Diseases and Disorders
This is not in any way an exhaustive list of diseases and disorders of goats, but I am listing the most common ones here. I have left out a discussion of parasites here, as it will be discussed in a later section, but I am including the clinical effects of parasites. We will also not be covering treatments here, as I will cover those later. You should become familiar with the signs and symptoms of the following diseases and disorders in goats.
Abortion- There are many reasons that a doe would abort her kids, and it generally happens 3-6 weeks before her due date. Most often it is caused by chlamydia, toxoplasma gondii, Q-fever, border disease, listeriosis, neospora caninum, camplobacteriosis, akbane disease, and brucellosis. Abortion could also be caused by various nutritional deficiencies, ingestion of toxic plants, and improper feeding, as well as a heavy worm load. It is also possible that a doe aborts due to getting hit very hard by another doe. It is important to find the cause of a spontaneous abortion so that you can treat other pregnant does if the cause is infectious. Take the fetal tissue for a necropsy as soon as possible to your vet or university lab.
Acetonemia (Ketosis)- The metabolic imbalance caused by feeding an improper balance of feed. If left untreated, it will often progress to enterotoxemia (see below) which can cause death. Symptoms include depression, going off feed, general malaise, staggering, heavy breathing and grinding of the teeth. The easiest symptom a goat can express if she is in ketosis is that her urine will smell sweet and fruity due to excess ketones.
Anemia- The most common cause of anemia is an infestation of intestinal parasites, most commonly, the barberpole worm. Anemia is evident when the mucous membranes of the eyes and the gums are pale.
Brucellosis- Bacterial infection. Symptoms include abortion in late pregnancy, inflamed uterus, and retained placenta in does. In bucks, symptoms include infertility, swollen testicles, and swollen joints.
Bloat- There are two kinds of bloat. Bloat occurs when a excess of gas gets trapped in the rumen. Frothy bloat is more common, and occurs when the goat eats damp hay or overeats lush pasture, particularly in the springtime. Both conditions are life threatening and must be treated ASAP. Symptoms include a distended, hard belly accompanied by the animal stomping her feet, bleating loudly, and walking stiff legged.
Caprine Arthritis Encephilitis (CAE)- CAE is a virus that is reported to be present in up to 80% of herds in America. It is highly contagious and transferable to other goats via bodily fluids. Some goats are asymptomatic for their entire lives, so you would never know they had it unless you test for it. When CAE flares it is most commonly identified by weight loss, poor hair condition, and swollen joints particularly in the carpal, hocks, and stifle. There is no cure or vaccine for this disease.
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL)- Caseous lymphadenitis is caused by the bacterium coryne and bacterium pseudotuberculosis. The disease causes boils or cheesy lumps in the lymph nodes, most commonly occurring on the neck and under the jaw, but they can pop up near any lymph node. CL is mostly a benign disease, but it is highly contagious to other goats and a major nuisance.
Collibacillosis/collisopticemia (E. coli)- E.coli is a bacteria that thrives in unclean areas, and most often affects newborn kids. Symptoms include a watery bright yellow or white scours (diarrhea), hunched appearance, and fever or subnormal (low) temperature.
Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)- Pinkeye can be caused by infectious or non-infectious organisms. First symptoms include red, runny, irritated eyes which you may not notice. As the conjunctivitis progresses, the iris of the affected eye(s) get cloudy. Failure to treat the eye(s) at this stage could result in blindness and rupture of the eye. If the eye ruptures, the infection could spread to the brain and kill the goat.
Dermatitis- There are many things that cause dermatitis, because dermatitis itself is a broad definition for "skin irritation." Dermatitis can be caused by contact with certain plants and substances, insect bites, mange mites, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Enterotoxemia- Enterotoxemia is also commonly known as the overeating disease, but it is actually caused by toxic levels of clostridium perfringens type D (CD), which is normally found inside the normal flora of the rumen. Under certain conditions (too much grain, too much milk, too little roughage, heavy parasite load) the CD rapidly reproduces inside the rumen and causes acidosis. Without speedy treatment, death can occur suddenly. Onset of symptoms generally include watery and/or bloody diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite and subnormal temperature.
Foot Rot-Foot rot or Hoof rot is caused when the goat's hooves are exposed to extreme wet conditions without the opportunity for the feet to dry out. The moisture causes the subcutaneous tissues to soften and the hoof walls to thin and crack, which lets in bacteria and causes an infection. Ulcers, abscesses, inflammation, and fractures will eventually lead to lameness and loss of body weight.
