SHOULD I USE LYE TO DEWORM MY SHEEP & GOATS?? NO!!!!!!!

By Dr. Beth Johnson, DVM

Recently there has been increased interest on the social front encouraging producers to use Lye (sodium hydroxide) as a dewormer.  PLEASE do the research; there is no evidence that it works as a dewormer. While lye is a strong alkali with high pH, the concentration needed to kill worms would also be lethal to the animal, and digestive acids and buffers in the animal's gut would reduce the lye's effectiveness anyway.  A 1% sodium hydroxide solution, which was used in a study, has a pH of around 13.4 — strong enough to cause serious internal damage if ingested.  Unfortunately there is not enough information given by the social media front on the effects to sheep or goat intestinal tract!!!!

It is important to understand the ruminant animal’s digestive tract. They have an esophagus that swallows and regurgitates food for further digestion along with saliva that is mixed in with the food to buffer the rumen to maintain a neutral pH. Also, within the rumen is a dense population (microbiome) of protozoa, bacteria and fungi which assist in fermenting food. This fermentation breaks down plant material like hay and grass into volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are the animal's main source of energy, and also synthesizes B vitamins, protein, and vitamin K which are absorbed through the ruminal wall. When lye (very strong alkaline) is given, not only does it cause damage to the mucosal lining of the esophagus  and rumen but it will change the microbiome and well being of the animal and may lead to death.

What has shown to be an effective dewormer strategy is good nutrition that leads to an effective immune system which does help with parasite resistance. A good parasite control program established with the help of your veterinarian, and a good fecal testing program goes a long way to help with the control and treatment of intestinal parasites using approved nonlethal treatments.  Please do your research!!!!!

Eastern Alliance for Production Katahdins provides this information- https://easternalliancekatahdins.com/why-you-should-not-use-lye-as-a-dewormer/

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Dr. Beth Johnson is a Staff Veterinarian in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and has 40 years of experience raising and treating small ruminants. Her family farms in Parksville, KY where she raises Gelbvieh cattle and Boer goats.