Goats Flashcards
% off ruminant population made up of goats
16%
Which breeds of goats are kept for fibre
Cashmere and mohair
What % of the worlds milk production is by goats
2%
Commercial goat dairy farmers
500-5000+ milking goats
Expected milk yields of dairy goats
1000 + litres / goat / 305 day lactation
Housing goats
Most common and functional system is long pens with raised, central feeding passages
If in large groups they tend to be in deep litter
Goat milking parlours
Most commonly rotary parlours
Feeding dairy goats
Commonly complete diet (TMR), with maize silage as main ingredient
Constant access to good quality hay or barley straw essential to maintain healthy rumen function
Can graze, but more common to zero graze dairy herds for parasite control
Clean, fresh water
Salt licks or free access minerals are generally available
Veterinary input to dairy goats
Routine herd visits
Herd health schemes
- parasite control
- routine foot care
- mastitis action plan
- kid rearing
Show herds/small holders (goats)
Pedigree stock
4-10+ milking goats, often very high yielding
Often very knowledgeable
Housing variable, must be able to keep dry and away from draughts
Feeding goats (rules of thumb)
Feed milking goats like dairy cows
Feed pygmy goats and ‘pets’ like sheep
Feeding hay to goats
Use hay racks not hay nets
Goats and copper
More tolerant of copper than sheep so can feed cattle concentrates, but overfeeding (pig rations) will cause toxicity
BUT Angora goats seem less tolerant than dairy goats
Pet goat owners
Females or castrated males
Common problems are over or inappropriate feeding and poor foot care
Weight management is essential, predisposes arthritis and laminitis
Goat behaviour
Browsers not grazers
Range over a large area
Do not gain acquired immunity to GI parasites
Very fussy eaters
Kids are hiders not followers
Well defined social hierarchy, should be kept as much as possible in permanent groups
Overcrowding and boredom can lead to teat biting
Drug metabolism in goats
Elimination half-life of some drugs, including many anthelmintics is half that of sheep e.g. Meloxicam is 24hr in cattle, 10.85hrs in sheep and only 6.73 in goats
Virtually no licensed drugs for goats, and so nearly all drugs have mandatory 7 day withholding time for milk and 28 day withholding time for meat
All goats are food producing animals
Often get lameness after IM injections, safer to use subcut
Goats do not like pain and are susceptible to shock
Dairy goat breeds
Saanen (white)
British Saanen (white)
Toggenburg (brown and white)
British Toggenburg (brown and white)
British Alpine (black and white)
Anglonubian (roman nose, long ears)
Golden Guernsey (gold)
Fibre goat breeds
Angora (white, long hair, mohair)
Cashmere (improved feral goats)
Meat goat breeds
Boer
Body condition scoring goats
Lumbar score can be difficult as fat carried internally rather than subcutaneously
Use sternal score
Yearly oestrus patterns in goats
Seasonally polyoestrus
Totally anoestrus in the Northern hemisphere between March and August
Breeding season initiated largely in response to decreasing day length, also dependent on temperature, environment, and presence of a male
Age of puberty in goats
5 months
Age at first service in goats
4-6 months (male)
7-18 months (female)
60-70% of adult weight
Oestrus cycle in goats
19-21 days (dairy goats)
18-24 days (pygmy goats)
Duration of oestrus in goats
24-96 hours
Ovulation in goats
24-48hrs after the start of oestrus
Gestation length in goats
150 days (145-156 days)
Signs of oestrus in goats
- Bleating
- Tail wagging
- Reduced milk yield (may rise just before oestrus)
- A little vaginal mucus
- Reddening and slight oedema of the vulva
Maintenance of pregnancy in the goat
CL dependent throughout
Termination of pregnancy in goats
Prostaglandins (due to it being CL maintained)
Methods of controlling oestrus cycles
Transitory period:
- buck effect
- progestagen sponge or CIDR + PMSG
Breeding season
- prostaglandin injection
- progestagen sponge or CIDR + PMSG
Out of breeding season
- lighting regimes
- progestagen sponge of CIDR + PMSG
- lighting regime + melatonin
Use of prostaglandins in the goat
Timing of oestrus
Synchronisation of oestrus
Misalliance/Abortion
Timing and synchronisation of parturition
Always undertake an accurate PD before using to induce oestrus
Light control in the control of oestrus in goats
From January 1st, give 20hrs of artificial light for 60 days, oestrus occurs 7-10 weeks after returned to normal
Puberty in goats
- Do not keep males with females after 4 months
- Serve females when 60-70% of adult weight
- In immature bucks, the penis has adhesions that prevent he penis from being fully extended. At puberty, these adhesions dissolve and the penis can be fully extended.
