(feedback)

Our new management technique will be extensive and be heavily influenced by trying to migrate to a herd of Boers that are more resistant to the Internal Parasites.  Our program will include recent information  on Managing the Barber Pole Worm from article written by  Joan Burke - Research Animal Scientist.

• We have five different small pastures for rotating our animals in.
• Our management is strongly built around our Monthly Management Review
• We will focus heavily on worming by exception
• During our Monthly Review, each animal's eyelid membranes will be check for color and assigned a value of 1-3. We do not use the FAMACHA charts because we don't think most people can tell the difference of 5 different shades of the membranes. Plus we believe that the breeder has to understand for their self  what the different shades mean by doing their own fecal tests after reviewing the membranes of their own animals.
  • 1- membrane shows dark pink color indicating little to no worm problem
  • 2 - membrane shows medium to light pink color indicating some worm problem but no treatment to be given
  • 3 - membrane shows pale to white color indicating worm problem that requires immediate treatment. Animal will be wormed at that time.
• At the same Monthly Review, the body/coat condition will also be checked and assigned a value of 1-4.
  • 1 - shiny coat and good body condition
  • 2 - dull coat and ok body condition
  • 3 - rough coat and some weight loss
  • 4 - rough coat and extreme weight loss.
• Animals will not be put into pastures while grass is wet from dew or rain. They will be turned into pasture as the day warms up and there is no wet grass.
• If the pasture will not be dry during the day, hay will be fed instead of grazing.
• Animals will be moved from one pasture to another based upon grass status and availability not on prior worming of animals.
• Any animal getting bottle jaw will be isolated until completion of treatment to minimize spreading their worms.
• 10 days after our Monthly Management Review, we will do a few sample fecal tests on animals that were labeled as 3 value and wormed. We want to validate that the wormer is working. We will continue to use the same wormer until it becomes ineffective.
• We will analyze the information we have collected during our Monthly Management Review related to the membranes and coat and body condition. This will be a critical test for which animals are put into our breeding program and which ones should be culled. The analysis will also review if specific bloodlines have a common resistance to worms...  e.g. a dam and her kids all showing resistance to worms. That would be a significant plus for a breeding herd program.