Parasite PATROL

Keep your worm treatments effective with these three valuable tools.

- LISA SEGER

Before I describe the process of sustainably managing parasites in goats, let's define sustainable in this context. The term "sustainable" is often used in agriculture as a synonym for organic. That's not the case here. Rather, I literally mean a program that can be sustained.

You see, a huge problem in parasite management is that the products we use to control parasites - worms, especially often become ineffective over time largely because of misuse and overuse.

A sustainable program, for our purposes, is defined as finding a balance of actively working to keep a herd healthy, while also avoiding practices that promote resistance to chemical wormers.

Resistance is built every single time we treat an animal for parasites. As such, knowing when to treat and when not to is key to finding a healthy balance. The absolute worst thing you can do is set and adhere to a regular schedule of worming your goats.

We diagnose exactly how "wormy" the animals in our herd are (and therefore whether treatment is recommended) by using three tools: something called FAMACHA scoring, fecal flotations/egg counts and body condition scoring. Used alone, any one of these markers is inadequate for gauging parasites. Used together, however, they provide the best picture of what you are dealing with and how/whether to treat it.

FAMACHA