice and mites. Oral and injectable dewormers do not kill biting lice. Although injectable dewormers do kill sucking lice, the milk withdrawal for them is ridiculously long if you are milking the goat. In fact, injected moxidectin stays in the milk so long that it is not legal to use in milk goats at all.

  Garden Insecticides

  It is not hard to find suggestions on the internet for using common garden insecticides, such as Sevin, on goats that have external parasites. Sevin was even recommended by vets for use on animals before the United States had legislation regulating off-label use of products. These products have not been tested for safety to use on mammals. There is no research that provides milk or meat withholding times, and the body will absorb chemicals through the skin, which is why some drugs, such as hormone therapy and pain medications, are now delivered through a skin patch. The manufacturers of garden insecticide products specifically state that the products are not to be used on humans or animals. In fact, many of them include warnings to avoid skin contact and to rinse skin for 15 to 20 minutes if exposure occurs. Many of these insecticides are also known carcinogens.

  An all-natural way to eliminate lice during warm weather is to clip all the goat’s hair as you would for a show. The size 10 blade on dog clippers works well. The lice will fall off with the hair as you are clipping the goat. Because they are host specific, the lice will die if they are not on a goat. Powdered sulfur also kills lice. A number of commercial products for cattle or goats are also available for external parasites, but don’t use products made for dogs and cats. Since they are not food animals, there is no information available about milk or meat withdrawal.

  CHAPTER 7

  INJURY, ILLNESSES, AND DISEASES

  Having goats is a lot like having children. Illness and injury are inevitable, and it is easy to get paranoid about every little cough. In reality, goats seldom get sick when they are living in clean conditions and are well nourished. And buying healthy animals that come from herds free of contagious diseases is also key to avoiding disease. However, when a goat does seem to be a little “off,” you want to know what’s wrong!

  Although this section covers the most common illnesses, there are also many other reasons that goats can have problems. For example, an adult goat that is suddenly losing weight may have a dental problem that keeps it from eating enough or chewing its food properly. A kid that doesn’t gain weight may have been born with a cleft palate. A goat that suddenly stops eating may have consumed a plastic bag that is causing a blockage. A doe that doesn’t get pregnant may actually be a hermaphrodite. Luckily, these problems are rare, and breeders who have had hundreds of kids may have never had any of them.

  The purpose of this section is not to replace competent veterinary care but to educate you about when you might need to see a vet. Just
as you don’t need to run to a doctor every time you sneeze, there are times when you can take care of a sick goat at home. However, if you ever have any doubts about what is wrong with a goat, especially if it is off feed or unable to stand, you should consult a vet. This section is alphabetized to make it easy for you to find things in a hurry.

  Abortion and Stillbirth

  A spontaneous abortion is a pregnancy that ends naturally before the babies are old enough to survive outside the mother, which is usually around 132 days gestation. There are many reasons why a doe may abort, and you may never know that it has happened if it occurs early in pregnancy. Furthermore, it may be nothing to worry about if it happens only once. However, if many does in your herd abort or one doe continually aborts, it may be an indication of a nutritional deficiency or a disease.

  Deficiencies in copper and selenium are the most common nutritional causes of reproductive problems, including abortions and stillbirths, but deficiencies of iodine, calcium, manganese, and vitamin A can also cause abortions, stillbirths, weak kids, or a kid dying within the first couple days after birth. Excessive selenium in the soil and therefore the forage has also been shown to cause abortions.