Two Mad Hatters Nigerians

01/31/2026

Another buck's CM result. Waiting on one more, buck's current owner has plans to test him.

01/29/2026

01/28/2026

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1318934190277670&id=100064833035387

Coccidia — Part 1
What It Is (and What It Is Not)
By Linessa Farms

Coccidia is one of those topics that causes confusion because most people picture parasites the same way — something living in the gut, stealing nutrients, and easily handled with a dewormer.

Coccidia is different.

Coccidia are protozoan parasites, not worms. In sheep and goats, the organisms involved are primarily Eimeria. These are microscopic, single-celled organisms, not visible parasites living freely in the gut.

A quick clarification that matters: coccidia are the organism; coccidiosis is the disease. Many animals can carry coccidia without ever developing coccidiosis.

That distinction matters more than people realize.

Unlike worms, coccidia are intracellular parasites. They don’t float around in the intestinal contents. They invade the cells lining the intestine and reproduce inside those cells as part of their life cycle.

This is why:
• standard dewormers don’t work
• f***l results can be misleading
• animals can have exposure without obvious illness

Most sheep and goats are exposed to coccidia early in life. Low-level exposure is normal. Adult animals often carry small numbers without showing disease. Presence alone does not automatically mean something is wrong.

Problems show up when exposure, stress, and immature immunity overlap — which is why coccidiosis is primarily a disease of young lambs and kids, especially during stress windows, such as:
• weaning
• weather changes
• crowding
• inconsistent nutrition
• wet or contaminated environments

One of the most common mistakes is thinking of coccidia as a “worm problem” that just needs the right product. It isn’t. To manage it well, you first have to understand how it actually works.

⸻

The Coccidia Life Cycle — Without Fancy Wording

Coccidia have two jobs:
survive outside the animal — and multiply inside the intestine.

Coccidia leave the animal in manure as oocysts (think: a tough, protected capsule). At this stage, they cannot infect anything yet.

Once manure sits around with moisture, air, and time, those oocysts change into an infective form. This is why wet bedding and dirty pens matter so much.

Young animals pick them up from bedding, feed contamination, water, or licking surfaces. Small exposures happen all the time. The problem is the amount and timing of exposure, not simple presence.

After being swallowed, coccidia enter the cells lining the intestine, mainly in the small intestine, and begin multiplying.

As they multiply, those cells rupture and neighboring cells are damaged. This is where growth issues often begin — sometimes before diarrhea ever appears.

New oocysts are then passed in manure, and the cycle repeats.

⸻

One key takeaway (very important)

Coccidia doesn’t live in the gut — it lives in the intestinal lining, and the environment determines how big of a problem it becomes.

This life cycle is why coccidia is a management problem first, and a medication problem second.

In Part 2, we’ll talk about what this process does to the intestine, and why some lambs and kids never quite catch up — even after treatment.

01/17/2026

I got a call on Wednesday, from a family that had purchased a doe from us about 5 years ago.
Her companion doe passed away. We brought her home.
Welcome back
Sinai Thunder Joy IntheMorning

01/16/2026

We had a buck come back as a carrier today. This buck only sired four kids before his career ended, and they’re still on our farm.
Regardless of his CM status, he was an absolutely beautiful boy. His kids are gorgeous, and will be tested soon!

TwoMadHatters VM Folklore (N/CM)

01/13/2026

I am sharing all of the CM test results we currently have. Both of the bucks we currently own, and all but one of our adult does were tested. The adult doe that hasn’t been tested was because (although she kidded for the first time in October of 2025) she did not deliver live kids, due to a “silent” uterine infection. Our priority - to begin with - was to test adults that had kidded or had sired kids here these last couple years.

We are beyond grateful to report that (so far) everything tested has come back N/N (Negative)

Here Be Goats Deus Ex Machina (N/N)
Here Be Goats ROD Huckleberry (N/N)
TwoMadHatters Golden Ticket 4*M/AR (N/N)
Hidden Palms 2Z Kerfuffles 4*M/AR (N/N)
TwoMadHatters Canary Diamond 6*M/AR (N/N)
Primrose Hill SD Taboo 7*M/AR (N/N)
Hidden Palms M Freckles (N/N)
TwoMadHatters 2P Dusky Jewel (N/N)
TwoMadHatters ST Lady May (N/N)

Per the above results, all of Jewel’s kids (2 by Huc, 1 by Deus) are N/N by parentage. We still have a few to test, and will post those results as we get them. We have ordered testing through ADGA for two bucks no longer in our herd, but with DNA on file, and will post results from both ADGA and GenSol as they come in.

01/05/2026

Different Parasite eggs under microscope

01/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16esC4DkKR/

This article is meant to open a dialogue and educate Nigerian Dwarf breeders about congenital myotonia (CM) by first discussing what is CM, what testing is available for CM, and what do the testing results mean. I will share a conversation with a breeder of Nigerian Dwarf and Nubian goats on how the...

10/12/2025

Artificial insemination (AI) of sheep and goats

Not AI (artificial intelligence)

https://www.sheepandgoat.com/_files/ugd/aded98_d81b2fb6b8b14c87ac0d2f32456648b3.pdf

https://www.flickr.com/photos/baalands/54842438320/

Infographics by topic
https://www.sheepandgoat.com/infographics

03/23/2025

https://www.sheepandgoat.com/_files/ugd/aded98_290535da271a408c8711e2f2bc7b627c.pdf

https://www.wormx.info/pper

https://www.wormx.info/_files/ugd/6ef604_a0e21c1f59714416af249bbd293a5e7a.pdf

02/05/2025

HUGE thanks to Ashlee Lyons and her mom, Chris, who came over and helped me disbud 13 kids today! It was great to get to visit, too!

01/24/2025

Jeez. This is me. Every. Single. Year.