The best time to deworm a doe is right at kidding or within the first day or two after birth. This timing targets the natural spike in parasite egg shedding that happens around delivery, protecting both the doe and her newborn kids from heavy pasture contamination during their most vulnerable period.
Why Parasites Spike After Kidding
During late pregnancy and early lactation, a doe’s immune system temporarily weakens its defenses against internal parasites. This phenomenon, called the periparturient egg rise, happens because the antibodies that normally keep gut worms in check get redirected. Specifically, key immune proteins are transported from the gut lining into the milk during early lactation. That leaves the doe’s digestive tract less protected, allowing dormant larvae to wake up, establish themselves, and start producing eggs in large numbers.
The immune suppression actually begins before kidding, with measurable drops in circulating immune cells and antibody levels in pregnant does. Once lactation starts, those levels stay low, and the doe’s worm burden climbs. The result is a flood of parasite eggs in her feces at precisely the time her kids are starting to graze nearby. The most dangerous parasite involved is the barber pole worm, a blood-sucking stomach parasite that causes anemia and is the single most economically damaging worm in goats. Female goats during the periparturient period carry heavier worm burdens than at any other time, and their kids, with immature immune systems, are the most susceptible animals on the farm.
The Ideal Deworming Window
Deworm at kidding. Research from Kentucky State University confirms that fecal egg counts rise shortly after delivery, making the day of kidding the best intervention point. Treating the doe at this moment reduces the number of parasite eggs she sheds onto pasture during the critical first weeks when kids are most vulnerable to picking up infections.
If you miss the day of kidding, treating within the first few days postpartum still captures the bulk of the egg rise. Waiting two or three weeks means the doe has already been seeding your pasture with larvae for the entire period her kids have been learning to nibble grass. The goal is prevention: stopping contamination before it starts rather than chasing a problem after it’s established.
Check Before You Treat
Deworming every doe automatically at kidding is one approach, but a more targeted strategy can be just as effective while slowing the development of drug-resistant worms. The FAMACHA system gives you a practical way to assess each doe individually by checking the color of her lower eyelid membrane.
The scoring works on a 1 to 5 scale. A score of 1 (dark red membranes) means no significant anemia. A score of 5 (white or very pale membranes) indicates severe anemia from blood loss to parasites. Does scoring 3, 4, or 5 should be treated with a dewormer. Does scoring 1 or 2 can typically go without treatment. During kidding season, check your does every 7 to 10 days, since conditions can change quickly with the immune suppression of lactation.
Targeted selective treatment, where you only deworm the animals that actually need it, has been shown to reduce the total number of treatments given while achieving the same level of parasite control and animal productivity as blanket whole-herd deworming. Just as importantly, it helps preserve the effectiveness of your dewormers by maintaining a population of worms that haven’t been exposed to the drug. Research on dairy sheep and goat farms found that systematic whole-herd treatments led to more variation in drug resistance markers over time compared to farms using targeted approaches.
Choosing a Dewormer
Three classes of dewormers are commonly used in goats, and none of them are FDA-approved specifically for goats. This means all use is considered extra-label and should ideally involve guidance from a veterinarian, especially for does in milk. According to Cornell University’s dewormer chart for goats:
- Fenbendazole (Safe-Guard): Dosed orally at 10 mg/kg body weight, which works out to about 1.1 ml per 25 pounds. The label dose for goats is lower, but the recommended effective dose is double the label rate.
- Albendazole (Valbazen): Dosed orally at 20 mg/kg, or about 2 ml per 25 pounds. This one should not be used in early pregnancy as it can cause birth defects, but it is an option post-kidding.
- Ivermectin (Ivomec Sheep Drench): Dosed orally at 0.4 mg/kg, or about 6 ml per 25 pounds. The oral sheep drench formulation is the preferred route for goats.
Goats metabolize dewormers faster than cattle or sheep, which is why dosages are higher than what you might see on the label. Always dose by the individual doe’s actual weight rather than estimating. Underdosing is one of the fastest ways to breed resistant worms on your farm. If you’re milking the doe and using or selling the milk, ask your vet about appropriate withdrawal times for the specific product you choose.
Use Nutrition as a Second Line of Defense
What a doe eats after kidding directly affects her ability to fight off parasites. High-protein diets have a measurable impact on worm burdens. Research on goats fed diets with around 14% crude protein showed reduced fecal egg counts and lower FAMACHA scores compared to goats on lower-protein diets. In one study, goats fed well above their protein requirements during late pregnancy and early lactation showed no periparturient egg rise at all.
This makes sense biologically: the immune response that keeps worms suppressed is protein-expensive. When a doe is simultaneously producing milk and trying to mount an immune defense, she needs enough dietary protein to do both. Does on marginal nutrition lose the immune battle first, which is why thin does with poor body condition tend to carry the heaviest worm loads. Providing quality forage, browse, and a protein-rich concentrate during late pregnancy and early lactation gives your does the raw materials to rebuild their gut immunity faster after kidding.
Protecting Kids on Pasture
Deworming the doe at kidding is partly about the doe herself, but it’s largely about her kids. Young animals carry heavier parasite burdens than adults because their immune systems haven’t yet learned to fight worms effectively. Every egg the doe sheds onto pasture becomes a larva waiting on a blade of grass to be swallowed by a kid.
Beyond treating the doe, consider where you’re kidding and where kids will graze in their first weeks. Moving freshly kidded does and their kids to a clean or rested pasture reduces larval exposure significantly. If FAMACHA checks on your lactating does show scores trending upward, that’s a signal to move animals to safer ground, increase protein in their diet, and check the herd more frequently. Kids themselves can be FAMACHA-scored starting at a few weeks of age, giving you an early warning system before a young animal becomes dangerously anemic.