Common Goat Diseases and What to Do

PPR (पिपिआर) — the biggest killer

A highly contagious viral disease that spreads through close contact and shared feed and water. A high proportion of infected goats die, and there is no cure — treatment is supportive only.

• •Signs: high fever, discharge from nose and eyes, sores in the mouth, watery diarrhoea, rapid weight loss, laboured breathing.
• •Do immediately: isolate the animal, stop all movement of goats on or off the farm, call a vet.
• •Treatment: no cure for the virus. A vet may treat secondary bacterial infection and support the animal with fluids.
• •Prevention: annual vaccination. This works, it is cheap, and it is the whole answer.

Pneumonia — the monsoon killer

Usually triggered by damp bedding, draughts, sudden temperature changes or overcrowding. It progresses quickly and kills, particularly in kids.

• •Signs: coughing, fast or laboured breathing, nasal discharge, fever, off feed, standing with the head lowered.
• •Do immediately: move to dry, well-ventilated shelter out of draughts. Call a vet the same day.
• •Treatment: antibiotics prescribed by a vet. Early treatment matters enormously here.
• •Prevention: dry bedding, air moving above the animals but no draught at floor level, and no overcrowding.

Enterotoxemia — kills the best kids

Caused by bacteria that multiply rapidly when there is a sudden increase in grain or concentrate. It typically strikes the fastest-growing, best-fed kids, often with no warning.

• •Signs: sudden death, or a kid off feed with stomach pain, kicking at the belly, diarrhoea and collapse.
• •Do immediately: cut concentrate for the whole group, then reintroduce over 7 to 10 days. Call a vet for affected animals.
• •Treatment: rarely successful once advanced — which is why prevention is the entire strategy.
• •Prevention: vaccinate, and never increase concentrate suddenly. Keep roughage as the base of the diet.

Bloat — an emergency measured in minutes

Gas builds up in the rumen faster than the goat can release it, and the pressure eventually stops it breathing. Common after a sudden feed change, wet legume-heavy grazing or too much grain.

• •Signs: left side of the stomach visibly swollen and hard, obvious distress, laboured breathing, unwillingness to stand still.
• •Do immediately: get the goat up with its front legs raised higher than its back legs, keep it walking, and call a vet at once. Do not force anything down the throat unless a vet has told you to.
• •Treatment: a vet relieves the pressure. This is genuinely urgent.
• •Prevention: introduce feed changes gradually; avoid turning hungry goats onto wet legume pasture.

Diarrhoea and coccidiosis in kids

Diarrhoea in young kids has several causes, but coccidiosis — a gut parasite that thrives in damp, dirty bedding — is among the most common and most damaging.

• •Signs: watery diarrhoea, sometimes dark or bloody, straining, poor growth, dull coat, weakness.
• •Do immediately: isolate, clean and dry the bedding, provide clean water with electrolytes to prevent dehydration.
• •Treatment: specific anti-coccidial medication from a vet. Ordinary dewormers do not treat coccidiosis.
• •Prevention: dry bedding, clean feeders raised off the floor, avoid overcrowding kids.

Foot and mouth disease (खोरेत)

• •Signs: blisters and sores in the mouth and on the feet, drooling, lameness, reluctance to eat.
• •Do immediately: isolate. Offer soft feed and clean water. Contact a vet.
• •Treatment: supportive — keeping the animal eating and preventing secondary infection of the sores.
• •Prevention: vaccination, and strict quarantine of new arrivals.

Foot rot

• •Signs: limping, hot swollen foot, foul smell between the toes.
• •Do immediately: move to dry ground. Clean and trim the hoof.
• •Treatment: hoof trimming plus topical treatment; a vet may add antibiotics.
• •Prevention: dry flooring and regular hoof trimming. Standing in wet muck is the cause.

Mastitis

• •Signs: hard, hot, swollen udder; abnormal or absent milk; the doe refusing to let kids suckle.
• •Do immediately: keep the udder clean, separate the kids if the doe will not feed them, contact a vet.
• •Treatment: antibiotics from a vet. Note the milk withdrawal period before any milk is used.
• •Prevention: clean, dry bedding and prompt attention to udder injuries.

External parasites — ticks, lice and mites

• •Signs: scratching and rubbing, hair loss, scabby skin, visible ticks or lice, anaemia in heavy infestations.
• •Do immediately: treat the animals and the shed together — treating only the goats leaves the shed to reinfest them.
• •Treatment: an appropriate external parasite treatment from a vet or agrovet.
• •Prevention: clean dry bedding, regular inspection, and treating new arrivals during quarantine.

Keep a farm first-aid box

• Clinical thermometer
• Electrolyte / oral rehydration powder
• Antiseptic solution and clean cotton
• Hoof trimming shears
• Disposable gloves
• Clean syringes and needles
• A notebook for dates, temperatures and treatments
• Your vet's phone number written on the shed wall