Getting into goats is like learning a new language! I'm sharing what I wrote about our parasite program. What I do is very different than most herds, because 1) we're small enough that I can and 2) I happen to live near a University with a research lab.
We check FAMACHA scores regularly, and run Fecal EPG Tests as necessary- and annually with CAE/CL/Johnes. What's a fecal? l (or the vet) collect a sample of "clean" stool from each goat. To do this you can collect it internally (wear a glove, use one lubed finger to sweep inside the rectum, collect 8-10 pellets) or externally (wear a glove, turn out the goats first thing in the morning, and FOLLOW your intended doe until you can catch 8-10 pellets as she poops, and before they hit the ground.) I store the stool in the glove- as you take a glove off it turns inside out, so the stool stays inside the outside of the glove. Place in a cooler or refrigerate, don't freeze, and deliver or mail to your lab with an ice pack.
So, WHY run Fecal EPG Tests? I’m having the lab check a stool sample for the quantity of parasite eggs in the gut. Goats and sheep are particularly sensitive to parasites, so over decades of management the parasites have become resistant to common dewormers as many farmers were told to prophylactically & frequently deworm. Additionally “medicated” feeds are feeds with dewormer added (often for coccidiosis). Our proximity to University means that Dr Kaplan, the sheep parasite researcher, came to a Georgia Dairy Goat Breeder Association meeting recently, which sent me off researching too. Dr Kaplan is part of a researching group with a website www.WormX.info which hosts many articles and such that you should totally go read! https://www.wormx.info/bmps They coined FAMACHA- a technique for evaluating the parasite load by checking the membrane below the eyelid. Their lab also runs cheaper fecal EPG (eggs per gram?) tests for local farmers directly.
The goal is not necessarily zero parasites, but few enough that they don’t affect the goat OR your pasture land (if they live in the environment- and they do- then your herd is constantly reinfected). Because there is a high level of resistance, most dewormers are only 70-80% effective. So Kaplan suggests (vets don’t) giving 3 different dewormers back to back, effectively getting 100% so that remaining worms don’t become resistant. (Statistically all of the 70% effective should overlap and knock out everything). Because of resistance and dewormer failure it’s important to do a fecal test afterwards too- that tells you what you actually got. For example on Lark when she kidded, her pre-EPG was 900 eggs, and her post-deworming level was 100. That’s effectively a 89% reduction, so I’ve got resistant worms remaining. It’s pretty good and it’s not going to affect her, but I’m on this land long-term and those parasites have a chance to survive and reinfect so if I don’t want to keep killing their babies in the future I want to kill them now. I’m working with Sue his head researcher to see what to do next- I may repeat the 3 dewormers I gave, or I may add the one my vet gave me, but I don’t want to give my “big guy” wormer from the vet without direction from the Kaplan lab- because I don’t want to create resistance to that too- there’s not many wormers left that work well, and I may need it for her in the future. Vets are of course generalists, and I’ve learned over the years that I prefer to consult specialists and experts and that their advice often contradicts the generalist. So what I’m doing is NOT what the vet or even other goat owners around me are- but it’s research based and makes sense to ME for my needs. I don’t have the costs of a big herd, so I’m spending $15-25 on a fecal, not hundreds testing a whole herds and I don’t have divided pasture or separate grazing for seasons.
Am I using best management practices? NO. Instead I'm doing lots of EPG tests, watching my goats, their weight, and their FAMACHA. I DO clean their shed every day, and leave it without bedding all day to dry. I SHOULD turn them out later in the morning so the dew is dry. I SHOULD never cut the grass below 4-6" (but that's as high as the mower goes, so that's what I get, and we DO mow only when necessary). I SHOULD divide the pasture and rotate, but I have a heavily traveled shed area, so that shoots those efforts in the foot. I DO keep their feed high off the ground. I DO trim hooves frequently. I DO spend a lot of time with each goat everyday. And I'm ALWAYS learning how to DO better!
Rainy seasons are the worst. Check you goats! MORE if it rains!