Content
- 1 Brucellosis in goats and sheep
- 2 Contagious ecthyma of sheep and goats (contagious pustular dermatitis and stomatitis)
- 3 Conditionally contagious diseases of goats and methods of their treatment
- 4 Tympania in goats and sheep
- 5 Mastitis
- 6 Vaginal prolapse
- 7 Milk goiter in kids
- 8 Conclusion
The goat, nicknamed the "poor cow" for its unpretentiousness in keeping and eating, in addition, has another remarkable feature: the goat is prone to a relatively small number of infectious diseases, although not completely free from diseases.
Infectious diseases in goats are the same as in sheep, but sheep have more infectious diseases than goats.
Goats are susceptible to infectious diseases common to all mammals. The same diseases are dangerous for humans, therefore veterinary services systematically check goats for the presence of diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis.
Brucellosis in goats and sheep
Bacterial disease. Brucella bacteria are divided into six species, of which the causative agent of brucellosis in goats and sheep is especially dangerous to humans. Brucella are unstable in the external environment. In water, soil or manure, they remain viable for 4 months. Direct sunlight kills the pathogen in 4 hours. Heating to a temperature of 90-100 ° C kills brucella instantly.
Infection in goats and sheep most often occurs through the digestive tract, when eating feed seeded with brucella, as well as through "bloody" injuries (scratches, small wounds), which open a direct path for infection into the bloodstream. A person usually becomes infected through milk or meat.
Brucellosis symptoms
The main problem of brucellosis is precisely that in goats and sheep, in most cases, the disease is asymptomatic, making itself felt only during pregnancy by abortion at 4 - 5 months. Up to 70% of goats or sheep in a herd can abort. Less commonly, paresis of the hind legs may develop.
The disease can only be diagnosed in a laboratory. Responsible goat owners periodically take milk from their goats for testing, although if brucellosis is found, they will lose all of their goats, as no cure has been developed for the disease.
Prevention of brucellosis in goats and sheep
Strict adherence to veterinary rules to prevent disease and control the movement of goats and sheep. If a case of brucellosis is discovered in a previously safe area, all animals, without exception, are sent for slaughter. In areas disadvantaged by disease, young animals are raised in isolation, forming a dairy herd from them. Vaccination against brucellosis is carried out only in agreement with the veterinary service.
Such common for all productive animals diseases of goats as leptospirosis, foot and mouth disease, tuberculosis are usually strictly controlled by veterinary services and are relatively rare. In addition to leptospirosis, which is spread by rodents.But the risk of leptospirosis can be reduced by storing food in containers where rats cannot reach. Leptospira is excreted in the urine of rats and persists for a long time in a humid environment: in water for up to 200 days. In a dry environment, leptospira die in a maximum of 2.5 hours.
In goats and sheep, leptospirosis is asymptomatic, therefore veterinary services monitor the presence of the disease by blood tests. There is no point in worrying about leptospirosis for private owners. In the absence of symptoms of leptospirosis "by eye" the presence of the disease in a goat or sheep cannot be determined.
Contagious ecthyma of sheep and goats (contagious pustular dermatitis and stomatitis)
A viral disease of goats and sheep that affects the skin. With ecthyma disease, nodules, pustules and crusts form on the mucous membrane of the mouth, lips, limbs, genitals, udder and other parts of the body.
The disease is caused by a DNA-containing smallpox-like virus that is very resistant to wool when dry. In a dry state, the virus can remain pathogenic for up to 15 years. In a humid environment, at high temperatures or in direct sunlight, it dies relatively quickly. Sensitive to chloroform, phenol, formalin, alkalis and other disinfectants.
The disease is transmitted by contact with a sick animal.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation period of the disease is 3 - 10 days. Distinguish between stomatitis, labial, genital and ungulate forms of the disease. From the names it is clear in which place, with each form of the disease, specific skin lesions occur.
With the development of the disease, redness and swelling of the skin first appear in the lesion, therefore vesicles, pustules and scabs appear, which disappear after 2 to 3 weeks. Hoof disease causes lameness. With ecthyma, there is often a complication of the course of the disease by a secondary infection of necrobacteriosis, which delays the course of the disease up to 40 days. In queens, inflammation on the skin of the udder and nipples is possible.
