My new dairy goat is working out great, except that her milk tastes awful, but I'm giving her good feed and hay now (she was staked out to eat brush and weeds, and never given water!). But now I need to worm her--she has never been wormed, and I've never wormed an animal. The guy at the feedstore sold me a scoop of Safe Guard, and said give half in the morning, half in the evening. I don't have a lot of faith in his expertise and wonder what you-all goat experts say. Should I call a vet? Have her checked for worms first? Go ahead and feed her the Safe Guard? I really want to do this right. Her kids are a week old today. Can we drink the milk the same day we worm her (it tastes too bad to drink, but I taste it every time I milk her). I think those are enough questions for a start:o) Thanks, Elizabeth.

-- Elizabeth in NE TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), February 09, 2001

Answers

If she's getting good feed & hay her milk shouldn't have a funny taste. Is she housed near a buck?? If housed to close to a buck that can give the milk an off flavor. As far as wormer I would go ahead & use the wormer. Take a fecal sample to the vet in a couple of weeks to have them check to see if the wormer worked. If not, he'll be able to reccomend a wormer that will get rid of the worms your goat has. He can also tell you the milk withdrawel time on the wormer. There is no withdrawel time with Safeguard so you can use it right away.

-- Wendy (weiskids@yahoo.com), February 09, 2001.

I had one doe that I couldn't drink the milk for 10 days after kidding every season. Perhaps you doe just takes longer to get her milk established. Week old kids, try again in a day or two. I know they say no clearance for the safeguard, but I still wait a couple of days.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 09, 2001.

Elizabeth,"Safegard" is a wormer that I use only on very pregnant does.It is a mild wormer and doesn't get rid of tapeworms or lungworms.It does a good job on the stomach worms.Since your doe has had her kids I would use Ivermectin.The local feed store should have it in paste form in a small tube.It is actually horse wormer but most of us use it for goats at twice the dosage in the instructions. You will get advice here to get a fecal exam done.That's excellent advice but while you are waiting to do that,worm her!You can be sure she has several kinds. Her milk should taste good.Give her a few more days to clear the weeds out of her system and get over the stress of kidding.Different weeds give the milk "different"tastes.Onions,bitter weed,some herbs etc. Wash her udder with warm water.Dry.Milk her into a clean stainless steel or glass container.Strain.Cool the milk quickly. Wait 5-6 days after worming before using the milk.

-- JT in Florida (gone2seed@hotmail.com), February 09, 2001.

Can humans get tapeworms from animals? I am going to worm my goats (relatively new to goats) when the one kids this month...my children help with the goats..so if they have tapeworm....will we get them? I didn't even know goats could have worms..makes sense..just isn't something that was ever brought up as a child/teen raising goats.

-- Cindy in OK (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), February 10, 2001.

G'day Elizabeth. I to have dairy goats and recently asked the wormer question locally.here is some of what i found. to get best results from a wormer follow instructions on dose rate to the letter.under dosing is a major cause of resistance.you should keep your goats away from feed for 12 hours prior to giving a full dose.then a second full dose 12 hours later should kill 98%of worms but not necessarily eggs repeat after 2 weeks.I use panacure(a white drench )and it seems to work) Localy (in Australia) the makers of ivermectin(a clear drench) drenches are loath to reccommend the use of these drenches in goats as poor drenching practices in South Africa have caused a resistance in worms that were taken up by sheep .this resistance is so bad it has had devastating results on their sheep industry. Hope this helps and doesnt add to the confusion.

-- Peter Lock (plock@iprimus.com.au), February 10, 2001.

So, once Fiona the naughty Nubian finally kids I should weight tape her, double her weight and paste worm with Ivermectin? When should I worm the kid(s)? Is doubled Ivermectin OK for them too? How often should goats be wormed? Also, what vaccinations should goats have? I just received the Jeffers catalog and none of the vaccines are goat specific, most are for sheep. I'll be doing my horse vaccinations next month and I'll just order what Fiona and family need along with the 5 ways I give the horses. Our Vet does Coggins and rabies on the horses (we need a paper trail), so I'll have him do rabies on Fiona and kids as well.

