A HERDSMAN'S HANDBOOK FOR THE MODERN HOMESTEADER

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» DRASTIC AND NOT SO DRASTIC PARASITE TREATMENTS

"Cu-Nic Solution", administered at proper intervals and used in conjunction with an overall program of sound management practices, will satisfactorily control most of the commonly encountered ruminant roundworms and tapeworm.

This solution can be easily prepared at home. Dissolve one ounce (by weight) of copper sulfate crystals or powder in three quarts of soft water. It may be necessary to heat the water to get all the crystals to disperse. When the mixture has cooled, add one fluid ounce of 40% nicotine sulfate (Black-Leaf Leaf 40).

This Cu-Nic solution is administered orally, as a drench, at the following rates: sheep and goats, one fluid ounce for each 20 pounds of body weight, to a maximum dose of four ounces; calves, two to four ounces: yearling cattle, four to six ounces; adult cattle, 12 to 16 ounces. If necessary. the dosage can be repeated at 30-day intervals.

Lead arsenate in doses of up to two grams in mature cattle has been used to kill tapeworms, but I consider this a pretty drastic remedy for no more trouble than tapeworms usually cause.

Most adult flukes can be removed from a ruminant's bile ducts by drenching the animal with a hexachloroethane-bentonite solution at the rate of 20 cc's for each 100 pounds of body weight. This can be very drastic and I suggest you consult your vet if flukes are a problem.

Many commercial wormers are now available, and they do have two distinct advantages: [1] they can be administered in the afflicted animal's feed and [2] they're more effective against the worm's immature stages. Some of these chemicals (systemics) are actually absorbed into a treated ruminant's system and will kill parasites that are not even located in the digestive tract. I can't help but wonder what effect these chemicals have on the people who later eat the meat and drink the milk from such an animal.

Of the newer wormers, thiabendazole is probably the best compromise between safety and efficacy. A recent report in the October 1972 issue of VETERINARY MEDICINE & SMALL ANIMAL CLINICIAN evaluating the use of thiabendazole and another drug—levamisole HCl—in commercial feed-lot cattle stated that the thiabendazole increased the efficiency of the cattle over that of the controls, but the use of levamisole HC1 resulted in a decrease in efficiency (even when compared to the untreated, wormy control animals). The second drug apparently killed just as many worms, but it also seemed to have a rather pronounced growth inhibiting effect. The manufacturer doesn't seem to mention that fact in his advertising.

» PARASITE PREVENTION

Now that we have the animals reasonably free of internal parasites, let's keep them that way. As with other diseases, prevention is of the utmost importance and the basic reason for any control measure is to limit the livestock's exposure to infective larvae. This is especially true for animals that are young, stressed, sick . . . and for those that have not yet had a chance to build a solid resistance.

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