Treatment of the disease
With this disease, only symptomatic treatment is possible. The mucous membrane is daily treated with glycerin or 5% iodine. The skin is lubricated with a septomycin emulsion.
Instead of iodine, experienced goat and sheep owners recommend using a solution of potassium permanganate.
In case of complications of the disease with necrobacteriosis, antibiotics of the tetracycline group are indicated.
There are, so to speak, conditionally infectious diseases of goats. That is, diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms, but through direct contact with a sick animal, you cannot become infected with this disease. You need either a carrier of the disease in the form of ticks or fleas, or a direct channel into the blood in the form of damage to the skin, or a weakening of immunity in a particular animal.
Conditionally contagious diseases of goats and methods of their treatment
Of the infectious diseases of goats and sheep, these are practically the only diseases to which goats living in private yards are susceptible.
Necrobacteriosis in goats
The second name of the disease is fusobacteriosis. The disease is caused by an anaerobic microbe that is widespread in the environment and lives on a permanent basis in the gastrointestinal tract of goats, sheep and other animals. For the development of the disease, a deep wound channel or weakening of the immune system in a sheep or goat is required.
With the development of the disease in goats and sheep, purulent-necrotic areas appear mainly on the lower parts of the limbs. Sometimes there may be lesions in the mouth, on the udder, genitals. Development of necrobacteriosis in internal organs and muscles is also possible.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation period of the disease is 1 - 3 days.Clinical signs and course of the disease depend on the degree of pathogenicity of the microorganism, the level of immunity of the goat and its age, and the localization of the disease process.
Symptoms of the disease depend on the location of the initial infection and the type of animal. In goats and sheep, the disease most often begins with lameness. When the causative agent of the disease penetrates the skin of the limbs, redness and swelling first form, which often pass by the attention of the owner. Further, at the site of the lesion by the causative agent of the disease, serous discharge appears and an ulcer is formed. The animal is depressed, the body temperature is increased to 40 ° C. The diseased limb is sore and hot.
Treatment and prevention of the disease
Treatment of the disease is complex. Along with antibiotics and sulfonamides prescribed by a veterinarian, local treatment of the affected areas is used. Necrotic areas are treated with disinfectant solutions: potassium permanganate, chlorhexidine, iodoglycerin, copper sulfate. After washing the affected area, antimicrobial drugs or ointments with tetracycline antibiotics are applied to it.
Hydrogen peroxide provokes the growth of "wild meat" on open ulcers. Although it is also recommended for disinfecting necrosis in disease, it is best used with caution.
To prevent the disease, sanitary standards are observed, systematically cleaning the pens of sheep and goats from dirty litter, do not allow animals to graze in wetlands. They carry out injury prevention.
The hooves of sheep and goats are examined and cleaned at least once every 2 months. 2 times a year, the hooves are treated with formaldehyde.
How to trim the hooves of a goat
When a goat becomes ill with necrobacteriosis, the milk from it is destroyed.
Pseudotuberculosis
The causative agent of the disease is poorly understood. It is known that the bacterium is sensitive to drying out, but it remains for a long time in a humid environment at a temperature of +18 - 20 ° C and is even able to multiply under such conditions. The causative agent of the disease also remains viable in food stored in the cold. Sensitive to antibiotics of the penicillin and tetracycline groups, as well as to sulfonamides. Dies quickly when treated with carbolic acid or formaldehyde.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation of the virus lasts from 9 days to 2 weeks. In goats, the main symptoms of the disease are pneumonia, abortion and mastitis. It is often chronically asymptomatic.
Treatment of the disease
To begin with, pseudotuberculosis in the laboratory is differentiated from real tuberculosis and other similar diseases.
Treatment of the disease is effective only with inflammation of the superficial lymph nodes. Ripening abscesses are smeared with ichthyol ointment and, after ripening, are opened, washing with antiseptic solutions. Antibiotics of the penicillin group are injected intramuscularly. Orally - sulfonamides.
Disease prevention
With pseudotuberculosis, treatment and vaccinations are ineffective, so the main focus is on preventing the disease. The complex of measures to prevent the disease includes regular deratization and disinfection of places where goats and sheep are kept. Sick animals are isolated and either treated or immediately sacrificed. When cases of pseudotuberculosis appear, the herd is examined 2 times a month by palpating the lymph nodes.
