Gonna make my own herbal dewormer for goats....finally....

[freemotion]

Yeah, BB, I think she is dealing with a double-whammy....she was slightly wormy and I was checking her often, waiting on my herb order...then she got white bread, don't know how much, but it was the next day that she started getting lethargic (yesterday...I checked on her up until midnight) and today she was really bad.

That is some good info on the plants, too, thanks! I did not know that about the plant families...now something in the article from Karen's link makes more sense...that commercial herbal dewormers often have too many plants from the same family that all do the same thing, rather than supportive herbs. Your list, wormwood, mugwort, tarragon...those are all ones I've seen on ingredient lists.

What do you know about hyssop? And are you saying that mint is anthemintic?

Tannins....acorns and oak leaves?

The farmer told me that the deer that eat his pumpkins go mostly for the seeds. He was very interested when I told him they were a dewormer.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Free, I have been reading Barron's Goat handbook and When you mentioned that Maya got some white bread it reminded me of something I just read.
Acid Rumen: Cause: If a goat too quickly eats an unusually large quantity of easily digested starch- or sugar-rich food, such as bread, wheat, sugar beets, concentrated food, and so on, an excess of acid can develop in the rumen.
Sign of Illness: The goat is apathetic, its head droops and it acts somewhat as if it were drunk. It can also bloat.

Hope she is doing better.

 

[Blackbird]

There are sage varieties in both of those families, common sages (garden, white, Russian, broadleaved) are in the Lamiaceae family, but there are also different sages, in the Artemisia family. They both contain the beneficial volatile oils though.
Yes a lot of herbal de-wormers have plants from the same families, but they differentiate in other good ways too, so it isn't always a bad thing.
So yes, some mints are definitely anithelmintic. Out of your initial list, Rosemary and Thyme are both in the Lamiaceae genus.

Did you know, the moon Goddess Artemis, (where Artemisia comes from) is a 'patron' of deer(cousin of the goat), cypress trees, and hosts powers of healing. Cypress and many other trees on the pine type are great de-wormers too. Coincident? I think not. But then I'm kind of loony anyway.

I'm wondering if acorns might have too much tannin.. I'm not sure on that one. I did a quick search about tannins and deworming and this was a result, I thought it was interesting; http://www.smallstock.info/tools/disease-nutrition/7424.htm

This reminds me, on a goat forum I used to be on, a guy said that his grandfather used to de-worm his horse and goats with tobacco. I know nicotine can be deterring to many insects, and after a search on it, it also contains forms of anabasine which has been used as an insecticide. So it just makes sense that it would have anithelminitic properties.

"It's alright.. It's organic!"

 

[FarmerDenise]

I think different oaks have different levels of tannins.
My neighbor has been feeding his goats the acorns from our californa oaks as well as the leaves. So far my goats have only gotten the leaves.
Artemisia is an herb I grow, because I honor the Goddess Artemis. Also because I like the way it looks and smells.
I belive fennel is also used for worming purposes. My goats love to nibble on it.

About the only thing on your origianl list that I don't have growing here is the psyllium seed.
I also don't have black walnut, but I do have walnut. I wonder if it would still work.

I think I'll just try and let the goats nibble on different "deworming" plants after I run out of Molly's, more like they would in a natural setting, but I might want to make up something to use on the chickens and for my cats. It has worked well for them too.

I really need a mircoscope.

 

[Blackbird]

Oh me too Denise! I LOVE Artemisia Vulgaris (Mugwort), every time after I have it in tea my dreams are way more vivid and memorable, which really helps because by the time I wake up I rarely remember them.

 

[Javamama]

I have seen cayenne mentioned in formulas - don't know if the goats would have a problem with the taste/heat. Small amounts would probably be fine for them.

 

[TanksHill]

Wow very interesting and informative read. I remember reading about the tobacco connection as well. Do any of you use Grapefruit seed extract for deworming? Just wondering.

g