Goats Naturally Parasite Free

Have you ever wondered how to keep goats naturally parasite free? Have you ever thought, 'Is there another way to keep my livestock parasite free without the help of chemical dewormers with impossible withdrawal times and scheduled dosing every two weeks to a month?' If you have researched or own any barnyard livestock you know just how difficult it is to deter intestinal or stomach parasites from threatening your herd or flock.

Whether you have these issues with your livestock or are just researching ideas for a friend, here is a list of options to help you figure out which method of parasite eradication is best for your barnyard friends:

1. Pasture rotation

2. Multi-species (mixed) grazing or exchange grazing (AKA permaculture)

3. Sanitation of barns and lean-to sheds

4. Feed animals in buckets, bins, troughs, and promote goats to browse

5. Group animals with equal immunity (or susceptibility)

6. Deworm only if fecal has high-parasite count

7. Harvest hay during warm months (sun dries out parasites)

8. Mow pastures before winter (grass protects dormant parasites and cold eradicates parasites)

9. Check animals MM inside the lower eyelid of their eye (pale means deworm only the livestock with pale MM) NOTE: fecals are better for larger herds of goats

10. Better diet = better immunity = better quality of life = better longevity

11. Understand that healthy animals with low-parasite count have an immune system that can handle the worms without being dewormed

12. Control birthing season to only be in the winter months

13. Give animals a dewormer bolus only if they need it NOTE: giving livestock a dewormer when they don't need it will end up giving them parasite-drug resistance

14. Natural dewormers do not have a residue effect or withdrawal time (milk goats and meat goats will not have wasted or questionable product when milked or processed), and they only need to be given when the goats have a pale MM or high-parasite fecal count; give during the breeding season, birthing season, when ill, after travelling, and when weaning (AKA stressful times) NOTE: it also helps boost their immunity to the worms and environmental factors (i.e. weather changes), unlike the synthetic (chemical) dewormers; dewormer with woodworm or cloves may result in abortions (or miscarriages), only give these dewormers when livestock is NOT pregnant to avoid this issue

15. Quarantine new livestock (10 days to 14 days), give a dose of dewormer, and copper bolus NOTE: do NOT give copper to sheep

16. Do NOT change a dewormer until there is parasite resistance to that specific dewormer

17. Buy a weight tape for proper dosing NOTE: too much dewormer = quicker parasite-resistance over time, too little dewormer = will not work (gradually but quickly builds up parasite-resistance over time) and will be a waste of time

18. Lespedeza grass or pellets that contain Tannin are both great for parasite control in livestock

19. Garlic, lime juice probiotics, and apple cider vinegar (ACV) are all single natural dewormers

20. Ag Lime or DE can both be placed on the barn floor to eradicate internal parasites before they can reach the livestock.

21. Drags, portable paddocks, and chicken tractors can be pulled over manure piles to deplete parasites and spread nutrients (AKA compost) throughout pasture grasses

22. Add DE to livestock food as a supplement for internal parasites already in the livestock and spread it all over the pasture to control parasites in pasture grasses

23. A combination of essential oils mixed with DE, molasses, and probiotic paste is a common combination, natural dewormer

Now that you have read this list of natural, internal-parasite eratication for your livestock,, what will you do next to help your four- (and two-) legged barnyard friends? If you are just researching for livestock, and wanted to find a better quality of life for animals (through diet), or you are trying to find natural deworming options for your livestock to milk year-long and process for meat to sell, this will help you in the right direction. You have a topic that you can talk over with your fellow farmers and food sources to help you, your family, and your friends live better and healthier lives.

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