Use of Herbs as De-wormers for Sustainable and Profitable Production of Sheep and Goats Under Natural Grazing Conditions

View the project final report

• 2008 annual report
• 2009 annual report

Commodities

• Animals: goats, sheep

Practices

• Pest Management: general pest management

This project will help increase awareness of researchers and hair and wool sheep and meat goat producers alike on the potential of raising natural herbs as a low cost substitute for synthetic chemical dewormers on the deadly killer of these animals in the hot summer months due to internal parasites. The three groups of chemical dewormers; benzimidazoles, avermectin, milbemycins and pyrantel are very costly and are increasingly less effective as a result of development of resistance by the internal parasites reported in the literature in recent years.

In the short-term, this project will help increase awareness of the positive potential of natural herbs (wormwood) as a low cost substitute for expensive synthetic chemical dewormers with Ivermectin selected for this project since it is a well-rounded commercial dewormer. Katahdin hair sheep, Dorset wool sheep and Boer meat goats were contributing to the knowledge gained. Resistance of the internal parasites is being reported by producers throughout the U.S., but specifically in the southern states, to all Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently approved commercial dewormers for sheep and goats.

The sustainable rearing of sheep and goats using natural herbs would be the long-term expected outcome from this three-year study.

The results of this study will be shared with sheep and goat farmers with the positive outcome of 2008. Three years of data are needed to make recommendations to farmers if we repeat positive results the next two years.