“In regards to M-worm prevention almost everyone has either returned to Ivermec as a preventative or moved their Dectomax schedule to 30 days as it was subsequently proven that the Dectomax does NOT work on a 45 day schedule and in fact is not as effective as Ivermec when given in 30 day increments.”

This information was confirmed by the vets a University of Tennessee & contributed by:
Deborah Logan
South East Llama Rescue
SELR Giftshop
Adoption Coordinator AL/GA/TN

Thanks Deborah for the important correction!  Friends,  please be sure to visit Deborah’s website & her virtual gift shop

I know posting about this is going to open up a whole can of worms!

We have a lot of animals here and parasite control can become quite the chore.. not to mention quite expensive. We have two office cats, Minou & Sola , three office dogs, Angel, Taz & Mandy, two guard dogs, Diesel & Beulah, and last but not least two house dogs, Mouse & Zipper. These are just our pets… I’ll get to the farm critters later!

We live in the country – on a small mountain, or maybe we can call it the hillside of a small valley – doesn’t matter what it’s called.. we’re surrounded by lots of woods, marshy and/or brushy areas. Our pets need protection… fleas isn’t too big an issue here.. ticks are! If there’s something that drives me nuts is finding a tick, on me!

FLEA & TICK CONTROL – DOGS & CATS

I used to buy Frontline in several different formats. Our dogs range from 4 lbs to 145 lbs so I’d buy this product in each size and enough for monthly treatments for about 9 months a year. Can you imagine the $$$ ? Yikes!   So how do I get around that? Simple, I only buy one format.. the extra large dog size. Then I use a syringe & pull out just what I need for each dog & cat. Only the 100 + lbs dog need one full ampule – for me, one extra ampule is enough for all the other pets.

Frontline dosage is  (0.5 cc per 10 lbs).   Insert a syringe in the ampule & draw the quantity you need depending on your pet’s weight.  Leave the needle in the ampule for your next draw.  Then simply apply deep within the fur on the back of your pet’s neck & draw what you need for the next pet.  If there’s any left in your ampule, store it in a cool, dry place & just be careful not to spill the contents.  Repeat monthly.

HEARTWORM – DOGS

As for heartworm prevention, you can use Ivomec or similar type product. Dosage is simple & so cheap! You need 1/10cc per 10 lbs. Again use a syringe, leave the needle section in the bottle & squirt the product in the back of your dog’s mouth. However, if your dog is a COLLIE, do not use this product.   REPEAT DOSAGE MONTHLY.

INTERNAL PARASITES – DOGS & CATS

To treat for Hookworms (looks like Roundworms with teeth at one end), Roundworms (looks like piece of cooked spaghetti), Tapeworm (looks like rice in feces or around anus) & Whipworm (whip shaped cooked spaghetti) – you can safely use Safe-Guard (10% suspension), yes this is the same product you use on goats.  Safe-Guard is a generic name for FENBENDAZOLE.

Dosage is also very simple… 1 cc per 5 lbs or 5 cc per 25 lbs.  You must repeat for 3 consecutive days.  However, if you’ve seen any kind of worms in your dog’s feces, use for 4 days.  This preventative treatment should be repeated yearly.  I found that this dosage became hard to administer on our 100 lbs + Mastiffs.  For these 2 dogs I used the Safe-Guard paste for horses.  Just use the guidelines on the tube.  Again here it is better to overdose than underdose.  If you have a puppy, it should be wormed every 2 weeks until it is 3 months old.  Especially if you don’t know if the mom was parasite free.

IT IS BEST NOT TO USE IVERMECTIN (OR GENERIC) AT THE SAME TIME AS SAFE-GUARD – BEST TO USE 15 DAYS APART.