Heat stress- Goats are extremely hardy animals, but they do not sweat. When goats are exposed to extremely high temperatures, they can suffer from heat stress and die of heat stroke. Symptoms include extreme panting, salivating and/or foaming, and high body temperature.
Hypocalcemia- Commonly known as milk fever. Usually shows itself during labor indicated by weak contractions and incomplete pushing. If not treated in labor, the condition can intensify shortly after a doe kids and the doe will no longer be able to stand. Treatment must begin quickly or the doe can fall into a coma and die. This condition is caused by a lack of sufficient calcium in the body due to improper nutrition during gestation. Calcium is robbed from the bones of the doe which is further intensified by the demands of growing kids and brings her body over the edge as the doe starts to produce milk.
Johnne’s Disease- Also known as Paratuberculosis, a contagious, chronic and sometimes fatal infection that primarily affects the small intestine of ruminants. It is spread through fecal to oral contact, and is most commonly seen in goats over two years of age, although a goat can have the disease and be asymptomatic for its entire life. Symptoms include extreme weight loss and wasting that may or may not be accompanied by diarrhea, and degradation of the quality of the coat.
Laminitis/Founder- Goat becomes lame and reluctant to move; there is a fever, and all four feet are hot to the touch. Laminitis is caused by overeating or sudden access to concentrates, high-grain and low-roughage diets, or high-protein diets. Laminitis can also develop as a complication of acute infections.
Listeriosis- A brain-stem nerve disorder caused by improper feeding, in particular, feeding too much grain and too little roughage. Symptoms include depression, decreased appetite, fever, leaning or stumbling or moving in one direction only, head pulled to flank with rigid neck, facial paralysis on one side, blindness, slack jaw, and drooling. Listeriosis can be mistaken for rabies.
Mastitis- Condition of the udder caused by contamination of staphylococci, streptococci, E. coli, Mycoplasma agalactiae, M. arginini, Yeast or Fungi. Symptoms include watery/chunky milk, blood tinged milk, hard hot udder, reduced milk production. Mastitis can be acute or chronic.
Mange- Most mange is caused by sarcoptes mites. Mites are invisible to the naked eye and a skin scraping to verify is necessary. Skin becomes flaky with itchiness. Hair loss occurs with the thickening and hardening of the skin.
Mycoplasma-Mycoplasmas are slow-growing one celled organisms that are categorized somewhere between a bacteria and a virus. Mycoplasmas can cause serious illness and death in goats. There are various strains that cause a variety of problems including respiratory pleuropneumonia, arthritis, mastitis, conjunctivitis, and septicemia. Supportive therapies are available but most recommend culling of animals with mycoplasma infections because there is currently no cure and the infection is highly contagious.
Parasitic gastroenteritis- A heavy parasitic load left untreated will often result in parasitic gastroenteritis, which makes way for enterotoxemia and death. Symptoms that the goat is losing the battle with parasites includes severe anemia, then diarrhea, followed by emaciation and sometimes bottle jaw, which is a watery swelling of the jawline.
Polio- See Trace Element Deficiency
Rabies- The disease develops usually after 20-60 days of bite, but not less than 10 days of bite. The goat becomes strange in behavior and there is frothing and salivation. The goat does not eat or drink, slowly becomes paralyzed and dies within 10 days of onset of disease.
Ringworm-Fungal infection. Symptoms include inflammation of hair follicles, falling of hairs, circular lesions on the face, shoulder, neck, and eyes, irritation and rubbing, thick crusts or scales may appear.
Tetanus- Tetanus can occur after the bacteria, clostridium tetani, enters a wound caused by disbudding, castrating, tattooing, hoof trimming or an accidental wound the goat received. Symptoms include stiffness of the body and reluctance to move, difficulty opening the mouth and seizures.
Trace Element Deficiency- Deficiency of a trace element can cause serious problems and even death, but most of the deficiencies can be easily cured. The trick becomes identifying which elements are needed according to the symptoms. We will talk more about trace element and mineral requirements in the Feeding Section. Below are the most common deficiencies.
Upper Respiratory Infections and Pneumonia- Upper respiratory infections, also known as sinusitis, generally occurs after a large temperature swing in the weather. Symptoms include clear to white nasal discharge from one or both nostrils, coughing, sneezing and mild respiratory distress. Goats can generally fight off an upper respiratory infection without antibiotics, but you must watch the goat closely to make sure the infection does not move into the lungs, causing pneumonia. In pneumonia nasal discharge is yellow or green with sneezing, coughing, mild to severe respiratory distress and fever. Pneumonia is also contagious and goats must be quarantined until all symptoms disappear.
