Deworming Your Goats Naturally With Essential Oils 

I recently did a post on deworming goats naturally using powdered herbs. While herbal dewormer powders are great, sometimes goats need a little extra help. Essential oils are a great way to keep parasites down especially during those summer months when worms are at an all time high. Using essential oils along with a herbal deworming protocol can give your goat’s rumen an extra boost of protection during the higher parasite months.

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, I am not a vet and don’t claim to be one. Always consult with your vet to see what’s best for your herd. These statements have not be evaluated by the FDA.

If you raise goats you know that they aren’t necessarily the most resilient animals. They do require a lot of attention and up keep to stay in tip top shape. We herbal deworm our goats at least 3 times a week for maintenance and we also add in essential oils 2 out of those 3 days when doing our maintenance routine. 

Before starting our herbal deworming and essential oil protocol our herd was not healthy. We struggled and even lost a few goats to worms in our first year of farming. It was incredibly sad and a lot of tears were shed. We even wanted to give up because we couldn’t understand what we were doing wrong. I’m so thankful I ran into the giving goat on Instagram. She has saved our herd and even helped us through countless tough times. She is how I learned about essential oils for deworming, so many thanks to her! 

Always Use Caution When Deworming Goats Naturally With Essential Oils 

When using essential oils there are a few things to keep in mind. Some are ideal for deworming while others must be avoided and can be dangerous to goats especially while pregnant. I’m not an expert in essential oils but we have been using essential oils and herbal medicine for the past 7 years. Within those 7 years, we have learned a lot and built confidence while doing so! Always ask your goat mentor or vet for guidance if necessary.

Should I Deworm My Goats With Essential Oils?

Yes, I think it’s incredibly important and is a great tool to keep worms away. We have just used herbal deworming but I found better results once we incorporated essential oils into the mix along with the powders. I live in South Louisiana so parasites are terrible in our hot humid weather. Our goats need the extra parasite support that essential oils provide. 

Which Essential Oil Brand To Use On My Goats?

We use food grade oils that are tested for quality and purity. Always make sure you know where your oils come from and that they are tested for purity. A lot of store bought brands will add fillers to stretch the oils making them weak and ineffective. I personally love Hope Well for their purity and prices! I also love that it isn’t MLM and you don’t need to have a wholesale account to order from there. No strings attached whatsoever!

Which Essential Oils To Use When Deworming Goats Naturally?

We do the same essential oils each time we deworm. I will not use cinnamon or clove on pregnant goats as it is not safe for them. However cinnamon and clove are both GREAT for coccidia if your kids are struggling with that. It’s can even be used with over the counter coccidia prevention to help keep the babies immune systems strong and healthy while developing. 

We use:

• Orange 
• Lemon (or lemongrass either one)
• Oregano 
• Ginger
• Garlic 
• Clove (not on pregnant does)

We dilute these with olive oil and drynch it in their mouth. They absolutely hate it, I’m not going to lie! Honestly by the smell of it, I wouldn’t like it either BUT it keeps them alive and the taste only last a few minutes. 

Proper Dosage

Essential oils are strong! When using them please be cautious and never think that more is better. One drop of essential oil has so much potency to it! I used to think the more the merrier but that’s simply not the case and it can actually hurt the animal if you over do the essential oil dosage. 

What We Do:

You’ll only need one drop of essential oil per goat and to dilute you’ll want 2-3 cc’s of olive oil. So if I have 4 goats I do 12 cc’s of olive oil and add 4 drops of each essential oil. They would each get 3 cc’s of oil. 

For kids 4 weeks – 6 months you will only need a half drop in 2 cc’s of olive oil. So if you have two kids you can do just one drop of each oil  in 4 cc’s of oil and give them each 2 cc’s. 

I mentioned we deworm herbally 3x a week and use essential oils 2 days out of the 3 as maintenance. If you are just getting started it’s best to start with 5 days in a row of herbal powders and 3 of those 5 days give essential oils as well. Once you’ve done that, you can start with maintenance like we do. Once a month I will start back with the loading dose and do 5 days a week with 3 of those days using essential oils.

Can You Use Essential Oils Topically On Goats?

Yes you can! This is sort off topic but I figured it may be helpful to someone. If you have a sick goat or a goat who’s not acting right you can apply essential oils to their hooves or to their rumen. I’ve heard of many goat owners using essential oils on udders as well. I’ve seen some use garlic, ginger, and oregano oil topically on a goat’s udder for mastitis 3-4x a day. I would imagine it works great to rid the udder of infection along with giving the goat internal support as well to fight off infection.

We had a goat who had an upset rumen and wasn’t acting like herself so we applied peppermint essential oil topically over her rumen with a carrier oil and it was able to get her rumen working along with the herbal powders we use. I’m not 100% sure on peppermints safety with pregnant goats so always use caution. Peppermint can be used to dry off a doe in milk so just note that and do what you feel is right or ask your vet. I would feel safe using oregano or ginger topically on a pregnant goat if needed. 

We have even used peppermint and oregano  on a baby goat who’s rumen seemed upset. It seemed to do the trick and get them strong enough so we could figure out what was going on! 

Essential Oils In Goats 

As you can see it is so simple using essential oils for deworming your goats. This and herbal deworming work hand in hand at keeping your goats worm load gone. These oils and herbs mentioned in my herbal deworming post are not only helpful for deworming but also for keeping your goats immune system strong. You’ll notice as you implement these protocols you’re goats will be healthier and their bodies will be stronger. Just like humans, when we give our immune system what it needs to thrive, it can thrive in any environment easily! 

Do you deworm your goats naturally with essential oils? Which oils have you tried with your goats? Let me know in the comments below!