Common goat diseases, their remedies

Sheuneni Kurasha

Welcome dear reader to our column where we explore all things farming.

Last week I looked at goat farming, focusing specifically at biosecurity and health management protocols that farmers should follow in order to minimise exposure of their herds to potential sources of diseases.

Given that animals always fall sick from time to time, this week I am focusing on the most common diseases that affect goats and their remedies.

As a general rule, farmers should always identify sick animals, separate them from the rest of the head and treat them immediately. This is crucial because some diseases are contagious and can rapidly spread to other healthy animals on the farmer while others are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans.

Some of the major diseases in goats include pneumonia, bloat, diarrhoea and foot rot.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of the lung tissue with multiple causes in goats of all ages. In younger animals, various bacteria, viruses and parasites of the upper and lower respiratory tract are often responsible for development of pneumonia while in adult animals these same disease-causing agents can create pneumonia.

In goats, a systemic virus, the Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis Virus, can cause pneumonia and can affect multiple organs, including the lungs, brain, udder and the joints.

Some of the conditions that can predispose goats to pneumonia include overcrowded kraals with poor ventilation, poor sanitation which may result in urine and faeces can release gases that harm the respiratory tract and wet bedding can cause the animals to become cold, excessive dust, extreme variation in environmental temperature, for instance cold nights followed by hot days, stress during transportation, birthing, heavy milk production and weaning. In young animals, failure to get adequate amounts of colostrum (first milk) may also cause pneumonia.

The earliest sign of pneumonia is dullness, whereby the affected animal is less active than normal. Other symptoms include raised temperature-fever with a rectal temperature that is greater than 39.4 to 39.7 degrees Celsius, coughing with thick and dark nasal discharge, rapid or laboured breathing, falling behind from the flock.

There are no medicines available for treatment of viral infections. However, veterinarians may recommend certain antibiotics to be administered to the affected animal to either treat an existing bacterial pneumonia or prevent bacteria from causing pneumonia as a complication to a viral infection.

Since there is no treatment, prevention is key. There is need to have a clear understanding of the role of the causative conditions in development of pneumonia. Farmers should inspect the animals’ environment for any of the conditions that might cause pneumonia and correct these, including making sure that goats have dry bedding, good feed, clean water, and fresh air.

Bloat

Bloat in goats occurs when gas, which is a natural by-product of digestive fermentation, is trapped in the rumen instead of being expelled when the goat belches. Bloating in goats is a life-threatening condition.

Most common causes of bloat in goats include over-eating damp and very old fodder, legume pastures or crops and over-feeding feeds concentrate.

The symptoms for bloat include loss of appetite and bulging from left flank of belly which if tapped, sounds like a kettle drum, signs of pain such as grinding teeth, depression, striking legs and bleating and difficulty in breathing.

In terms of treatment, stomach tubing is one of the most common emergency procedures for treating dry bloat. Farmers can also hold the goat’s frontal legs and massage left flank of belly, drench oil or feed paraffin liquid or vinegar to the goat.

 Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea is very common in goats, especially small kids. It is important to note that diarrhoea itself is not an illness but rather a symptom of other health problems in goats. Before treating goats for diarrhoea, farmers must therefore, determine why the animals are scouring because it may as well be the body’s way of purging itself of toxicity. There are four major causative agents of diarrhoea in goats, namely bacteria, viruses, parasites, and management practices such as overcrowding, poor sanitation or overfeeding.

In small kids, diarrhoea could be caused by consuming impure milk, too much milk or colostrum. Changes in the environment may also trigger diarrhoea.

The symptoms include pain in belly, loss of appetite and watery faeces. Acute diarrhoea may result in dehydration and related problems.

In terms of treatment, the farmer must diagnose the real diseases and administer treatment accordingly. Where the goat is experiencing dehydration it should be fed adequate water and liquids.

Foot rot

Contagious foot rot disease in goats is caused by bacterial infection. The bacterias that cause contagious foot rot thrive in moist soils.

Infected goats’ hooves become painful, resulting in does not growing properly and bucks having difficulties in mating. Infected goats also start limping and experience inflammation between their hooves. Goats with foot rot struggle to stand up properly.

As part of the treatment protocol, sick goats should be quarantined from rest of the herd while attention is paid to maintaining hygiene in the kraals. Soap or iodine must be used for cleansing the infected hooves. Antibiotic can also be used when recommendation by the veterinarian.

Goats hooves should be trimmed when they get longer or rotten, especially for where pen feeding is used as opposed to grazing.

Paswera badza hapanyepi!

Till next week.

Sheuneni Kurasha is the owner of Chivara Farm which specialises in stud breeding in boran cattle, boer goats and damara sheep, as well as dairy farming. For feedback, kindly get in touch on email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +263 772 874 523.