Urinary Calculi (UC)-Urinary Calculi is sometimes called Urinary Stones. Generally, only male goats get stones. Does may get stones, but their urethra is short and wide and they can pass the stones without issue. In bucks and wethers, their urethas are long and winding. Calcium deposits build up in the body and stones develop and block the urethra. Symptoms that your buck has UC include tail twitching, restlessness, anxiety, and a "hunched-up" body posture as the goat strains to urinate. Treatments exist, including surgery, but they are very rarely successful. Usually the bladder bursts and the buck most often dies an extremely painful death.
Many believe that feeding alfalfa to bucks causes UC. That is not entirely true. Bucks and wethers require a BALANCED diet just like does do, and feeding alfalfa is not the entire issue. (More on proper feeding later.) UC has recently become a huge problem because of the castrating practices of some breeders. In an effort to move animals out, breeders are castrating WAY too early. I've heard of some that castrate at 2-6 weeks of age so they can move them to their new homes quickly to lessen their workload. These wethers have an extremely high chance of dying from UC, and I have taken dozens of calls over the years asking me for help with little wethers who have developed UC. Sadly, there is usually no hope.
When you remove the testicles, testosterone production stops, which is what helps the urethra grow. The bigger the urethra at castration, the easier it is for the goat to pass stones, should they develop, through normal urination. I do not castrate before 12 weeks of age for this very reason, and I have NEVER had a single issue with UC, neither on my farm or at a wether's new home.
White Muscle Disease-See Trace Element Deficiency
This is not in any way an exhaustive list of diseases and disorders of goats, but I am listing the most common ones here. I have left out a discussion of parasites here, as it will be discussed in a later section, but I am including the clinical effects of parasites. We will also not be covering treatments here, as I will cover those later. You should become familiar with the signs and symptoms of the following diseases and disorders in goats.
Abortion- There are many reasons that a doe would abort her kids, and it generally happens 3-6 weeks before her due date. Most often it is caused by chlamydia, toxoplasma gondii, Q-fever, border disease, listeriosis, neospora caninum, camplobacteriosis, akbane disease, and brucellosis. Abortion could also be caused by various nutritional deficiencies, ingestion of toxic plants, and improper feeding, as well as a heavy worm load. It is also possible that a doe aborts due to getting hit very hard by another doe. It is important to find the cause of a spontaneous abortion so that you can treat other pregnant does if the cause is infectious. Take the fetal tissue for a necropsy as soon as possible to your vet or university lab.
Acetonemia (Ketosis)- The metabolic imbalance caused by feeding an improper balance of feed. If left untreated, it will often progress to enterotoxemia (see below) which can cause death. Symptoms include depression, going off feed, general malaise, staggering, heavy breathing and grinding of the teeth. The easiest symptom a goat can express if she is in ketosis is that her urine will smell sweet and fruity due to excess ketones.
Anemia- The most common cause of anemia is an infestation of intestinal parasites, most commonly, the barberpole worm. Anemia is evident when the mucous membranes of the eyes and the gums are pale.
Brucellosis- Bacterial infection. Symptoms include abortion in late pregnancy, inflamed uterus, and retained placenta in does. In bucks, symptoms include infertility, swollen testicles, and swollen joints.
Bloat- There are two kinds of bloat. Bloat occurs when a excess of gas gets trapped in the rumen. Frothy bloat is more common, and occurs when the goat eats damp hay or overeats lush pasture, particularly in the springtime. Both conditions are life threatening and must be treated ASAP. Symptoms include a distended, hard belly accompanied by the animal stomping her feet, bleating loudly, and walking stiff legged.
Caprine Arthritis Encephilitis (CAE)- CAE is a virus that is reported to be present in up to 80% of herds in America. It is highly contagious and transferable to other goats via bodily fluids. Some goats are asymptomatic for their entire lives, so you would never know they had it unless you test for it. When CAE flares it is most commonly identified by weight loss, poor hair condition, and swollen joints particularly in the carpal, hocks, and stifle. There is no cure or vaccine for this disease.
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL)- Caseous lymphadenitis is caused by the bacterium coryne and bacterium pseudotuberculosis. The disease causes boils or cheesy lumps in the lymph nodes, most commonly occurring on the neck and under the jaw, but they can pop up near any lymph node. CL is mostly a benign disease, but it is highly contagious to other goats and a major nuisance.