I’d like to interrupt this post with a “plug” for all of my local readers that I get all of my pet medications, dewormers, feed, anything animal related from L &J Farm Supply in Spring City (423) 365-4931. They have the best prices not to mention the best customer service anywhere… Danny is number one!!! Now that I’m done with commercials…

INTERNAL PARASITE CONTROL – GOATS & LLAMAS

Parasite control is an ongoing problem on most small farms. The biggest contributing factor is the fact that most farms are hobby farms and thus there are too many animals per acre. A periodic and routine worming program along with good pasture management goes a long way toward reducing the problem and maintaining good herd health.

Please note goats/llamas living in different parts of the country need to be treated for different parasites.  The information I’m sharing with you is basically for goats & llamas living in the east Tennessee area.   Some folks prefer to have fecal analysis done a few times a year and treat for a specific parasite.  I’ve been successful with my method and I see no need to change it.  Like the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

GOATS

I just finished a year’s cycle of Safe-Guard (.6 cc per 25 lbs, orally).  I love this product, it’s easy to use & I believe it is effective.  However, I’ve been using it for about 15 months (once every season, at least), and it is now time to switch to another product.

I switched to Noromectin which is a generic for Ivermectin (therefore cheaper to buy).  The dosage is also simple – the complicated part is weighing your goats!  I normally use a “goat tape” but it had been a while since I’d actually weighed my girls.  This time I brought my bathroom scale to the barn, protected it with a Walmart bag and weighed myself with each goat.  It was easy with the < 50lbs ones but I nearly took my back out with the >50 lbs!  Thankfully my scale goes high enough!

Again use a syringe & leave the needle part in the bottle after every “draw”.   If you’re not using a stanchion, straddle your goat between your knees with just her head sticking out.  Slightly pull her head back, lift her upper lip on the side of the mouth, insert the syringe as far back as you can and “squirt”!  Keep her head up until she swallows.  Less than half a minute per goat!

Ivermectin dosage: 50 lbs or less – 1 cc, 51 lbs to 100 – 2 cc, 101 lbs & up, 2.5 cc : A little more is better than not enough but don’t over do it too much!

LLAMAS

Again this depends on your geographical location but here’s what I use.

Safeguard (number 1 choice)

This wormer is safe and effective on almost all worms including the Monezia type of tape worm. It is the medication of choice for treating a confirmed case of meningeal worm. The dosage for routine worming in llamas is 2cc per 20 pounds (10cc per 100 pounds). I use the one sold for horses & triple the dose. Example, if your llama is 150 lbs, set the dial on the syringe for 450 lbs.

Ivermectin or a generic

Ivermectin is effective for most worms including preventing meningeal but not for tape worms. The recommended dosage for injection in llamas is 1cc per 66 pounds which is one and a half times the cattle dose. Note that administered subcutaneously, effects last longer then if administered orally.

Dectomax

Dectomax is a newer medication that is similar to Ivomectin. However, it is less painful for the llama as an injection and lasts a full 45 days. This is the injection of choice for the prevention of meningeal worm. Dectomax is not effective for tape worms. The recommended dosage for injection in llamas is 1cc per 66 pounds which is one and a half times the cattle dose (same as Ivermectin).

Valbazen

Valbazen is a very effective broad scope oral llama wormer including tape worms. This and Synanthic are the only two medications proven effective for tape worms in llamas. A word of caution however, we have learned from experience not to use it with bred females in the first 3 months or last 3 months of pregnancy. The oral dosage is the labeled cattle dose which is 4cc per 100 pounds.

Synanthic

This is another broad scope oral wormer that is one of the two along with Valbazen that is effective for tape worms in llamas. We have found this wormer to be very effective in difficult llama worm cases. Synanthic is also not recommended for use the last 3 months of pregnancy. The dosage is the labeled cattle dose which is 2.5cc per 110 pounds.

WORMING YOUR PIGS

This is an easy one.. the hard part is to figure out how much the little ham weighs!  Use Ivermectin or Safe-Guard Paste for Horses, double the dose (if pig weighs 100 lbs, use 200 lbs marker on syringe), inject in a Twinkie or some other tasty cake, toss to piggy & BINGO!  Job is done for 6 months!  Here also it is better to over dose than under dose.

