Other Methods

Organic farms and farms with worms resistant to chemical dewormers must rely on alternatives to chemical dewormers. The consortium has investigated other methods, such as commercially available non-drug treatments and traditional remedies. For example, some plants with high tannin content other than sericea traditionally have been useful in treating internal parasites. However, at this date and under the conditions of our experiments, the methods researched didn’t successfully control internal parasites. Research studies showed that:

• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal proteins offered nematocidal activity against barber pole and other worm parasites of sheep similar to or greater than dewormers. The technology needs to clear FDA approval, which could take years.
• Diatomaceous earth (DE) is popular among farmers for worm control, but research studies in sheep and cattle failed to show any reduction in fecal egg counts. 
• Garlic (fresh juice, bulbs, and Garlic Barrier^®, a commercial insecticide prepared from liquid garlic extract) used as a drench was not effective in control of gastrointestinal parasites.
• Herbal dewormers of various commercial formulations didn’t reduce fecal egg counts or incidence of anemia in goats or lambs.
• Other plants traditionally thought to be useful, including black locust, curly dock, and chicory, failed to control barber pole worm but provided improved nutrition for goats, compared with goats feeding only on grass pastures.
• High-tannin grain sorghum was not consistently effective in reducing internal parasite fecal egg counts in goats and didn’t influence the number of animals that required deworming. Similarly, birdsfoot trefoil didn’t reduce fecal egg counts in lambs.
• Quebracho tannin powder wasn’t effective in controlling worm parasites but reduced fecal oocyst counts from coccidia. 

While the consortium hasn’t conducted research on the following methods, they are also useful for reducing parasitism in sheep and goats:

• Zero grazing: Put the animals in a dry lot and provide them with cut forage, such as hay or other harvested forage. This gives the pasture rest and prevents the animals from both infecting it and re-infecting themselves by ingesting larvae.
• Protein supplementation: Research has shown that increasing dietary protein and body condition scores helps animals resist parasites. For example, when pasture is low in protein, feeding 0.25 lb. of soybean meal per lamb per day improved resistance (Ross, 1989). Other forms of protein can also help increase tolerance to parasites.

Final Words

Decreasing the negative impacts of internal parasites on flocks and herds will improve the bottom line for any farm operation. Preliminary economic analyses suggest that producers implementing FAMACHA^© reduce their drug costs by 70% or more while slowing resistance to dewormers. Exact dollar amounts are difficult to assess because costs of chemical dewormers vary widely. In addition, it’s difficult to assess loss of production and death losses due to parasites, and perceived benefits to alternatives are difficult to assign a value to. 

For more information, see:

• The American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control, www.wormx.info
• ATTRA, National Center for Appropriate Technology, www.attra.org

References

Kaplan, R.M. and Miller, J.E. 2006. Modified McMaster egg counting for quantification of nematode eggs. 

Kubesch, J., Philipp, D., Quadros, D., Wright-Smith, H. Forage Lespedeza. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension. FSA3050.

Miller, J.E. and Burke, J.M. 2025. Management Practices for Controlling Nematode Parasites of Small Ruminants. CABI.

Ross, C.V. 1989. Sheep Production and Management. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.