Each livestock species is vulnerable to different parasites. The world of parasite control is constantly changing, and your veterinarian is your best ally to determine which parasites are impacting your herd and how to deal with them using medications and farm-management techniques.
Read below to find out what worms might be living in your barnyard and what anthelmintics—drugs used to combat internal parasites—might best control them. You’ll find these anthelmintics in different deworming medications. Don’t forget that many of the parasites listed below could be resistant to many of the dewormers listed. Follow veterinary recommendations to have your animals tested and treated accordingly.
 |
Cattle
Parasite: Stomach worm and lungworm
Anthelmintics: levamisole, fenbendazole, oxfendazole, albendazole, eprinomectin, doramectin, ivermectin, moxidectin
Parasite: Tapeworm
Anthelmintics: oxfendazole, albendazole
Parasite: Common liver fluke
Anthelmintic: clorsulon
 |
Swine
Parasite: Large roundworm (Ascarids)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, fenbendazole, levamisole, pyrantel, dichlorvos, piperazine (adult stage); fenbendazole (migrating, infective); fenbendazole, pyrantel (infective)
Parasite: Whipworm
Anthelmintics: fenbendazole, dichlorvos
Parasite: Nodular worm
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, fenbendazole, levamisole, pyrantel, dichlorvos, piperazine
Parasite: Lungworm
Anthelmintics: fenbendazole, ivermectin, levamisole
Parasite: Kidneyworm (adult)
Anthelmintics: fenbendazole, levamisole
Parasite: Kidneyworm (larvae in liver)
Anthelmintic: fenbendazole
Parasite: Lungworm
Anthelmintic: fenbendazole
Parasite: Strongyloides
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, levamisole
 |
Poultry
Parasite: Roundworm (Ascarids)
Anthelmintics: albendazole, ivermectin, levamisole, piperazine
Parasite: Cecal worms
Anthelmintics: albendazole, ivermectin, levamisole
Parasite: Threadworms (Capillaria)
Anthelmintics: albendazole, ivermectin, levamisole
Parasite: Tapeworms
Anthelmintic: albendazole
Parasite: Coccidia (Eimeria)
Anthelmintics: Vaccinate newly-hatched birds.
Note: Piperazine is the only dewormer approved for poultry. Other chemicals may be prescribed off-label by a veterinarian.
 |
Horses
Parasite: Large strongyle (Strongylus vulgaris, S. equinus and S. endentatus) or bloodworm
Anthelmintics: broad-spectrum dewormers for adult stages, moxidectin, ivermectin and fenbendazol (administered at double dose for five days in a row) for migrating phase
Parasite: Small strongyle (cyathostome)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin and moxidectin for adult stages and moxidectin and fenbendazole (administered at double dose for five days in a row) for the adult and encysted stage. Ninety-five percent of populations have an inherited resistance to benzimidazole and 50 percent to pyrantel, so check with your vet before using a dewormer from this group.
Parasite: Roundworms (Ascarid)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin, fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate
Parasite: Bot (Gasterophilus intestinalis)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin.
Parasite: Pinworm (Oxyuris equi, common pinworm; Probstmayria vivipara, minute pinworm)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin, fenbendazole
Parasite: Tapeworm (Anoplocephala perfoliata, A. magna)
Anthelmintics: praziquantel
|
Small Ruminants
Parasite: Barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortis)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin, levamisole, fenbendazole, albendazole
Parasite: Small brown stomach worm (Ostertagia circumcinta)
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin, levamisole, fenbendazole, albendazole
Parasite: Tapeworm
Anthelmintics: benzimidazoles
Parasite: Lungworm
Anthelmintics: ivermectin, moxidectin
Parasite: Liver fluke
Anthelmintics: albendazole, clorsulon
Parasite: Coccidia
Anthelmintics: sulfa drugs, amprolium
Parasite: Meningeal worm or deer or brain worm (a parasite of the white tail deer; Paralaphostrongylus tenius)
Anthelmintics: anti-inflammatory drugs, levamisol, ivermectin, albendazole, fenbendazole, thiabendazole
Note: Only fenbendazole and rumatel are FDA-approved for use in goats. Other classes must be prescribed off-label by a veterinarian.
About the Author: Sharon Biggs Waller is an award-winning writer and author of Advanced English Riding (BowTie Press, 2007). She lives on a 10-acre farm in northwestern Indiana with her husband, Mark, 75 chickens, two Lamancha goats, two horses and an assortment of cats and dogs.
