Routine Health Care for Goats

Enterotoxemia and tetanus are two very common and deadly diseases of goats caused by certain types of bacteria in the genus “Clostridium”. Another common name for Enterotoxemia that is easier to say is “overeating disease”. Vaccinating your goat for these deadly diseases is the safest way to prevent your goat from getting them. The vaccine is often called a “CD/T” vaccine. Goat kids should get injected with their first booster of CD/T vaccine at about 6 weeks of age followed by their second booster 3 to 4 weeks later. Some goat raisers like to vaccinate the kid as early as 4 weeks of age. However, if they are vaccinated at this early age, it is recommended that they still get another booster at 6 weeks of age and yet another at about 10 weeks of age in order to be truly protected. If your goat is being fed a lot of grain, you may want to repeat the vaccine as often as every 4 months to optimize protection. In most herds, adult animals are only vaccinated once per year after they receive their two initial kid boosters. The yearly vaccine is given to does 3 to 6 weeks before they are due to kid so that their newborn kids will also be protected against these diseases until they are old enough to be able to get protection from their own vaccination. The kid must drink the colostrum (the thick milk a mother goat gives for 24 hours after kidding) from a vaccinated mother in order to be protected. The protection from the colostrum starts to wear off when the kid is about 6 weeks old. This is why we can and should effectively vaccinate the kid with two boosters starting at that age. When you buy a goat make sure he has had both of the boosters for these diseases. If in doubt, vaccinate him again. If you buy a bottle kid and do not know if he got plenty of colostrum from a mother vaccinated for overeating disease and tetanus, you will need to give him an injection of Tetanus Antitoxin before castrating or disbudding him. Then give him his boosters when he is old enough to start getting them.

Rabies is a deadly disease that can be passed in the saliva (spit) from an infected mammal to a healthy mammal. Commonly infected mammals in New York include bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes. An infected animal can bite your pet, livestock or even you and pass on the disease! This is why you should always get your dog a rabies vaccine. It is also a good idea to vaccinate working goats for rabies. Your pack goat could get bitten by an infected bat on the trail and you might not even know it had happened! Goats shown at the NYS Fair and at most 4-H county shows are required to be vaccinated for rabies to protect you and the general public. A licensed veterinarian must give the rabies vaccine to your goat each year. Your goat must have a permanent tattoo or special ear tag to identify him for the veterinarian’s records. There is no labeled vaccine for goats. Instead the rabies vaccine for sheep is used “extra-label”. Talk to your veterinarian about vaccinating your goat for rabies.

Parasites are living things that live on or in another living thing and harm the host by using it for food. Parasitic worms can live in the gut (gastrointestinal tract) of goats. The gastrointestinal tract includes all the digestive organs, for example, the stomach and the intestines. If a goat gets too manyof these worms, the goat can get very weak and even die. Goat kids and goats on pasture are more likely to get too many worms than adult goats who live mostly indoors. Be sure to give your goat a medicine that will kill worms when you bring him home to his new home. We call this type of medicine a “dewormer”. We used to think that you should deworm your goat several times during the year regardless of whether he had lots of worms. However, deworming your goat when he does not need to be dewormed actually makes the worms more likely to get “resistant” to the medicine. If this happens the worms will become resistant to the dewormer and it will no longer kill worms when you really need it to. Nowadays we usually look for the signs of worms or take a manure sample to see if there are substantial worm eggs in the manure before we decide to deworm a goat. You should check your goat for signs of worms several times a year especially during the summer grazing season. Talk to your veterinarian and 4-H leader to learn more about worms and how to tell if your goat needs to be dewormed.

Goats can also get external parasites such as tiny wingless insects called lice. Lice can become a problem especially in winter and early spring. Goats get a fuzzy coat of cashmere this time of year that is a perfect home for lice. Always look for lice if you notice flaky or itchy coats and treat as necessary.

Coccidiosis is a disease caused by coccidia. Coccidia are tiny one celled parasites in a goat’s gut. Older goats become resistant to coccidia but coccidia can be deadly if they get too numerous in goat kids or yearlings especially when goats go through the stress of weaning, moving to a new home or are overcrowded. Talk to your 4-H goat leader and veterinarian about recommended methods to prevent and treat coccidia. There are several goat feeds available that contain medications to help prevent coccidiosis by keeping the coccidia from getting too numerous. We call these medications, coccidiostats. One example of a coccidiostat used in feed is decoquinate (sold as Deccox®). Because weaning and moving can be so stressful, goat kids are sometimes treated for coccidia for 5 to 6 days during these stressful times by putting a coccidiostat such as amprolium (sold as Corid®) in their water or drenching them with it directly. Some coccidiostats require a veterinarian prescription in order to use them. Talk to your veterinarian about the signs of coccidiosis and how to prevent and treat it.

Selenium is a mineral necessary to goats that is lacking in NY soils and, thus, in the hay and grain grown here. A goat kid lacking in selenium may get a deadly disease called white muscle disease. Kids are often given an injection (BoSe) or oral paste containing Selenium and Vitamin E shortly after birth to prevent the disease. Selenium can also be included in your grain or salt mix. Talk to your veterinarian and 4-H leader about ways to supplement selenium and vitamin E in your goat’s diet.