So, that’s how parasites are handled here at my farm!

This interaction prompted me to do more research & I found a very interesting and informative document which I have copied & pasted (with the author’s permission), below.  This document may appear a little technical but it is certainly worth reading.

Note that Marsha’s been raising goats for many years and has never experienced this in the past.  After chatting with her, she indicated that they had just recently acquired a small herd of three kids and thought that maybe these new goats brought in this disease.  Her vet assured her that this was not the case as goat polio is not contagious.  Someone from the University will be following up on this matter with Marsha and I’m sure she’ll fill me in as soon as she can.

The author, Suzanne Gasparotto, hereby grants to local goat publications and club newsletters, permission to reprint articles published on the Onion Creek Ranch website under these conditions: THE ARTICLE MUST BE REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THE AUTHOR’S NAME, ADDRESS, AND CONTACT INFORMATION MUST BE INCLUDED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REPRINT. We would appreciate notification from any clubs or publications when the articles are used. (A copy of the newsletter or publication would also be a welcome addition to our growing library of goat related information!)

GOAT POLIO OR LISTERIOSIS? Different Causes, Similar Symptoms, Similar Treatments Goat Polio (Polioencephalomalacia) is a metabolic disease with symptoms that often mimic or overlap those of the brain-stem disease Listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes). In most cases, both of these diseases are seen in goats raised under intensive management conditions. Improper feeding, particularly feeding too much grain and too little roughage (hay and forage) is a significant factor in both diseases. Producers pushing the animal to gain weight too fast can induce these potentially fatal diseases in their goats. Sudden changes in feed can also cause the onset of these diseases.

Polioencephalomalacia (also known as Cerebrocortical Necrosis) is basically thiamine (Vitamin B 1) deficiency. Any change in the rumen’s environment that suppresses normal bacterial activity can interfere with thiamine production. Too much grain decreases the pH of the rumen, predisposing the animal to Goat Polio. Glucose cannot be metabolized without thiamine. If thiamine is either not present or exists in an altered form (thiaminase), then brain cells die and severe neurological symptoms appear.

Causes of thiamine deficiency include feeding moldy hay or grain, using amprollium which is a thiamine inhibitor (brand name CoRid) when treating coccodiosis, feeding molasses-based grains which are prone to mold (horse & mule feeds), eating some species of ferns, sudden changes in diet, the dietary stress of weaning, and reactions to the de-wormers thiabendazole and levamisole. Each of these conditions can suppress Vitamin B1 production. The usage of antibiotics destroys flora in the rumen and can cause thiamine deficiency. It is important to repopulate the gut with live bacteria after using antibiotics or diarrhea (scour) medications.

Goat Polio generally occurs in weanlings and very young goats, while Listeriosis most frequently affects adult goats. An increase in Goat Polio occurs in North America during winter when the availability of forage and quality hay is low and producers start feeding increased amounts of grain or expect goats to survive on very poor pasture.

Symptoms of Polioencephalomalacia can be any combination of or all of the following: excitability, “stargazing,” uncoordinated staggering and/or weaving (ataxia), circling, diarrhea, muscle tremors, and blindness. Initial symptoms can look like Entertoxemia (overeating disease). There is a component of “overeating” involved in that the rumen flora has been compromised. As the disease progresses, convulsions and high fever occur, and if untreated, the goat generally dies within 24-72 hours. Diagnosis is available via laboratory tests, but the producer does not have the luxury of the time that such tests take.

