Common Goat Health Issues

Coccidiosis - Results in loose or runny stool.  Help treat with feed containing Deccox® or Rumensin®

Worms - Usually from grazing on pasture with infected droppings from other goats.  Work with your veterinarian to develop a good deworming program.  Products like the OptiCare® Rumatel pellets can help make this an easy job.

Urinary Calculi (Stones) - These are stones that form in the urinary tract and can cause blockage especially in wethers.  Addition of ammonium chloride in the feed (will show on a tag as a non-protein nitrogen source, NPN helps keep the environment in the urinary tract in a condition that helps prevent the formation of stones.

Pregnancy Toxemia - During the last third of pregnancy, rumen gets displaced due to the developing kid so the doe cannot digest as much food.  Adjust diet to have less fiber and more energy.

Enterotoxemia - Occurs primarily in young, rapidly growing animals usually resulting in sudden death.  For prevention, does should receive a C&D perfringens toxoid injection late in pregnancy and kids should receive an antitoxin at birth and then continue as directed with vaccinations.

CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis) - Viral disease usually spread from older animals to newborns through nursing.  May affect strength in rear legs and/or cause swelling in joints.  If a kid is born to a CAE positive mother, remove immediately after birth and give colostrum from CAE negative mother.

Bacterial Mastitis - Sub Clinical Mastitis is the most common reason for culling an animal from a herd.  Treatments during the drying off period may help.  Keeping the udder clean and dry (minimizing mud), selectively breeding for the correct udder and teat size and culling chronic problem animals will help with the herd.  Dairy animals may benefit from teat dips.

Other problems may include uterine prolapsed, bloat, foot rot, enterotoxemia and/or ringworm.  Good communication between you, your feed representative and your vet is necessary to help keep your animals in great health.