How is BioWorma® sold?
BioWorma® is provided in two forms:
Ø Fungal spores for use by feed-mills as a manufacturing product and for sale by veterinarians.
- Ø A combination product with Livamol with BioWorma® that can be purchased by any animal owner over the counter or on-line. Livamol is a protein, energy, polyunsaturated oils, vitamin and mineral supplement that has been used for decades for show animals. Some produce merchants stock it.
How much do I need to feed and how often?
Both products are required to be fed daily for best results and so suits those goat owners that feed a grahat has been used for decades for show animals. Some in mix to their goats every day. The amounts of BioWorma® to be fed depends on the animals' weights and a 25 kg goatling or miniature goat gets 1.5 grams, a 50 kg dairy doe gets 3 grams and a 100kg buck would get 6 grams a day. The dose for the Livamol with BioWorma® product is 1 gram per kg bodyweight so the same goats would get 50 grams and 100 grams. Pure BioWorma® works out as less expensive and is the only product sold by Goat Veterinary Consultancies – goatvetoz, goatvetoz@gmail.com.
I don’t have any small scales so how much do I feed?
A guide is as follows:
· Small goat or kid of 25 kg – half a level teaspoon (1.5 grams)
· A 50kg goat – one level teaspoon (3 grams)
· A 100kg goat – 2 level teaspoons (6 grams)
Was there research done on Australian goats?
A research trial done with goats at Dayboro, Queensland in autumn showed that while worm larvae counts on the pasture in the control group given a placebo rose to 27,000 then dropped to 18,000 after 8 weeks, the larvae on pasture of goats fed BioWorma® stayed at zero for the full 8 weeks. This was an outstanding result and better than the good results from trials in other livestock.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=zo5y0dIjWlk BioWorma® can be used to make clean pastures with free larvae and hence control reinfestation of your goats with worms.
If one of my goats eats all the feed I put out for my small herd, will they get an overdose?
No – as the Bi?oWorma® just goes straight through the goats gut the goat won’t be affected. However the manure of the other goats will then allow larvae to escape and contaminate the pastures. BioWorma® suits small herds where goats are fed on a daily basis and every goat gets its fair share. Cost is also an important factor so it is more economic to ensure it is used correctly.
Will it kill the worms inside the goat’s gut?
No. This is why it is important to do a worm egg count on the faeces of goats before you start. This is why I offer a number of free worm egg counts when my clients first purchase BioWorma®. The barber’s pole worms already in the 4thstomach will not be killed and will continue to suck blood but they will eventually die of old age in around 50-70 days. There may also be some final stage larvae in hibernation in the gut wall if there are already a lot of adult worms already in the gut and this is more likely in winter. If the worm egg count is high then you must drench, even if feeding BioWorma®.
What is the With-Holding Period?
As these spores just go straight through the gut and are not absorbed by the goat, there is a NILwith-holding period for meat and milk. The fungal spores do not hatch inside the goat and pass out into the faeces where they start to grow.
Will BioWorma® kill the larvae already on the grass?
No unfortunately- only the larvae in the manure as the fungus doesn’t get out of the manure. This means your goats will still be getting new worms until all the existing worm larvae die off. In summer this can be as short as 2 months if daily maximums are above 35 C for barber’s pole worms but can be 6 months in winter when larvae are less active and hence do not use up their internal food stores. There are graphs available matching maximum daily temperatures with larval life (http://www.wormboss.com.au/tests-tools/management-tools/grazing-management/larval-survival-of-barbers-pole-worm.php).
Can it be sprayed on the pasture or will spreading the goats manure help?
BioWorma® is designed for the animal is the delivery vehicle for the fungus into the faecal pat. If it was used as a foliar spray the cost would prohibitive, it would not work as the fungus needs to be in direct contact with the parasitic larvae and it would largely be wasted. Spreading the goat manure onto pastures to spread the fungus won’t work either. BioWorma® relies on massive fungal spore doses so lots of fungus within the faeces to kill the vulnerable first stage worm larvae. The fungus is already in your soil as it occurs all around the world but in such low numbers it does very little.
