Conversation was brought up by wildlife biologist and I am not sure it would have any impact on the deer herd.

3500+ acres, Hill Country, low fence, exotics present.

I have seen some feeds that we could mix in with our protein. I have also seen people talk about adding ivermectin to the feed. Anyone have any advise? Don't do it? Do it?

i think they are mostly immune it seems. the only internal parasites I have witnessed were nasal bots, and they were in a very healthy deer.

I'm not sure adding the dewormer to the feed will really make a difference in a wild herd. Dear breeders add it to their feed because they have small deer populations in small pens, Whicj results in a higher likelihood of parasite transmission.

DVM

No particular need to do so.

DVM, can more correctly comment on this but ivermectin, only kills certain types of intestinal parasites I believe.

Whips are left out? Don't know if deer can get whip worms though.

I think ivermectin kills/attacks most if not all helmenths? Any vets?

What Manny said. I couldn't imagine the deer in a wild herd needing it. Most of the feeds that know of use febendazol as a wormer and it is pretty safe.

We feed the Purina Deer Chow dewormer every Spring and again in fall. It cant hurt, and the deer eat it. We started doing this back about 10 years ago at the request of Chris Huey who was our biologist at the time.

Gil '91

are they livestock?

gwellis, I agree, it's not hurting anything, but is it making a difference? The goal of any dewormer is to improve herd health via parasite control. So, unless you have a parasite issue that is causing poor herd health, I'm not sure where the benefit is. Most deer breeders have hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in their herds, hence the deworming regularly, even if not needed.

DVM

Wouldn't you want your native deer to fight it naturally? Feeding it unnecessary could help parasites eventually build immunity to the very thing you'll need if there ever is an outbreak.

Pen raised or confined probably need it.

Excellent insight guys! Really appreciate the feedback.

Gwellis,

How much does that feed run a bag and how do you disperse it? If it isn't too expensive, we might consider experimenting with it.

Thanks guys!

Actually it could hurt by creating resistant species of parasites. If you think you have a parasite problem you might want to consult with your veterinarian about about doing worm egg counts on some feces which is common in other species. In horses we are changing our attitudes about routine deworming and looking at evaluating the problem prior to treating.