This strategy describes when to use strategic drenches and how to decide when tactical/therapeutic drenches are needed.

Structured reading

For those who like to see all the information and simply read through it in order. Each heading is a link to a page of information—the dot point provides a summary of the page.

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Rangelands: When to test and when to drench
The times for routine worm testing and drenching in this region. Not all testing or drenching is routine; other times to do these are recommended by the Drench Decision Guide, according to details you provide about your mob of goats.

Rangelands: Drench Decision Guide
This tool recommends whether a mob should be drenched, the length of protection warranted and when to worm test again. It is your day-to-day tool on drenching decisions that should be used in conjunction with the annual program of routine testing and drenching times.

The DDG tool steers you through a series of questions about your goats; choose the answer that applies to your mob (or make up your own scenario).

Question and answer

For those who prefer a problem based approach to learning, answer the following questions.
Each of the questions below links further down the page to the answers.

Questions:

1. What is the purpose of a strategic drench?
2. Which classes of goats receive a routine (strategic) drench, and when?
3. The online Drench Decision Guide (DDG) for Rangelands assists you to decide whether a mob of goats should be drenched now and when to test again. Open the DDG and answer the questions it offers based on the scenario (from below) that you are using. Try at least three of the following scenarios.

• This year I am going to wean kids and supplement to try and get them to slaughter weight quicker. I took faecal samples and the WEC came back at 300 epg.  I am not in a barber’s pole worm area.
• I have a group of bucks that are kept separate at the moment. I have just received the following results- 500 epg and larval culture of 70% barber’s pole worms.
• I have cashmere goats and as I am due to shear them in the next few weeks, I did a WEC myself and found that the pregnant does had 400 epg.  I won’t handle them again until the kids are due for marking. 
• A flood is forecast and it is unlikely I will be able to muster and am worried about my goats because a recent worm egg count showed 800 epg.  Past larval cultures have shown that I am not in a barber’s pole worm area.
• Due to unseasonal rains there is a lot of green grass rather than the normal browse. So I did a WEC which showed 200 epg.
• I run Angora wethers on my property in the pastoral region. None are showing any signs of worms but a WEC showed 300 epg and the larval culture was 80% Trichostrongylus worms.

Answers:

You can also click on each question below to go to WormBoss pages with related information.

1. What is the purpose of a strategic drench?

Strategic drench: a drench given at a critical time to goats that are susceptible to worm infection (e.g. weaners and pre-kidding does), and also given at times to reduce worm larval contamination of a pasture that will be grazed by the drenched goats over the following weeks or months. The goats themselves may have had a low worm egg count at the time of this pre-emptive treatment.

2. Which classes of goats receive a routine (strategic) drench, and when?

In this region there are only three situations when drenches should routinely be given.

• When bringing new goats onto the property
• When extensive flooding is predicted to isolate goats
• When nodule worm has been found to be a problem on your property (pimply gut)

3. The online Drench Decision Guide (DDG) for Rangelands assists you to decide whether a herd of goats should be drenched now and when to test again. Open the DDG and answer the questions it offers based on the scenario (from below) that you are using. Try at least three of the following scenarios.

• This year I am going to wean kids and supplement to try and get them to slaughter weight quicker. I took faecal samples and the WEC came back at 300 epg.  I am not in a barber’s pole worm area.
• I have a group of bucks that are kept separate at the moment. I have just received the following results- 500 epg and larval culture of 70% barber’s pole worms.
• I have cashmere goats and as I am due to shear them in the next few weeks, I did a WEC myself and found that the pregnant does had 400 epg.  I won’t handle them again until the kids are due for marking. 
• A flood is forecast and it is unlikely I will be able to muster and am worried about my goats because a recent worm egg count showed 800 epg.  Past larval cultures have shown that I am not in a barber’s pole worm area.
• Due to unseasonal rains there is a lot of green grass rather than the normal browse. So I did a WEC which showed 200 epg.
• I run Angora wethers on my property in the pastoral region. None are showing any signs of worms but a WEC showed 300 epg and the larval culture was 80% Trichostrongylus worms.

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Links to the learning topics for Rangelands

1. Introduction
2. Grazing management
3. Breeding for worm resistance
4. Worm testing
5. Drenching (you are currently on this page)
6. Drench resistance management
7. Goat worms