Collibacillosis/collisopticemia (E. coli)- E.coli is a bacteria that thrives in unclean areas, and most often affects newborn kids. Symptoms include a watery bright yellow or white scours (diarrhea), hunched appearance, and fever or subnormal (low) temperature.
Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)- Pinkeye can be caused by infectious or non-infectious organisms. First symptoms include red, runny, irritated eyes which you may not notice. As the conjunctivitis progresses, the iris of the affected eye(s) get cloudy. Failure to treat the eye(s) at this stage could result in blindness and rupture of the eye. If the eye ruptures, the infection could spread to the brain and kill the goat.
Dermatitis- There are many things that cause dermatitis, because dermatitis itself is a broad definition for "skin irritation." Dermatitis can be caused by contact with certain plants and substances, insect bites, mange mites, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Enterotoxemia- Enterotoxemia is also commonly known as the overeating disease, but it is actually caused by toxic levels of clostridium perfringens type D (CD), which is normally found inside the normal flora of the rumen. Under certain conditions (too much grain, too much milk, too little roughage, heavy parasite load) the CD rapidly reproduces inside the rumen and causes acidosis. Without speedy treatment, death can occur suddenly. Onset of symptoms generally include watery and/or bloody diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite and subnormal temperature.
Foot Rot-Foot rot or Hoof rot is caused when the goat's hooves are exposed to extreme wet conditions without the opportunity for the feet to dry out. The moisture causes the subcutaneous tissues to soften and the hoof walls to thin and crack, which lets in bacteria and causes an infection. Ulcers, abscesses, inflammation, and fractures will eventually lead to lameness and loss of body weight.
Heat stress- Goats are extremely hardy animals, but they do not sweat. When goats are exposed to extremely high temperatures, they can suffer from heat stress and die of heat stroke. Symptoms include extreme panting, salivating and/or foaming, and high body temperature.
Hypocalcemia- Commonly known as milk fever. Usually shows itself during labor indicated by weak contractions and incomplete pushing. If not treated in labor, the condition can intensify shortly after a doe kids and the doe will no longer be able to stand. Treatment must begin quickly or the doe can fall into a coma and die. This condition is caused by a lack of sufficient calcium in the body due to improper nutrition during gestation. Calcium is robbed from the bones of the doe which is further intensified by the demands of growing kids and brings her body over the edge as the doe starts to produce milk.
Johnne’s Disease- Also known as Paratuberculosis, a contagious, chronic and sometimes fatal infection that primarily affects the small intestine of ruminants. It is spread through fecal to oral contact, and is most commonly seen in goats over two years of age, although a goat can have the disease and be asymptomatic for its entire life. Symptoms include extreme weight loss and wasting that may or may not be accompanied by diarrhea, and degradation of the quality of the coat.
Laminitis/Founder- Goat becomes lame and reluctant to move; there is a fever, and all four feet are hot to the touch. Laminitis is caused by overeating or sudden access to concentrates, high-grain and low-roughage diets, or high-protein diets. Laminitis can also develop as a complication of acute infections.
Listeriosis- A brain-stem nerve disorder caused by improper feeding, in particular, feeding too much grain and too little roughage. Symptoms include depression, decreased appetite, fever, leaning or stumbling or moving in one direction only, head pulled to flank with rigid neck, facial paralysis on one side, blindness, slack jaw, and drooling. Listeriosis can be mistaken for rabies.
Mastitis- Condition of the udder caused by contamination of staphylococci, streptococci, E. coli, Mycoplasma agalactiae, M. arginini, Yeast or Fungi. Symptoms include watery/chunky milk, blood tinged milk, hard hot udder, reduced milk production. Mastitis can be acute or chronic.
Mange- Most mange is caused by sarcoptes mites. Mites are invisible to the naked eye and a skin scraping to verify is necessary. Skin becomes flaky with itchiness. Hair loss occurs with the thickening and hardening of the skin.
Mycoplasma-Mycoplasmas are slow-growing one celled organisms that are categorized somewhere between a bacteria and a virus. Mycoplasmas can cause serious illness and death in goats. There are various strains that cause a variety of problems including respiratory pleuropneumonia, arthritis, mastitis, conjunctivitis, and septicemia. Supportive therapies are available but most recommend culling of animals with mycoplasma infections because there is currently no cure and the infection is highly contagious.
