“Due to the size of the animal and how they are housed, sheep and goats may need to be de-wormed much more often than cattle,” said Whitney Whitworth, associate professor of animal science at the University of Arkansas in Monticello.
Whitworth explained, “Honestly, internal parasites and predators are the chief losses in many sheep and goat enterprises.”
According to Elizabeth Walker, assistant professor in animal science at the Missouri State University William H. Darr School of Agriculture, de-worming sheep and goats is just one tool for combating internal and external parasites. “De-worming should only be used as part of an integrated parasite management plan.” Walker emphasized that proper management should take priority and be done before treatment.
“Most parasite larvae will only go about 2 inches up a plant, so keep your animals grazing above about 4 inches so they will not be able to consume a majority of the larvae,” Walker added.
“The two biggest offending parasites with sheep and goats are Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm) and Ostertagia circumcincta (brown stomach worm),” Whitworth said.
Signs of an animal with an internal parasite infestation are anemia, loss of appetite, rough hair coat, bottle jaw, diarrhea and overall ill health.
Treatment should occur year-round with sheep and goats because re-infestation can happen easily.
Whitworth and Walker recommend the use of FAMANCHA scores and fecal egg counts are more precise ways of determining parasite loads.
“De-worming either prior to or after kidding/lambing is often a good idea,” Walker said. “Lambs should not be de-wormed until they are several months old and only if they are showing some signs of parasite infestation.”
Accurate weights of their animals are necessary to determine the proper de-wormer to use. “Never feed the de-wormer, especially to group fed animals,” Walker said. “If oral de-wormers are given, animals can be fasted for 12 hours prior to de-worming to help slowdown their rate of passage. This may help with the efficacy of the de-wormer.”
Whitworth reminded producers that there is nothing more beneficial than putting the animals on a fresh/clean pasture after the administration of an anthelmintic.