Thanks so much for all the good help. I really appreciate it.

Stacy Rohan in windy, warm (for now) Windsor, NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), February 10, 2001.

I wouldn't use Ivermectin if I was going to drink the milk. I know you all get sick of me, but in Goat Medicine their was residue even after 30 days. Which is fine if you are not sensitive to the carriers in drugs but....

Start with the safeguard paste, we actually have seen the safeguard pellets for cattle work very well, though you have to 3 times the dosage on it. One pound for 1000 pounds of cattle, so that would be 1 pound of pellets for 333 pounds of goat, so 1/2 pound of pellets given to around 150 pounds of adult doe. You do not fast ruminents before you worm them, since anything eaten in a ruminent goes into the rumen, which has no worms anyway, then is cud chewed and then goes to the other stomachs, intestines, etc. Ivermectin, and Cydectin given orally are mostly absorbed in the mucous membranes of the mouth, though some is swollowed, but mostly carrier. If you truly are going to take a fecal to the vet, than do it, have him tell you what worms, eggs, and how many, than get back with us. I prefer Valbazen, you aren't guessing on weights, and Ivermectin I use on dry stock and bucks.

We vaccinate twice a year with Bar Vac CD&T, we give IM shots to hide the granuloma that is formed. We want one of these shots to be given right before the doe kids. If these animals have never been vaccinated than you would give everyone, babies also, one shot now, and then another in 21 days. Rabies meds are now being studied in goats, but I would feel confident having the vet who is doing your horses, give your goats rabies. We are passing on this vaccination right now, until we are forced to, to get a health certificate. While your vet is their why not have the blood drawn for CAE and CL tests also. Washington State Diag. Lab. 509-335-9696 Your local University is fine for these tests as long as they are Elissa tests and not Agid. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 10, 2001.

Elizabeth, vickie is the goat expert, and right on with her advice. I only use Valbazen on unbred does as it can cause abortion but is the wormer for liver flukes. I like paste wormer mainly because you know they got the medicine. My goats would just not eat the granules you put in the feed. Safeguard comes in a paste so do most wormers, but like vickie said there is a long time when you should not drink the milk on ivermectin. I would give her some time to adjust to her new home and change in feed. Some goats give "goaty" tasting milk but I would worm and make sure the feed is of good quality before passing judgement. Also I always recommend tasting the milk before you buy the goat. I have never had the buck make the milk taste bad, and it is one of those experiments I love to do. Cindy, you do not get tapeworms from the milk. You get it from the soil thru your feet or hands(that's why good handwashing is so important. You can also get it from the droppings of animals, which is why I have to worm my little dog every month cause she thinks any poop from any of the "critters" here is gourmet food.

-- karen (kansasgoats@iwon.com), February 10, 2001.

Thank you all so much for your answers! I am going to go ahead and give her the Safeguard that I bought yesterday--I have 1/2 pound of the pellets. She's a smallish though very stocky young doe--I doubt she weighs quite 150 lbs. Should I give it all to her at once or divide it in two feedings as the feed store owner suggested? Do I feed her the pellets straight or mix it with her grain? Then when I get the weight tape and take a fecal to the vet I'll let you all know. I am so thankful for all this information--I am diving into this goat thing without much knowledge, and I need all the help I can get! By the way, noone ever warned me that goats were so dangerously addictive:o) I've avoided them so far, and haven't thought very highly of them, but now after 4 days of goat ownership I'm hooked! Thanks again, and I'll post an update. Elizabeth

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), February 10, 2001.

Thank you all for your help. I bought the Safeguard paste for now and I'll use Ivermectin as a rotation. I'm not going to drink her milk, at least for now. I think she may be a Kinder or dwarf Nubian, she's very small-she only weighs around 50 lbs and her udder and teats are tiny although they may get bigger after she kids. She's a pet and while I really needed a dairy goat she needed to be out of the situation she was in. So, I'm still looking for a milk goat. Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it.

Stacy Rohan in very cold, windy Windsor, NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), February 11, 2001.