Parasitic gastroenteritis- A heavy parasitic load left untreated will often result in parasitic gastroenteritis, which makes way for enterotoxemia and death. Symptoms that the goat is losing the battle with parasites includes severe anemia, then diarrhea, followed by emaciation and sometimes bottle jaw, which is a watery swelling of the jawline.
Polio- See Trace Element Deficiency
Rabies- The disease develops usually after 20-60 days of bite, but not less than 10 days of bite. The goat becomes strange in behavior and there is frothing and salivation. The goat does not eat or drink, slowly becomes paralyzed and dies within 10 days of onset of disease.
Ringworm-Fungal infection. Symptoms include inflammation of hair follicles, falling of hairs, circular lesions on the face, shoulder, neck, and eyes, irritation and rubbing, thick crusts or scales may appear.
Tetanus- Tetanus can occur after the bacteria, clostridium tetani, enters a wound caused by disbudding, castrating, tattooing, hoof trimming or an accidental wound the goat received. Symptoms include stiffness of the body and reluctance to move, difficulty opening the mouth and seizures.
Trace Element Deficiency- Deficiency of a trace element can cause serious problems and even death, but most of the deficiencies can be easily cured. The trick becomes identifying which elements are needed according to the symptoms. We will talk more about trace element and mineral requirements in the Feeding Section. Below are the most common deficiencies.
- Copper Deficiency- Symptoms include course coat, dandruff, coppery red deposits on coat (especially on black), Loss of coat luster, weight loss, general unthriftiness.
- Selenium Deficiency (White Muscle Disease)- Symptoms are most evident in newborn kids and include weak kids, weak legs and feet, and delayed standing and walking. Selenium is always administered with Vitamin E (BoSe). Adult symptoms of selenium deficiency include blind staggering, weakness in the legs, inability to conceive, abortions, retained placenta.
- Thiamine (B1) Deficiency (Goat Polio)- Symptoms are similar to listeriosis and include excitability, stargazing, uncoordinated staggering and/or weaving, circling, diarrhea, muscle tremors, and blindness. Always treat for both.
- Vitamin E Deficiency- Same symptoms as selenium deficiency. Always treat for both.
- Zinc Deficiency- Most common symptom of zinc deficiency is a very flaky skin and hair loss in patches over the body that is not caused by mites. I have several does in my herd who have a hard time storing enough zinc when they are pregnant. I have to keep on top of their zinc needs or they will lose their coats!
Upper Respiratory Infections and Pneumonia- Upper respiratory infections, also known as sinusitis, generally occurs after a large temperature swing in the weather. Symptoms include clear to white nasal discharge from one or both nostrils, coughing, sneezing and mild respiratory distress. Goats can generally fight off an upper respiratory infection without antibiotics, but you must watch the goat closely to make sure the infection does not move into the lungs, causing pneumonia. In pneumonia nasal discharge is yellow or green with sneezing, coughing, mild to severe respiratory distress and fever. Pneumonia is also contagious and goats must be quarantined until all symptoms disappear.
Urinary Calculi (UC)-Urinary Calculi is sometimes called Urinary Stones. Generally, only male goats get stones. Does may get stones, but their urethra is short and wide and they can pass the stones without issue. In bucks and wethers, their urethas are long and winding. Calcium deposits build up in the body and stones develop and block the urethra. Symptoms that your buck has UC include tail twitching, restlessness, anxiety, and a "hunched-up" body posture as the goat strains to urinate. Treatments exist, including surgery, but they are very rarely successful. Usually the bladder bursts and the buck most often dies an extremely painful death.
Many believe that feeding alfalfa to bucks causes UC. That is not entirely true. Bucks and wethers require a BALANCED diet just like does do, and feeding alfalfa is not the entire issue. (More on proper feeding later.) UC has recently become a huge problem because of the castrating practices of some breeders. In an effort to move animals out, breeders are castrating WAY too early. I've heard of some that castrate at 2-6 weeks of age so they can move them to their new homes quickly to lessen their workload. These wethers have an extremely high chance of dying from UC, and I have taken dozens of calls over the years asking me for help with little wethers who have developed UC. Sadly, there is usually no hope.
When you remove the testicles, testosterone production stops, which is what helps the urethra grow. The bigger the urethra at castration, the easier it is for the goat to pass stones, should they develop, through normal urination. I do not castrate before 12 weeks of age for this very reason, and I have NEVER had a single issue with UC, neither on my farm or at a wether's new home.
White Muscle Disease-See Trace Element Deficiency
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