Spot & Treat

Parasites happen, but proper management keeps things under control

- DR. LYLE G. MCNEAL

It's likely that one or more of your animals will contract a parasite at some point during its lifespan. There are, however, steps you can take to minimize the chance of this happening through proper and effective management. If you think your goat may be suffering from one of the following parasites, consult a veterinarian before beginning any treatment.

INTERNAL PARASITES

Internal parasites, aka endoparasites, live inside a host animal at whose expense they obtain nutrition and shelter. Many can do a great deal of damage to a goat during the course of their life cycle, while others will peacefully coexist with the goat and cause relatively few health problems.

The primary goal of effective parasite control is to interrupt those life cycles, and there are four major endoparasite categories of concern to goat owners: gastrointestinal nematodes, aka roundworms; lungworms; tapeworms; and coccidia.

These parasites are passed from one goat to another through consumption of the worm eggs or oocysts.

These eggs can be found in persistently wet, soiled places where goats might be eating or grazing.

CAUSES: Goats become infected with internal parasites by eating worm eggs or protozoal parasites when feed is thrown on the ground or when the goats graze in an overly soiled pasture. The parasites are found in the goats’ feces, and the animals become ill after consuming them but continue their life cycle by passing the eggs out in their feces.