The results are in!  More than 100 people have participated in the survey, and while it may or may not be a good representation of goat owners nation-wide, I do feel that it is a good representation of local goat owners since most of the responses came from Tennessee and nearby areas.  I think the results speak for themselves, so rather than analyzing the minor details for you, I will simply share the results with you.  You can view them by clicking here.

I did find some of the text responses interesting, especially the various answers for why each participant feels that their deworming practices are or are not working.  The vast majority of you are confident in your deworming practices.  Those who are not, have experienced the same conditions I have this summer, and blame the increased wet weather with creating ideal conditions for parasite proliferation.  This means that we must be even more vigilant in parasite prevention and, if necessary, consult a medical professional for advice.

A great many of you stated that you use fecal testing to verify the effectiveness of your deworming practices, which is, in my opinion, the best way to verify the size and type of worm load your goats may be carrying.  I must confess a tiny bit of jealousy however, for those of  you who are able to do your own fecal testing.  A good microscope is definitely on my wish list.


                                                              **Deworming Update**
As I described previously, I have struggled with worm prevention in my herd this year.  The first fecal confirmed my suspicions that my usual dewormer choices were not working the way they have in years past.  This was a bit unnerving because I was already using what is widely accepted in my area to be the most effective deworming drug.  My vet asked me to try Valbazen, which is something I have not previously used in my own herd, but I know it to be popular among sheep breeders in my area.  The follow-up fecal showed a vast improvement, and confirmed that the Valbazen worked quite well.  I am now adding this to my arsenal.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, Valbazen is the brand name for a drug called albendazole.  If that sounds familiar, it is because albendazole is in the same drug family as fenbendazole, otherwise known as Safe-Guard or Panacur.  This might explain why I have not attempted the use of Valbazen previously.  My past experience with fenbendazole was a very bad experience and, on the advice of the medical professionals I consulted at that time, I discontinued use of fenbendazole.   The receptionist at my current vet's office however, explained to me that they are finding fenbendazole to be effective in goats however, the dose required is double what is indicated on the product label.  Armed with this new knowledge, I may consider giving fenbendazole a second chance.  Knowing that parasites are constantly changing and adapting to whatever we throw at them, I am willing to have an open mind. I am willing to try both new things, and old things in new ways.  Knowledge, combined with vigilance however, is key.  I'm sure it annoys the heck out of everyone I know, but I ask a lot of questions and must always know "why?"  If this is not already your common practice, I highly recommend that you consider adopting it - to empower yourself.  

I am conducting a survey of goat owners and their deworming practices.  If you currently own goats, I would very much appreciate it if you would participate in the survey.  If you have friends who own goats, please encourage them to participate in the survey as well.  If you do not own goats, the questions really won't apply to you - I'm sorry!
 
No identifying information will be asked in the survey, and all responses are anonymous.  You will not be contacted based on any response given in the survey.
 
The survey can be found at https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/8FBVuX
 

Thank you so much for your time!

All the wet weather we have experienced this year seems to wreaking havoc on the local caprine population.  It is widely accepted in the world of goat ownership that excessive deworming is counterproductive, so common practice is to only deworm as needed.  Each goat owner has their own methods for determining what "as needed" means.  Some have their vets run routine fecal exams.  Some have the ability to do their own fecal exams.  Some rely on regular FAMACHA exams.  Many use some combination of these practices.  I fall into that later group.  Those of you who have attended my goat workshops know that my usual practice is to do frequent FAMACHA exams, and periodically confirm the effectiveness of my dewormers by having my vet do a fecal exam.  Many of you know that I prefer to do everything as naturally as possible, including avoiding chemicals unless absolutely necessary.  Unfornately, I have not been able to avoid chemical dewormers, however I have been able thus far, to use them only sparingly.  Generally, I deworm with a combination of pyrantel pamoate (brand name: Strongid) and moxidectin (brand name: Quest).  In the past, this method has worked exceptionally well for my herd, and was an infrequent necessity.  This summer however, my usual practice just isn't cutting it.

I am doing FAMACHA exams approximately every 10-14 days right now.  When I find that one of my animals needs to be dewormed, I do so and recheck FAMACHA 7-10 days later.  I am finding that my goats are needing to be dewormed much too frequently for my comfort.  This year I  dewormed in the spring when they needed it.  Most of them required a second dose when I did the recheck.  One of them required a third dose.  My one sheep required a forth dose.  I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking this alone was excessive.  In doing the FAMACHA exams, I am seeing anemia creep back in with record speed.  Some of my goats needed to be dewormed as quickly as 6 weeks after the initial deworming, and while this may be common for some, it has previously been unheard of for my herd.  Recently I checked my saanen doe's eyelids and, according to the FAMACHA chart, she was in that borderline area, where one basically makes a judgement call - either deworm now, or watch closely in case deworming is needed in the near future.  She has some other health issues going on right now as well, so in the interest of checking out every possibility, I asked my vet to run a fecal exam.  His reaction to what he saw was, to question whether I had dewormed her at all.  That tells me the worm load was much higher than my FAMACHA exam indicated, which means the rest of my herd is likely in the same condition.  At the suggestion of my vet, I administered a different deworming medication to my entire herd and he is going to recheck the fecal in 10 days.

I still stand by using FAMACHA as a tool when determining whether to deworm or not.  However, normal circumstances allow for a bit of wiggle room if the eye membrane color falls in the middle of the spectrum (example C(3) on the FAMACHA card).  I am recommending that, if your goats do not resemble example B(2) or better then consult your vet.  Do not assume that what has worked for you in the past is still working.  Do not assume that because you usually only need to deworm 2 or 3 times each year, that you can get by with doing FAMACHA once per season.  Ask other breeders, local to you, what they are experiencing this year, and for the sake of your goats, talk to your vet.  Wet conditions like we have experienced in my region this year, promotes parasite proliferation.  In talking to other breeders local to me, the parasite populations this year are out of control, and are not responding to the usual treatments.  So I will repeat: for the sake of your goats, talk to your vet!

As I learn more information, I will share it with you here, but do not rely on me as your only source of information.  I am only one person, and I admit to being wrong sometimes.  Check your goats often, and talk to your vet!