I found this interesting.... perhaps copper sulfate is the answer.
the link if you want to read the entire article is here:
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/press/cattletop10.htm about 2/3 of the way down on the page.....
Copper and worms
I have not used any proprietary drenches for just on 30 years now. Copper sulfate, with various additions, was used for many years prior to the advent of artificial chemical drenches in the late 1950s. The copper was mixed with either carbon tetrachloride (a very poisonous cleaning fluid), lead arsenate (another dangerous poison) or nicotine sulphate, which was possibly the safest of the three. I very much doubt if the reported deaths were often due to copper poisoning.
Copper toxicity causes liver damage which, if not treated, is fatal. We found out that when copper is administered with dolomite, there is little risk unless the cattle have been grazing heliotrope or some other weed high in copper like Patterson's curse or St. John's wort; however, if they had, the chance of a worm burden would be virtually nil, because of the high copper content of all three.
According to the Department of Primary Industry in Queensland, the blood serum levels of copper in a bovine should be between 500 and 1,100 milliliters per liter, at which levels worm infestations would be unlikely. In all cases of suspected worm infestation, a count should be taken either by the vet, or as many farmers the world over these days do, examining the manure with a microscope (a school quality microscope will do).
Long standing copper overload can apparently be corrected by giving the affected cow dolomite on a permanent basis. This can be given with an injection of vitamin B15 (10 cc), Pangamic acid (10 cc) and vitamin C (20 cc) in the same syringe once a week. This has been tried in the field on farms where too much copper has been spread on the land. For immediate copper poisoning, give the beast a tablespoon of dolomite and vitamin C powder by mouth every few hours, and 10 cc of vitamin B15 with 30 cc of sodium ascorbate (vitamin C) in the same syringe by injection. This can be given every few hours, although a calf that I first did this work on recovered fully in an hour and a half and further doses were not necessary. Signs of copper poisoning are misery and a hunched up appearance — in effect, acute belly ache due to liver pain.
According to Justine Glass, black animals need about six times as more copper than white ones. Consult the section on copper for deficiency signs.
Initially several friends who ran cattle, horses, sheep or goats experimented using copper instead of proprietary drenches, with very satisfactory results. The only controlled experiment was performed with goats and the Depart ment of Agriculture did the tests. Half were given the latest state-of-the-art drench (not Ivermectin), and half were given the copper sulfate/dolomite/vitamin C dose. The results were equal — 100 percent clear in both cases.
When I first started using copper sulfate instead of proprietary drenches, I could not find any guidelines and Dr. Albrecht, whose works show that copper prevents worm infestations, does not mention dosage quantities. A retired vet lent me a copy of the British Veterinary Codex (1952) and I was able to work out amounts from that source. I had reckoned that monogastrics need about half the amount on body weight that ruminants require; however, work done by the University of Minnesota on ponies and copper requirements suggests that equines actually top the list as far as copper requirement or tolerance goes.
I have discussed running copper through the diet with various vets and at least one did not have apoplexy, but was genuinely impressed and interested because to use his exact words, "We have come to the end of the line with proprietary drenches." That was 18 years ago and the situation has not improved with the years.
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then this article on the research of the worms and if you want to read this entire article here is the link:
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/cla ... ene07.html
but here are the recommendations and I find it odd that they recommend using copper sulfate on the field to kill the snails but recommend pharmaceuticals for the cattle...........
8. Diagnosis, Treatment and Management
1. Large, unembryonated eggs in feces
2. Triclabendazole has broad-spectrum activity against both adults and larval stages. Treated bait is effective in some areas to control flukes in wild populations
3. Rafoxanide kills immature flukes
4. Oxyclozanide kills adults fluke
5. Separation of cervids and livestock to prevent domestic animals from being heavily infected. Most infections in domestic animals occur as animals graze in contaminated wetlands
6. Removal of snails from buffer zones between cervids and livestock, which may include use of copper sulphate to kill snails or draining of some non-essential wetlands
7. Translocation of infected cervids from endemic areas into non-endemic areas should not be allowed