Tetanus
The causative agent is an anaerobic microorganism. The stability in the external environment is extremely high. Without direct sunlight on contaminated surfaces, the causative agent of the disease is able to remain viable for up to 10 years. Very resistant to disinfectants. In addition to bleach, which kills the tetanus pathogen in 10 minutes, other disinfectants take 8 to 24 hours to act on the microorganism.
Symptoms of the disease in sheep and goats
Tetanus symptoms appear 3 to 21 days after infection. In fact, infection occurs at the time of receiving a deep narrow wound, where oxygen does not penetrate well. Most often this is a puncture with a nail.
The course of the disease is acute. The first signs of the disease appear in difficulty eating due to tense chewing muscles. With the further development of the disease in sheep and goats, opisthotonus is observed - arching of the back with throwing the head back. Pictured above is the classic tetanus goat pose. In the absence of complications, the body temperature is normal almost until death. Shortly before death, the temperature rises to 42 ° C. Death occurs within 3 - 10 days from the moment the signs of the disease appear.
Treatment of the disease
Tetanus goats are carefully examined and any existing wounds are treated. Abscesses are opened, cleaned out, dead tissue removed and disinfected. The animals are housed in a dark, preferably soundproof room.
To ease seizures in case of illness, sedatives and narcotic drugs are injected, tetanus serum is injected. Massage of the rectum and bladder. Diet feeding.
Disease prevention
The best way to prevent the disease is tetanus vaccination. It will also not hurt to keep the area clean and the absence of contaminated boards with rusty nails within the reach of sheep and goats.
Botulism
In fact, this is not a disease, but poisoning with toxins of an anaerobic microbe. A goat can be poisoned by eating poor-quality silage. The development of a microorganism in a silo is possible when soil, corpses of small animals or bird droppings enter the pit. Good quality silage should smell like sauerkraut. It is better not to feed silage with a strong unpleasant odor to animals.
In case of toxin poisoning in goats, impaired coordination of movements prevails, sometimes paralysis of the chewing and swallowing muscles occurs, but the latter does not always happen.
Treatment of the disease
The same as for any other poisoning: gastric lavage with baking soda solution; the use of laxatives and warm enemas. In severe cases of the disease, they put a dropper with saline. Tetanus antitoxic serum is administered intravenously.
Bradzot sheep and goats
Acute bacterial disease caused by an anaerobic microorganism. Spores of bacteria are able to maintain viability in the external environment for a long time.
When a sheep or goat enters the body, the anaerobe causes hemorrhagic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the abomasum and duodenum, as well as the degeneration of internal organs.
Symptoms of the disease
Bradzot flows with lightning speed and sharpness. With the fulminant course of the disease, sheep and goats often die at night or at the time of pasture. At the same time, cramps, tympania, foam from the mouth, hyperemia of the mucous membranes are noted. Death occurs within 30 minutes.
In the acute course of the disease, severe shortness of breath and weakness are observed. Death within 8 - 14 hours. In the acute course of the disease, you can have time to see:
- excitement followed by oppression;
- increased body temperature - 41 ° C;
- wobbly gait;
- gnashing of teeth;
- involuntary movements;
- rapid breathing;
- bloody fluid from the mouth and nose;
- swelling in the submandibular space, neck and dewlap;
- tympania;
- sometimes bloody diarrhea.
Ultimately, a goat or sheep dies with its head thrown back and outstretched legs.
Treatment of the disease
With a fulminant course of the disease, treatment is late. In the acute course of the disease, antibiotics can be urgently applied: biomycin, terramycin, synthomycin.In the acute course of the disease, antitoxic, cardiac and sedative drugs are also needed.
Goat breeder's first aid kit
Although infectious diseases in sheep and goats can be quite scary, noncommunicable diseases are the main scourge of both goats and goat breeders.
Often it is the non-contagious diseases of goats and sheep that make life difficult for goat breeders.
One of the most common non-communicable diseases is rumen tympania.
Tympania in goats and sheep
Tympania is rumen swelling as a result of fermentation of food masses accumulated in the rumen.
