DISEASES OF GOATS: PREVENTION, CONTROL, AND MANAGEMENT

A major concern of responsible goat producers is the introduction of diseases onto their property. Prevention is of course the producer's desire, but realistically speaking, control and management are most likely to be goal.

Disease can enter the producer's farm or ranch from many sources. Introducing new animals is the usual avenue but definitely not the only way that illness finds its way into the herd.

1) Bringing new animals into the herd from offsite. Quarantine and handling procedures will be addressed in this article.

2) Offering stud service. This typically involves bringing other producers' does onto the property for service by an on-site buck.

3) Goat shows. A huge source of infection and illness, shows are like children's day-care centers -- incubators for disease.

4) Visitors. Infectious materials can enter on visitors' shoes, clothing, and hair; on the tires of their vehicles; in hay, water, tubs/buckets, feed and other supplies that visitors have brought with them.

5) Unclean conditions in pens and pastures.

6) Poor health management practices within the herd.

7) The producer's family members and pets.

Most producers are aware that they should quarantine new animals brought from outside the ranch property in order to protect their goats from whatever diseases the new animals might be carrying. However, the reverse is just as true: newly-introduced goats need to be protected from organisms present on the ranch to which they've never had their immune systems previously exposed. Recognize that these goats are on a new property in a changed environment and often in a much different climate from which they had been previously adapted for living. From the moment they left their previous homes, these new goats' immune systems are under constant assault.

Set up a pen and shelter sized to accomodate the producer's anticipated needs and locate it away from pens and pastures where healthy animals are regularly kept. The pen should be large enough to provide space for proper exercise and should have at least a three-sided shelter with roof to protect the new goats from bad weather. Nearby but not within this pen/shelter area, there should be several smaller gated pens and sheds where sick and/or contagious animals can be confined for observation and treatment. Place a shallow plastic cat-litter pan and a gallon of bleach outside each pen and require persons entering and exiting to wet the soles of their shoes in the bleach. The producer and all other persons handling these goats should consider using disposable gloves.

New and/or ill goats should be kept in appropriate parts of these "sick pens." Goats new to the ranch should be quarantined for a minimum of four weeks, during which time they should be dewormed, vaccinated, and otherwise examined, based upon the producer's management practices. If blood testing for specific diseases is part of the program, do it while the goats are in quarantine. If the tests come back positive and the new goats are already running with the main herd, exposure to disease has probably already occurred.

Offering breeding services on the ranch is an avenue for contamination. Before making a decision to offer such services, the producer should read this writer's Article entitled Pros and Cons of Offering Breeding Services on the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. A lot of decisions must be made and agreements put into writing before the first goat arrives on the servicing ranch.

Participating in goat shows is almost a no-win situation with regard to disease. The producer must take extraordinary precautions to protect both goats and human participants from exposure to contagious bacteria, viruses, and other organisms. Animals and people, both young and adult, present risks to all in attendance. Consult an experienced goat-show participant to find out what steps to take to protect you and your goats from taking "unwanted visitors" home with you. At the very minimum, sick goats and ill people should not attend shows and should not be allowed to participate. If they are, leave immediately. Don't even unload your animals. The health of your goats is much more important than a forfeited entry fee or a winning ribbon.

Visitors, relatives, children, pets, and even the producer can easily bring to the ranch infectious bacteria, viruses, and other organisms without ever realising it. Using a shallow plastic cat-litter pan and a bottle of bleach, the producer should have all visitors step through the solution. This is the very minimum protective action that goat ranchers should take. If the producer knows that visitors or family members have had direct access to goats from outside the ranch, then those folks should be asked to change clothes and shoes before they enter your property. A visit by kids to the 4H barn is a good source of contamination -- a fact that probably never crosses peoples' minds.

Unclean/unsanitary pens, feed troughs, and water containers are excellent sources of infection -- worms and coccidia oocysts thrive in these environments. Flies carry disease from goat to goat. Less often recognized is the exposure to disease that occurs when infective birthing materials are left in pens/pastures for healthy goats to contact. Infected placentas left lying around after birthing are transmitters of abortion diseases such as chlamydiosis; many other diseases are spread through placental material and mucous secretions. Footrot/footscald is highly infectious and contaminated ground very efficiently spreads these diseases. Viral-borne diseases such as some types of Pinkeye at quickly passed around in crowded herds. Caprine Arthritic Encelphalitis (CAE) is a viral disease that is spread through body fluids and mother's milk. Cutting open and draining an active Caseous Lymphadinitis (CL) abscess and exposing the exudate (pus) to other goats and the ground upon which they walk is one of the main ways that CL is spread throughout a herd. Reusing contaminated needles, syringes, and scalpels is another easy way to transmit disease.

Raising quality goats requires planning and hard work. Doing the planning part in advance will cut down on the amount of hard work each producer faces daily.

The author, Suzanne Gasparotto, hereby grants to local goat publications and club newsletters, permission to reprint articles published on the Onion Creek Ranch website under these conditions: THE ARTICLE MUST BE REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THE AUTHOR'S NAME, ADDRESS, AND CONTACT INFORMATION MUST BE INCLUDED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REPRINT. Acknowledgement must also be made that the articles were first published in GOAT RANCHER Magazine, for which Suzanne Gasparotto writes exclusively. We would appreciate notification from any clubs or publications when the articles are used. (A copy of the newsletter or publication would also be a welcome addition to our growing library of goat related information!)

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