How to Treat External Parasites of Goats

Treating Goats for External Parasites

• 1

  Separate newly acquired goats or those affected with external parasites from the other goats in your herd. Any new goats need to be examined with gloved hands and treated for internal and external parasites before you add them to the others. To prevent cross-contamination, goats showing signs of external parasites should be separated from healthy goats. Signs of external parasites include: itching and chewing at the skin, rubbing against objects, losing fur and formation of open sores (see reference #3). Also, infected goats act depressed, which causes them to eat less. Decreased food intake results in both low growth rates and low milk production (see reference #3).

• 2

  Organize all the equipment you will need to treat your goats. Calculate dosages and total volumes of the parasite medications according to the directions on the medication. For spray treatment, you will need large amounts of liquid to thoroughly wet the animal's entire body. Disposable syringes and needles can only be used once and reusable metal syringes need to be sterilized before use. Always bring more syringes than necessary because some may become contaminated or broken during the procedure. Fill all syringes or containers with medications prior to handling the goats. It is always easier to have two people to treat the goats -- one to restrain the animal and one to complete the treatment.

• 3

  Treat the goats for external parasites according to medication directions. Sprays and dips need to completely cover the animal. Pour-on applications go directly along the backline skin of an animal, while spot-ons should be applied in a single spot between the shoulders. Dusts can be hand-applied or supplied in self-treatment dust bags. The animals must pass under the dust bags to eat or drink. Pastes and boluses can be given to goats orally, while inject-ables must be given under the skin or into the muscle, depending on the medication (see reference #1). Ear tags must be applied between the middle and lower cartilage ribs in the ear (see reference #2).

• 4

  Mark treated animals with chalk or grease and record the name of the medication on the date it was given. Ear tag pesticides may only work four to five months, while bolus treatments may be needed only twice a year, depending on the type of parasite and the pasture conditions (see reference #1). To maintain external parasite control, be aware of medication expiration dates. To prevent pesticide resistant parasites, use your records to rotate through various parasite medications (see reference #4). Also, when treating large numbers of goats, mark or separate each treated animal so they do not get accidentally treated twice.

• 5

  Keep treated animals separated from healthy animals until they are free of external parasites. Often, animals need to be treated more than once to kill all life-stages of the parasites (see reference #3). When signs of infection diminish, the treated animals can be combined with the healthy animals. Ticks, lice, keds and fleas will be either gone or dead. Scratching and biting should cease, as well as hair loss. Open sores should begin healing. Infective signs of the nose bot fly, nasal discharge and head shaking, should cease (see reference #3). Also, higher food intake will increase weight gain and milk production.