Raising goats in a farm is always an interesting hobby. Goat is a cute animal and it gives you lots of things. You can consider these goat breed for your goat farm if you plan to start one.
It gives you milk, meat and fun as well. Goats are commonly kept for milk production, either to consume or for making dairy products, such as yoghurt, cheese and others.
Keeping goats in a farm also needs a lot of things to pay attention to. One of which is the diseases a goat might be infected to. Get to know these facts of orf disease in goat you should know.
That’s why Public Health suggests people to pasteurize the milk, including goat’s milk before using or drinking it. It’s because the milk might contain harmful bacteria from the diseases a goat might get infected. If you enjoy drinking goat milk, make sure you know ways to prevent your milk goat from catching diseases.
As an owner of a goat or a goat farm, knowing the most common diseases in goats is really important as you can decide the best treatment for them and preventing the others to get infected too. So, here they are, the 6 common diseases a goat might get infected to.
- Pinkeye
This disease is mainly caused by Chlamydia or Mycoplasma in goats. Pinkeye is contagious to certain species. Stress is one of the causes of pinkeye in goats.
The early signs of pinkeye can be easily noticed, such as runny, red and swollen eyes. Then as time goes by, the cornea will get hazy and turns opaque (clouds over). As a result, the goat loses its sight and is unable to see.
Most goats are able to recover without treatment. However, make sure that if they get any treatment, the treatment won’t cause any harm. Consult with the vet about the best treatment for treating pinkeye. If one of members of the herd is infected by pinkeye, then make sure to isolate the infected one so that the others will not get infected too.
- Enterotoxemia
Enterotoxemia is mainly caused by a bacterial imbalance in the goat’s rumen. This disease is also called “over-eating disease”. The main cause is bacterium Clostridium perfringins.
This bacterium is actually a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract, however, because of certain conditions, such as stress, the excessive growth of the bacteria lead to production of toxins. If left untreated, it may lead to death.
The common symptom of this disease is diarrhea. Be aware with this symptom as diarrhea can also indicate other diseases. Prevention is the best thing can be done. Vaccinating the kids once a month since they are 1 month old until they are 5-6 months old.
- Sore Mouth
Parapoxvirus is the main cause of sore mouth in goats. This disease is highly contagious. Though it is commonly found in sheep, goats are still susceptible. Sore mouth mainly affects the lips and noses of the young animals.
The sore starts with small red spots that form blisters that burst to form ulcers. Sore mouth takes around few weeks to heal as the scabs will fall off by themselves. Don’t worry, it can also be cured with some natural treatments as elaborated in how to naturally cure sore mouth in goats.
To prevent sore mouth, the goats can be vaccinated by sore mouth vaccine. However, it is better to consult with the vet about if the vaccine will be beneficial to the goats. Once a goat is diagnosed for having sore mouth, immediately isolate it so that the rest of the herd won’t get infected.
- Coccidiosis
Coccidiosis is caused by tiny intestinal parasites. These parasites can cause foamy and bloody diarrhea or dull coat. A goat that is infected by coccidiosis commonly shows an onagain-off-again soft stool or no obvious symptoms at all.
A goat with coccidiosis can be easily noticed that the goat is not growing as it should. Coccidosis can also be noticed from the foul smelling diarrhea along with dehydration and fever.
- Urinary Calculi
Urinary calculi occurs when the urethra of a goat is blocked up with mineral deposits and urine that cannot pass through it. Then, it will form some stones and if these stones are not dissolved or passed, the goat’s bladder will be likely to burst and it may lead to death.
This disease can be experienced by both males and females, but it will cause more problems in males. The stones are the result of imbalance diet, so if there’s one goat infected by this, consult with the vet to adjust some of the goat’s diet, such as the calcium and phosphorus ratio.
- Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE)
Last but not least, the common disease attacking goat is Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE). This disease is incurable. It is also contagious and devastating to goat herds.
CAE is similar to AIDS virus in humans as it attacks the goats’ immune system. Before raising goats in the farm, you have to test whether your goats are CAE free.
Get another tips of building a goat farm by knowing things to consider before starting a goat farm.