In a cruel twist of nature, hibernating worm larvae come to life immediately before a doe is ready to freshen , and they begin laying eggs in preparation for her kids to consume them once they begin foraging for solid food. Since food consumption is increased to produce milk for their newborns, lactating does are particularly damaged by these worms. Absent a fecal test to determine worm infestation, the goat producer can use a fairly reliable field test to check for worms. Pull the lower eyelid down. The inside of the lower eyelid should be red to bright pink in color if the goat is healthy.
Sluggishness occurs and death is near.
It is very difficult to bring an extremely anemic goat back to health. Goats are selective eaters. They prefer leaves and edible weeds. Forage close to goat pills tends to have an unattractive texture to goats, so they will browse elsewhere unless their choices are limited by drought or over-grazing. Under such conditions, if producers do not supplementarily feed their animals, they can be guaranteed of both worm infestation and probable death as goats will also eat plants toxic to them that they would not normally consume if they were living under better foraging conditions.