How To Keep Your Goat Worm-Free Naturally!

If you own goats or are thinking about it, worming is a critical part of keeping your goats healthy and happy. Chemical wormers are one of the options for de-worming your goats, but I have found that I prefer the herbal method, where prevention and health are the objectives.

Benefits of Herbal Wormers

How do herbal wormers work and what are the benefits?

Specific herbs in herbal worming blends aid in boosting your goat’s immune system, which in turn help to fend off parasites. The herbs act as preventative medicine instead of reactive medicine. Keep your goat healthy and happy and they will be much less likely to become infested with worms.

If your goat already has worms, particular herbs help expel the parasites. They do not like being near the herbs, so they leave the body via the goat’s droppings.

My favorite benefit of herbal wormers is that you do not have to stress out and/or pump your goat full of poison. A happy goat is a healthier goat.

Procuring Herbs

I will assume if you are still reading you are considering the more natural approach to keeping your goat worm free. If you are fully on board, you will need to decide how you will procure your herbs. I have plenty of space to grow the herb blend, yet I have chosen to purchase my herbs on-line from a long-time goat owner and herb specialist (http://fiascofarm.com/herbs/wormer.htm). You may decide to grow them yourself, purchase them in bulk on-line, or order them ready to go as I did. If you are raring to grow, you will need the following ingredients to start your herbal blend: Black Walnut, Fennel, Garlic, Wormwood, Stevia, Hyssop, Thyme, Cucurbita Pepo, and Mugwort. Recipes will vary, but those are some of the basics to get you started.

Five Tricks to Mixing and Administering Herbal Goat Wormer:

1) I use a glass-canning jar and a plastic syringe to administer the herbal wormer. Apply a small amount of olive oil to the tip of the syringe’s plunger so it does not stick while you are releasing the herbs into the goat’s mouth. (I am currently using a more effective syringe to dispense any liquids to my goats. Click to see this update). 

2) Use very warm water to mix with the herbs. Goats LOVE extra warm water.

3) I mix 2 tablespoon of Molly’s Herbals Formula #2 Weekly Worm Formula and Tonic to approximately 8 ounces of water for my two 160 pound goats (I also tried mixing the herb blend dry with their goat chow, but found that the herbs settled to the bottom as they rooted around in the chow. If you do choose to mix your herbs with feed, I like to use the 3.5 quart Little Giant Mineral Feeder. I have several around the barn for feed, mineral, and baking soda. Liquid form does ensure that they ingest all of the herbs). For my goats, if the mix is too strong, the goats turn their noses up to it and shy away from it the next time I attempt to administer it. They have excellent memories. This makes it important to get it right as soon as possible, but no pressure! Molly’s Herbals includes a dosage chart to help find the right amount for your goat. 

4) Add a tablespoon or so of honey to the liquid blend if your goats do not seem to like the herbs. I have had 100% administration success since adding honey to the mix.

5) Remember to keep your goat’s head looking straight up when feeding them the liquid herbs. This will ensure that the blend is heading to the proper stomach.

It makes me smile to think about how excited my goats are when they see that glass jar and syringe full of “herb tea” heading their way. I imagine that would not be the case with a syringe full of chemical de-wormer. So, fellow and prospective goat owners, cheers to happy and healthy goats!

Follow up: My goats are turning 6 in February of 2018! They continue to be healthy, happy, worm-free goats! Here is an added list of 5 of my favorite items that I use with my goats.  Some of these products are affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I make a little extra money to care for the farm.Thanks for your support!

5 Favorite Goat Items

1. I provide baking soda to my goats at all times (sodium bicarbonate). I sometimes use Arm and Hammer, but I prefer to use a higher quality organic version. It is more expensive, but worth it! Baking soda helps balance the acid in the goat’s rumen,  reducing the chance of bloat.
2. I use Manna Pro Goat Mineral Supplement as my mineral supplement. The goats love it! Every time I freshen my supply in the barn, I grab a handful of the mineral and the baking soda and feed it to them right out of my hand. It’s like a treat! This is to be given free choice, available at all times. I use the Little Giant Mineral Feeder (3.5 quarts). It has two separate areas for the baking soda and the mineral. It works so great! Just make sure to use large screws to secure it to the wall because they will most likely stand in it. They are very durable though, so no worries! Also try to place it at a height not too high that they can’t reach it, but high enough that it isn’t an accidental toilet:)
3. I also use the mineral feeder for my goat chow. (I get my chow from Tractor supply. I have always used the brand in the link, but I recently changed to a new Organic feed by Nature’s Best that TS introduced. If you need it delivered, Amazon is the way to go.) I have two goats, so they each get their own compartment to eat from, although they always switch sides halfway through! I give them each a cup or two a day. There are feeding instructions on the bag. I use a plastic container/bin to keep the vermin out of the feed. Make sure it seals up well! The bin in the this link is weather tight, which will reduce the chances of mold, bugs and mice.
4. I bring warm water to the barn everyday, sometimes twice! Goats love warm/hot water. I have two buckets of water available to the goats at all times. One is my heated bucket during the cold months, and one smaller bucket that I re-fill with hot water. I find the larger buckets hard to carry, so I like a smaller one to re-fill the bigger one. My Saanen Luna knows the red bucket is the steamy hot one. I can’t even get it hung up before she starts slurping down the water!
5. I purchased the cutest goat coats for Luna and Areida on Etsy this past week from a small business called Coat Your Goat. They are wonderful! We chose canvas on the outside and flannel on the inside. They look like they will wash and wear very well.

Looking for some fun goaty gift ideas? Here are some of my favorites!
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If you have any questions, feel free to message me!