Copper Oxide Wire Particles for Deworming

Managing internal parasites in sheep and goats requires a multi-faceted approach.  Good pasture management practices, feeding an appropriate diet, using certain forages such as sericea in your pasture, preventing overstocking of animals on the pasture, and using appropriate dewormers to combat drug resistance are all tools we have to combat the issue.

Another tool that you may not be using is Copper Oxide Wire Particles.  These capsules, available in 2 gram and 4 gram boluses, dissolve in the goat’s abomasum (stomach) and have been shown to kill the adult barber pole worm.  When used appropriately and typically in combination with dewormers, we can often kill more of the adult worms than when used without dewormers.  We recommend only using 2 gram boluses and following instructions recommended in the article below.

See this handout from the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control: Best Management Practices for Controlling Internal Parasites in Small Ruminants: Copper Oxide Wire Particles