The bloating is usually uneven. On the left, the scar protrudes more strongly.
Causes of the disease
The causes of the disease can be eating food that is prone to fermentation, blockage of the gastrointestinal tract or dysbiosis against the background of a recent course of antibiotics.
Treatment of the disease
As a treatment for the disease, it is sometimes sufficient to simply drive the goat or douse it with cold water. The essence of the procedure is to force the abdominal muscles to contract sharply and compress the scar, as a result of which gas usually comes out with belching. The scar is also massaged, positioning the goat so that the front legs are higher than the hind legs. And some owners "dance" with the goat, taking it by the front legs.
In especially severe cases of the disease, the drug "Tympanol" is pierced, which should be in the goat breeder's first-aid kit.
If nothing helped at all, but the veterinarian managed to get to the still living goat, they make a puncture of the scar.
It is not known how much this procedure can really help to cope with the disease against the background of the Tympanol injection, but it will not make it worse.
Mastitis
The disease is caused by inflammation of the udder due to the accumulated milk in it. The udder swells, becomes hard and sore.
Especially often mastitis affects first-calves, since after lambing with fright, they do not allow a goat to come to them. The goat tries to avoid pain. If the mastitis is not infectious, massage the udder and milk milk help. After the goat can be caught and securely fixed. Sometimes it is enough to force the goat to feed the goat several times so that the pain begins to subside and the goat begins to feed the goat calmly.
To avoid the disease, regardless of whether the kid is left under the goat or immediately removed, it is necessary to milk the colostrum within the first hour after lambing or let the kid to suck it out. To prevent recurrence of the disease, the goat should be milked regularly.
Infectious mastitis occurs as a result of damage to the nipples, on which cracks form. An infection, causing inflammation, penetrates the cracks in the udder. Infectious mastitis is treated with antibiotics by placing an ointment through a special tube inside the nipple. In severe cases, antibiotics are injected.
Cracks are often caused by rough handling of the goat's teats during milking. Also, the nipples can damage the kid, since he has teeth from birth. White flakes often float in milk donated for infectious mastitis. Neither kids nor people can drink such milk.
Vaginal prolapse
Not as rare a disease in goats as it might seem. The upper fornix of the vagina bulges out of the vulva during illness. Most often, the disease occurs in connection with suckling and lambing. The predisposing factors for the development of the disease may be a lack of vitamins or trace elements, essential amino acids, a large slope of the floor in stalls, and a lack of exercise. Experienced goat breeders name another cause of the disease: early mating.
Immediate causes of the disease: increased internal pressure, trauma or dryness of the birth canal, strong attempts during lambing.
With a prolapse of the vagina, the mucous membrane dries up and is injured, which leads to sepsis and vaginitis.
Treatment of the disease
Attempts are removed, the mucous membrane is treated and disinfected.The dropped out part is set back and the vulva is sutured. After a week and a half, the fixation is removed. Treat vaginitis.
In case of frequent relapses of the disease, if the goat is especially valuable and you do not want to lose it, it is recommended to sew up the vulva immediately after mating and remove the fixation literally a couple of hours before the goat decides to lamb. But it is better to get rid of such goats, and as a preventive measure for the disease, goats should occur no earlier than 1.5 years.
Milk goiter in kids
Sometimes kids are born with, as in the photo, tumor-like formations under the ganaches. Previously, goat goiter was considered a disease of the kid's thymus gland that required treatment.
Today, Americans believe that such a goat's goiter is the norm that contributes to the formation of strong immunity. Goat does not require treatment for goats, after 7 months it will pass by itself.
Veterinarians from the CIS still disagree with them, practicing goiter treatment with iodine preparations. The goat's goiter really decreases, since the goat's gland is sensitive to iodine-containing preparations. But there is an opinion that the immunity of the treated kids is lower than that of the kids who got rid of goiter naturally.
How to give a goat an injection
Conclusion
Goats are even less whimsical in keeping and feeding animals than sheep, which, moreover, in Russia, it is customary to milk them in few places. The taste and smell of goat milk depends on the feed consumed by the goat, therefore, with a high-quality and well-composed diet of the goat, goat milk will have an excellent taste and completely absent unpleasant odor.