Thiamine is the only effective therapy, and treatment can result in improvement within a few hours if the disease is caught early enough. Thiamine is an inexpensive veterinary prescription. Producers should always keep thiamine on hand; the most commonly available strength is 100 mg/ml. Dosage is based on the goat’s weight (4-1/2 cc per 100 pounds liveweight for 100 mg/ml thiamine) and must be given every six hours on a 24-hour cycle until all symptoms have disappeared completely to avoid relapse. Thiamine, like all B vitamins, is water soluable, so the goat eliminates daily what it doesn’t utilize in the rumen. A sick goat’s rumen doesn’t produce B vitamins, hence the importance of adding them to the goat each day until it gets well. Initially thiamine should be given IM (into the muscle) but can be given SQ (subcutaneously) or even orally after several days of treatment. Some thiamine comes in 500 mg/ml strength, making the required dosage 1 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight. If thiamine is unavailable but the producer has injectable multiple B vitamins, check the label for how much thiamine (Vitamin B1) is present. Fortified Vitamin B Complex contains 100 mg/ml of thiamine, so the 4-1/2 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight dosage is appropriate. Injectable multiple B vitamins containing only 25mg/ml of thiamine require four times the 100mg/ml dosage (18-1/2 cc) per 100 pounds bodyweight, so the producer can quickly see the importance of obtaining the proper strength of injectable B vitamins. The key to overcoming Goat Polio is early diagnosis and treatment. Complete recovery is possible under such circumstances.

Since symptoms of Goat Polio can easily look like Listeriosis, this writer recommends that procaine pencillin also be used. Better to cover both possible illnesses with appropriate treatments when symptoms are so similar than risk the goat’s dying. Administer high doses of procaine penicillin (300,000 International Unit strength) every six hours on a 24-hour basis until all symptoms have disappeared and another 24 hours have passed. Higher-than-normal dosage of procaine penicillin is needed to cross the blood brain barrier to put sufficient amounts of the antibiotic into the tissue of the goat’s central nervous system. A chart of dosage by bodyweight accompanies this article. Give this medication SQ over the ribs with an 18 gauge needle so that the goat doesn’t become a pin cushion of holes from repeated injections. Very Important: Continue all treatment until 24 hours *after* the last symptom has disappeared to avoid a relapse.

Summary: To try to avoid this disease, decrease grain, increase roughage, avoid moldy hay and grain, and don’t use feed that is susceptible to mold (molasses-based/textured feeds). Complete avoidance of Goat Polio is impossible. After doing everything “right,” producers can still have a goat contract Goat Polio occasionally. chartlisteriosis

Listeriosis is a brain-stem disease caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which is found in soil, water, plant litter, silage, and even in the goat’s digestive tract. The bacterium generally enters the goat’s body through the mouth and multiplies rapidly in cold temperatures. There are two forms of Listeriosis: one form results in abortions, while the other causes encephalitis. Both types are seldom seen at the same time in the same herd. The organism can be shed in the milk of both carrier and sick goats. Listeriosis is potentially zoonotic (able to be transmitted to humans.) Like Goat Polio, Listeriosis is most often seen in intensive management situations. Unlike Goat Polio, Listeriosis is more common in adult animals than in kids. Because some goats are carriers who never display any symptoms, it is possible to buy infected animals and introduce this disease into a previously uninfected herd.

Listeriosis is brought on by feeding silage, suddenly changing type and kind of feed (grain or hay), parasitism, dramatic weather changes, and advanced stages of pregnancy. The encephalitic form is most common, causing inflammation of the nerves in the goat’s brain stem. Symptoms include some or all of the following: depression, decreased appetite, fever, leaning or stumbling or moving in one direction only, head pulled to flank with rigid neck (similar to symptoms of tetanus), facial paralysis on one side, blindness, slack jaw, and drooling. Diarrhea is present only in the strain of Listeriosis which causes abortions and pregnancy toxemia. Listeriosis can be mistaken for rabies. Immediate treatment is critical. There is no time to waste with Listeriosis. Recovery is more difficult and time-consuming than Goat Polio. A goat can go blind and completely recover its eyesight and overall health if proper treatment is provided; such treatment can take days or even weeks, depending upon the severity of the illness and how quickly treatment was begun.

