Sheep And Goat Parasites

Battling parasites is part of owning sheep and goats. They all have worms to some degree, but the most concerning is a blood-sucking parasite called the barber pole worm that lives in the animals’ stomach. It causes anemia, and in many cases, even death. 

Mark Kepler is an extension educator at Purdue University. He says the key to parasite control is pasture management. Rotate sheep and goats to grasses that are at least four-inches tall. If the animals are grazing in the same place all the time, they’ll eat it down to the ground which makes it very easy to pick up the worms.

"The worm is inside the animal, it lays an egg inside the animal, when the animal defecates, that egg falls out on the grass. And then, that egg will hatch out and a little tiny worm will crawl up the grass blade just a little bit," says Kepler. "So, when the animal comes along and eats that grass blade, it’s eating that worm and putting it into its body."

There are de-wormers but if they’re overused, the parasites can build up resistance. Check the color of membrane around the animals’ eyes. If it’s white and not pink, it signals anemia. Another way to determine worm load and if the treatment is working is to collect fecal samples.

"Take it to the vet, he’ll look at it and say whether you’ve got worms or don’t, or what kind you’ve got. I give them the drug, come back whatever the vet says, usually about two weeks later, and then I see again what kind of egg numbers I’ve got," he says. "If I have the same number of eggs I had the first time around, I’ve got resistance and that drug isn’t doing me any good."