The 3 Most Common Diseases in Goats

The 3 most common diseases you must know when raising goats. As your goats grow, keeping them healthy is crucial. By investing into How to Raise a Baby Goat Course, gives you all the guidance, help, and well informed videos to keep your success with healthy goats, and save you a vet bill. The course will help you prevent, treat, and be knowledgeable in common goat diseases and the overall health of your goats.

Coccidia

Coccidia is a protozoa parasite it is more common in young and newborn goats. It is a main killer to babies. It is when food, water, and their shelter is contaminated by their feces.

Symptoms Severe diarrhea, loss of appetite, and dehydration.

Prevention Keep bedding cleaned, water fresh, proper nutrition, and young babies by themselves away from the adults to avoid contamination. A clean pen is critical. However, the stress of weaning, relocating, over crowding, and cold weather will bring on coccidia. Anytime diarrhea is present, send in fecal samples. Know your geographic location for parasite load. IF you are Not treating Coccidia you are growing a small goat. Here you will be informed how to add products to their diet to prevent as babies, save money on vet bills, and also know where to send fecal samples. Furthermore, If you want healthy goats you have to treat as they grow. Invest in How to raise a baby goat and feel confident how you raise and love your goats.

Treatment Fecal sample testing, over the counter medication. Persistent diarrhea should be treated.

More information on Coccidia.

Hoof Rot

Hoof Rot is a contagious bacterial infection of the hooves of goats and other ruminant species in the soil. For instance, hooves untrimmed allows moisture in feet, then grows bacteria and contaminates the soil.

Symptoms Hooves that get irritated and cause sores (scald) will smell of rot.  Loss of weight, lameness, limping, and graze on front knees.

Prevention Keep a regular maintenance plan to trim hooves, we recommend the Goat Hoof Trimming Kit to make your trimming easy, accessible, and have great quality tools. To make the process less stressful, check out our Goat Stanchion easier on your back and no extra hands. In addition, clean, dry pasture and bedding is essential, theses feeders will help keep hooves dry and out of the muck. When relocating, verify the goats hooves are healthy so no contamination.

Treatment Iodine and Zinc sulfate solutions used to treat, as well as antibiotics with a vet recommendation. Keep trimming hooves and disinfecting the tools.

More information on Hoof Rot.

Urinary Calculi

Urinary calculi is the #1 killer in goats, it is a build up of either phosphorus (struvite) stones or calcium oxalte stones inside the bladder. The stone then comes through the urethra, plugs the penis, they can’t urinate, and the bladder explodes. Unfortunately, It is a painful excruciating death for 3 days till he dies of a toxemia of a bladder infection.

Symptoms Watch for lameness, anxiety, tail twitching, loud vocals, and the look of constipated.  Also drops of bloody urine with crystals attached to preputial hairs and small streams of urine will likely have.

Prevention Proper balance of calcium & phosphorus in diet. Open minerals to regulate lots of water intake to dilute and wash the micro stones away. No grain in the diet from birth. Get water tested for minerals, specifically Calcium Carbonate.

Treatment Surgery if caught early. Prevention is key to your goats overall health through nutrition.

More information on Urinary Calculi

Check out packgoats.com, Swag Hunting with Pack Goats T-Shirt a portion of all these sales will be going to research for the Urinary Calculi issue that all our boys face.  Buy a shirt and help the cause.  Cheers Marc

In Conclusion

Coccidia, hoof rot, and urinary calculi can be prevented. Investing in a course will give you the guidance, help, and information to have the success to keep your goats healthy.

Check out this video for more information on our courses here