For those with farm animals...

[southernmom]

Noticed more resistance to wormers than usual? Some cattlemen out here have found the cows aren't responding as well to ivermectin and a few other wormers as they usually do. I noticed our sheep had to be wormed super aggressively this winter-and the best results came from using diatomaceous earth.
Noticed anything in yall's areas?

[Tex]

We had a discussion with our vet about wormers recently and some of the differents things people in different areas needto consider. Where I live now, worming is a good idea, but it isn't necessarily the end of the world if we skip it every now and then. We are sitting at almost a mile elevation and we have a very dry climate, so worms are of little concern. We do have to worry about ticks and lice some years, so it is a good idea for us to use a like Ivermectin that takes care of external parasites.

When I lived down south, because we were in a hotter, more humid environment, we were pretty strict on our worming schedule. In the spring we would worm with an Ivermectin type wormer to help fight the external parasites and in the fall we would use something like Valbazen to get rid of the internal stuff like liver flukes. There for a while we were getting in a lot of cattle from the southeast region of the country and Florida in particular. At that time wormers were just starting to be improved so that they could fight some of the more common parasites. A lot of cattle were coming in from down that direction with liver flukes and they were a major problem. That was 25 years ago though and wormers for livestock have came a long ways.

Finding different types and brands of wormers up here is almost impossible, because of the lack of serious need. Still though, I was asking my vet about the need to alternate wormers. It is always best to use different wormers and not get stuck with one brand. What happens is the parasites will eventually build up a resistence and then the wormer you use will be completely ineffective in helping to control parasite problems. The vet told me that eventhough it isn't a bad idea to alternate, because of where we live, it isn't imperative like it is for livestock raisers in warmer and wetter environments.

When I lived down south and raised and trained hounds I would worm them religiously every two weeks. It was not really a good idea to worm them real hard and heavy at one time because the toxicity of too many dead parasites in the dogs system would make them sick. After I blinded a goat using Ivomec brand wormer and noticed some of them feling real sickly, I quit trying to worm them in large doses too. Running livestock, it can be a pain to try and worm all of the animals every few weeks, but for smaller livestock like sheep and goats, it is easier on their systems. Cattle are pretty tough and can handle alot more than a horse or goat can. Sheep are born looking for a reason to die and they need even more caution when it comes to worming.

I have been looking at the diotomaceous earth to help with parasites in our milk cow, but I know very little about it. I've been trying to study up on it though to see how it can best be used. It is said that it can be used on dairy animals and the milk is still safe for people to drink, but I want to make damn sure before I start using it. Most wormers require a waiting time after worming before the meat is safe to eat or the milk is safe to drink. That is why we will always worm the animals we are feeding out for beef right when we first start feeding them out. By the time they are ready for butcher the wormer is out of their system and the meat is safe to eat. If we did not worm them though, we could be fighting parasites and our feeding efforts could be in vain.

Southernmom, because of where you live, worms and parasites in your livestock will always be an issue. I would suggest that you visit with some of the ranchers in your area as well as your vet and see what everyone else is using. Your sheep though, will require a different regimen than the cattle and will probably need a lot more attention in this regard. Talk to your vet about your problem and see what he suggests. I am positive though, he will suggest some sort of rotation to keep the parasites from developing a resistence. There are some years that will be worse for worms and parasites and other years where they don't seem to be a problem at all. With all of the different factors involved it is damn near impossible to predict what years will be more problematic and what years won't. Every rancher I have ever known has always kept a wide array of medicines and wormers on hand, because what worked the last time may not work the next time and you always need to be ready.


I probably didn't answer your question, but that is the little bit I know about wormers.

Tex

[Kelly]

I first heard about DE out here; ranchers use it to not only worm their cattle, but all critters, including themselves! As long as you get food grade DE, you should not have to worry about any ill effects. More here:

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

I also heard you can sprinkle it on your critters to kill fleas, or sprinkle inside your house if you have a flea infestation.

[southernmom]

Thanks Tex-you totally confirmed what I've heard out here. The sheep are what we're having a problem with, more than the cattle. I had a conversation with the the vet rep who hangs out at the feed store and he recommended cydectin for our sheep (we had two that got bottle jaw out of nowhere after having been wormed-one was a katahdin that are pretty resistant) well, cydectin was a little out of our price range that week so I alternated some ivomectin with d.e. and gave them some drench vitamin stuff and after two weeks of this they are back to normal, thankfully.
I was curious cause it's been awhile since there's been such resistance problems. I am really liking the D.E. though, it seemed to have quick results. I will be keeping some around.
Have you tried black walnut tincture for worming dogs? It works really well-an excellent vermifuge and is easy to get. Do yall have black walnut trees out that way?

[Tex]

I just went out and looked at the six trees we have on the ranch and nope, no black walnut. HaHa.
I've never heard of that method for worming dogs. Years ago, there was all sorts of home remedy type concoctions for keeping our hounds wormed. Some worked and some didn't, so I usually stuck with the common wormers. If something works though, I would recommend using it and then alternating it with something else that works.

Thanks for the link, Kelly. I plan on reading that a little later today.


Tex

[southernmom]

Thanks for the info Just from using it on the sheep I'm really pleased with it!

I first heard about DE out here; ranchers use it to not only worm their cattle, but all critters, including themselves! As long as you get food grade DE, you should not have to worry about any ill effects. More here:

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

I also heard you can sprinkle it on your critters to kill fleas, or sprinkle inside your house if you have a flea infestation.

[W.Lynn]

Tex, diatomaceous earth (food grade) is one of those things that gets snuck into a variety of packaged foods, you've probably had it numerous times and never knew. If you put it (food grade) in the feed, and in corners of stalls, behind barn & shed doors, etc, you can then proceed to wash up, milk the cow, and use the milk as usual.

The grandsons wanted some "dirt" to play with in their room, and dragged a package in there to dump on the carpet and start making roads and stuff. Took forever before I ever saw another insect in there.

And the boys were just fine, their mother wasn't thrilled.

[kickstand]

When we were looking into getting chickens, I read up on DE, and promptly went and bought a 50lb bag. I sprinkled it in the chicken pen, and would sprinkle a bit into their bag of food. Never did see any insects out there. Started giving it to the dogs too, no fleas or ticks on them either. From what I have read, it (DE) is the shell of a dead sea critter that basically cuts the bugs up mechanically rather than killing them chemically, so as long as you do use Food Grade, there is nothing to worry about re: side effects / food safely.

[W.Lynn]

Once it's wet, it's harmless, and guess what the first thing is that happens to dust particles entering any bird, mammal, lizard, etc? They get wet.

It's still a dust, and will make you cough and sneeze. And you don't want to mess with the pool filter grade of the stuff (probably has other stuff mixed in.)