Online Learning: Rangelands—Drench Resistance Management

A DrenchTest is used to assess the effectiveness of a number of drenches that you might use on your property in the next 2–3 years. The DrenchTest:

• Examines each drench’s effectiveness for each worm type present.
• Is the most accurate way to test for drench resistance.
• Uses the procedure called a Worm Egg Count Reduction Test or WECRT
• Should be conducted on each property every 2–3 years.
• If numbers of goats available is limited, then restrict the number of treatment groups or use DrenchCheck instead.

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The first WormTest within the DrenchCheck is done up to 10 days before a goat herd is drenched with a short-acting drench and the second is done exactly 14 days after the herd is drenched (testing earlier or later than 14 days can be inaccurate).

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Choosing drenches

1. Use drenches most effective on your property; ideally use those shown to reduce worm egg count by at least 98% as shown by a 
2. Use a combination of two or more drench groups as the chance of a worm being resistant to all active ingredients in the combination is much lower than for each individual active on its own. In goats, a veterinarian’s prescription will be needed to use many combination drenches, or use drenches that are registered for goats but from different drench families, one at a time, using separate drenching gear (do not mix drenches).
3. Rotate* among all effective drench groups each time a herd is drenched (and for each paddock). An effective drench from a different group may kill worms that were resistant to the last treatment. These may be worms that survived treatment in the goats  or were picked up from the paddock.
4. Use short-acting treatments most of the time. There is little need to use mid-length or long-acting treatments if goats are being moved to low worm-risk paddocks, but could possibly be needed for specific purposes or high worm-risk times of the year. Persistent products are not registered for goats and therefore in most states, a veterinarian’s prescription would be needed.
5. Choose a drench with an appropriate withholding period (WHP) and export slaughter interval (ESI) according to the time left before the goats may go to slaughter.

*When rotating drenches the current drench would ideally exclude any groups that were used the previous time. However, in practice, ensure the current drench has at least one effective active from a drench group that was not used the previous time.

Using drenches

1. Avoid unnecessary drenching
2. Calibrate drench guns to ensure the correct dose is delivered.
3. Calculate the dose based on the heaviest animals in the herd. Split groups of goats for drenching if there is a large weight range, so goats are not under-dosed.
4. Follow the label or ideally your veterinarian’s instructions to ensure correct dose and use of treatments.
5. After goats have been drenched, graze them initially on paddocks already contaminated with worms likely to be less resistant to drenches (except in the cases of paddocks that specifically being prepared as low worm-risk).

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‘Quarantine’ drench all goats (including bucks) new to the property as well as all new sheep, rams and alpacas.

With introduced goats, discuss with your veterinarian which drench actives can be used, their dose rates and withholding periods, including those drench actives not registered for use in goats, but which can be used with a veterinarian’s prescription. Use as many drench actives as you can on your new goats in a manner that your veterinarian has prescribed.

For introduced goats, use  a combination of no less than 4 unrelated drench actives with at least one of these being the newest drench actives: monepantel (e.g. Zolvix®) or derquantel (with abamectin—e.g. Startect®). This can be done using multi-active (combination) and/or single-active products concurrently—up the race with one product, then up the race again with the next.

Do not mix different drenches unless the label states you can, as different products may be incompatible.

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A combination contains two or more active ingredients that each targets the same worms. The chance of a worm being resistant to all active ingredients in the combination is much lower than for each individual active on its own.

A mixture contains two or more active ingredients, but the actives target different worms e.g. barber’s pole worms and tapeworm. These give the convenience of a single drench when quite different worms are targeted; however, they should be considered ‘single-active’ against each worm.

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• BZ or benzimidazole group (‘white’)
• LEV or levamisole group (‘clear’)
• ML or macrocyclic lactone group (sometimes called ‘mectins’)
• AAD or amino-acetonitrile derivative group
• SPIRO or spiroindole group
• OP or organophosphate group
• BZ or benzimidazole group (flukicide)
• SAL-P or salicylanilides/phenols group
• ISO or isoquinolone group

Note: there are only registered drenches for goats in the BZ, LV and ML groups, however a veterinarian may prescribe drenches from different families for your goats.

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