Treatment involves administration of high doses of procaine penicillin (300,000 International Unit strength) every six hours on a 24-hour cycle up to and through 24 hours after the last symptom has disappeared to avoid relapse. Higher-than-normal dosage of procaine penicillin is needed to cross the blood brain barrier to put sufficient amounts of the antibiotic into the tissue of the goat’s central nervous system. A chart of dosage by bodyweight accompanies this article. Very Important: Continue all treatment until 24 hours *after* the last symptom has disappeared to avoid a relapse. Give the procaine pencillin SQ over the ribs with an 18 gauge needle so the goat doesn’t become a pin cushion of holes from repeated injections during this intensive treatment. This author also uses Vitamin B 1 (Thiamine) along with the penicillin treatment. Thiamine is an appropriate addition to treatment of any sick goat. Dosage is outlined above in the Goat Polio section of this article. Dexamethasone ( cortico-steroid) injections can be used to reduce brain stem swelling. Dexamethasone will induce labor in pregnant does, but the doe is likely to abort anyhow as a result of this infection, so producers might be wise to abort the pregnancy if they wish to save the sick doe. Dexamethasone dosage is 5 to 6 cc per 100 pounds bodyweight given IM in decreasing amounts daily. Example: Goat is 100 pounds liveweight. Dosage is 6 cc into the muscle on Day One, 5 cc on Day Two, 4 cc on Day Three, 3 cc on Day Four, 2 cc on Day Five, one cc on Day Six, nothing on Day Seven. If the goat is over 100 pounds, drop dosages daily in increments of two or three cc’s. Example: Dose a 200 pound goat at 12 cc on Day One, 10 cc on Day Two, 8 cc on Day Three, 6 cc on Day Four, 4 cc on Day Five, 2 cc on Day Six, nothing on Day Seven. Dexamethasone should be tapered off rather than quit abruptly. This writer would be reluctant to use Dexamethasone on young kids six months of age or less except under the direction of my veterinarian.

Prevention: Feed your goats properly. No silage; the possibility of mold is too great. No moldy feed or hay. Clean pens. No sudden changes in types of feed (grain or hay). Lots of free-choice quality roughage, particularly in the latter stages of pregnancy. And don’t overfeed on grain.

NOTE ON HYDRATION/NUTRITION: Do not fail to keep the sick goat hydrated and fed. With Goat Polio and Listeriosis, a goat is usually totally off feed and water. This means that the producer must stomach tube nutrients (electrolytes, energy, protein) into the goat. A 100 pound goat needs one gallon of fluids daily. That is 3,840 cc’s. No producer can syringe 3,840 cc’s of fluids daily into a goat without stressing both the goat and the caregiver. All of the proper medications won’t save a goat if that animal dies of dehydration/starvation. Entrolyte (oral calf nutrient powder containing electrolytes and 13% protein) or comparable product should always be kept on hand for these situations. Do not offer grain to a sick goat but instead provide easy-to-digest forage plants (weeds & leaves) and grass hay.

Alert to Goat Show Participants: The manner in which many of you are taught to raise your animals often results in Goat Polio, Urinary Calculi, Laminitis/Founder, and other metabolic and nutritionally-related diseases. Particularly in 4H and FFA shows, many are beginners and rely upon the information and training being provided by ag teachers, county agents, and judges. Goats are ruminants, and ruminants are pot-bellied animals. A large rumen is an excellent digestive factory. Proper hydration — the rumen must be 90% water to function correctly — and nutrition is critical to the goat’s overall health and growth.

For those producers who are connected to the Internet, join this author’s goat groups. ChevonTalk on Yahoogroups addresses goat health, nutrition, and management, while GoatER on Yahoogroups focuses on goat health emergencies only. Subscribe to these free services at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com or log on to Yahoogroups, search for ChevonTalk and GoatER, and subscribe there.