Worms in goats are a common issue, and chemical dewormers are losing their effectiveness. Would you like to feed your goats an all-natural diet that has been shown by science to eradicate intestinal worms, coccidia, and even housefly larvae from goat manure? What if the diet also prevented bloating and decreased milking's somatic cell count? All of stuff is performed by Sericea Lespedeza!

I'm speaking with Tom Terrill, Ph.D., a professor of animal science and researcher at Fort Valley State University in Georgia who has been researching sericea lespedeza for more than ten years. Dr. Terrill discusses the best ways to feed your goats lespedeza as hay, pellets, or forage. Additionally, he offers advice on planting, cultivating, and harvesting lespedeza hay.

Here is a document that Dr. Terrill wrote regarding sericea lespedeza. Want to read more? Here are more than two dozen additional research and papers on sericea lespedeza, the most of which were written by Dr. Terrill or with whom she collaborated. hai lespedeza.

Fact Sheet

The American Consortium of Small Ruminant Parasite Control's main website,Wormx.info, has an unbelievable amount of information about parasite control that we also discuss in the podcast.

In the eastern United States and other parts of the world, some lespedeza cultivars grow naturally. You can purchase seeds and plant it in your pasture or hay field, though, if you aren't fortunate enough to have it growing naturally on your property.

Guidelines for using sericea lespedeza to treat your goats' parasites

1. Feed as 25% or more of the diet
2. For control of coccidia or barber pole worm, begin feeding at least two weeks prior to periods of stress, and continue to feed for at least six weeks afterwards
3. Susceptible animals include kids at weaning and does that have recently given birth