Friday, June 8, 2007

Some Common Goat Problems.

These are some of the diseases your goat can get. I can tell you that I have had some of these in the past with my goats. I will tell you how I treated them and how I got the vet to treat them. I will also be posting some homemade solutions for some of these. REMEMBER; I AM NOT A VET. I can only tell you what I did to help or cure the situation.
bloat; excess gas in the stomach, watch for the goat to be kicking at stomach, grunting, laying down and getting up, slobbering, possibilty of some swelling. Try to balance out your feed rations. Try not to let the goats overeat. Make sure you keep the goat on its feet at all times if this occurs. You can also try rubbing his stomach to help relieve gas. You can drench(give medication through mouth) the goat with a mixture of 2 cups mineral oil with 1/4cup of baking soda mixed in 1 cup of water. You also need to go ahead and call your vet. This can cause death real quick.
CAE -caprine arthritis encephaltits; in adult goats, they will have stiff and swollen knee joints in the kids they will be weak in the rear end. This is a virus, make sure when you purchase your doe that she is cae- free. As I know of there is no cure for this. If your doe is cae, make sure the kid doesn't suck from her.
coccidiosis; if a goat has this they will have bloody diarrhae, weight loss, no appetite, no energy. Make sure your pen is clean , goats have clean water, this is a parasites and is usually found in goat droppings. You can buy a drug to give the goats called coccidiostat. Read the label on how to give.
Enterotoxemia; overeating disease. Watch for swollen stomach, fever, teeth grinding. This also leds to death. There is a booster shot that I give my kids that vaccinates for this.
Footrot; look or smell for smelly feet, ragged hoof, and sometimes grayish discharge. Make sure you keep the bedding clean and dry. I trim my goats hoofs every 4 wks. I will talk later on how to trim. When I bring new goats home or if I have been to a show and had to stall my goats. Before they are put into their pens at home, I mix a solution of bleach and water and dip their feet.
Sorry for this being short but I will continue on with this subject later on. Hope this is helping you some. If there is anything any of you can add please do so. That is the only way a person can learn goatkeeping. Have a good one.

3 comments:

Kim Campbell said...

Hi! The date is June 14th.

I won't be going to the Solstice Ceremony. HOpefully, though, I'll be able to up to Wisconsin sometime this summer to attend a seminar or gathering!

Tina Leavy said...

very interesting information about the goats. hey..hope you are having a good day...and hope that you have a relaxing weekend.

Tina Leavy said...

hey can you drop me an email..I don't have your email address that I know of, and I have a question to ask you, but want to ask via email please. thanks.