Hydrometras in goats
Fluid filled [hypoechoic] uteri with no foetuses or cotyledons
Absence of pregnancy but presence of persistent CL
Doe acts as if pregnant
Cloudburst is when the fluids are released
Likely to recur if not pregnant
Treat with prostaglandin injection
Pyometras in goats
Rare, present as fluid filled uteri but more hyperechoic than hydrometras
Blood tests for pregnancy diagnosis in goats
Progesterone: almost 100% accuracy after 24 days ni determining non-pregnancy, but only 85-90% accurate in determining pregnancy
Oestrone sulphate: Can be used after 50 days, distinguishes between true pregnancy and hydrometra
Infective causes of abortion in goats
Chlamydia
Toxoplasma
Campylobacter
Q-fever
Stress (regression of corpus luteum)
Unknown
(Brucella melitensis)
Intersex goats
Genetically female with normal female chromosome component, but show both male and female characteristics
Normally polled with polled parents
Freemartins also occasionally occur, but most females born as twins to males are normal
Bleeding from the vulva in goats
Usually seen in old does as a result of uterine tumours (adenocarcinomas and leiomyomas-benign)
Milking males (goats)
Males from high yielding families can show mammary development and some degree of milk production in the summer months. Protein and energy levels of feed should be reduced during summer. Gangrenous mastitis is not uncommon as a sequel.
Routine vaccines in goats
Clostridial disease
- enterotoxaemia (Cl. perfringens type D)
- tetanus
- Lambivac (Cl perfringens types B, C, and D and Cl. tetani)
- OR Heptavac if Cl. novyi or chavoei confirmed in a herd
Respiratory disease:
- use of combined clostridial and pasteurella vaccines is not recommended
- rarely a problem in small herd
- no licensed Pasteurella vaccine
Johne’s disease
- killed vaccine available
Abortion
- Enzovac and toxovac
Bluetongue
- locationally specific serotypes
- inactivated BTV-8 vaccine available in UK
Schmallenburg
- used off license, sheep protocol?
Lameness prevention for goats
- Keep feet dry
- keep feet moving
- keep feet trimmed properly (usually monthly-every 6 weeks in smaller herds, going up to around 6 months in larger herds)
Interdigital dermatitis in goats
Common problem in goats with access to grass paddocks in winter
Foot rot in goats
infection may be introduced by clinical or subclinical carriers (goats, sheep, cattle or deer). The carrier state may persist for 2-3 years. Treatment and control as sheep - but goats are much more adept to avoiding foot baths.
White line disease in goats
involves separation of a portion of the horny outer wall from the underlying sensitive laminae at the white line.
It is always the abaxial hoof wall that is affected.
Early foot trimming to pare away loose horn, leaving a characteristic half-moon shape of keratinised laminae, will resolve the problem before lameness occurs.
Laminitis in goats
Acute laminitis:
- after any toxic condition
- a few days after kidding
- as a sequel to acidosis
- sudden onset of tender foot or feet, generally both front feet
Subclinical laminitis:
- common and underdiagnosed
- haemorrhage of wall, heel, and particularly sole
Gastrointestinal parasites in goats
Goats do not develop immunity to nematodes so control necessary in all ages
Overuse of anthelmintics leads to the rapid development of resistance in sheep and goats, so should only be used if they actually need worming
Most susceptible are kids, newly kidded goats, and debilitated animals
Commonest worms are Teladorsagia and Trichostrongylus
Selective treatment of animals significantly increases the percentage of the worms in refugia, slowing the rate with which resistance develops.
Anthelmintics for goats
Higher dose rates required than in sheep
The avermectin, eprinomectin, has been shown to have a high activity against ivermectin-susceptible GI nematodes in goats and has a nil milk withdrawal time
The type of anthelmintic used should be rotated annually
Benzimidazoles in goats
White
> 2x sheep dose rate
Levamisole in sheep
Yellow
1.5x sheep dose rate
Macrocyclic lactones in goats
Clear
2x sheep dose rate
Monepantel, zolvix, amino-acetonitrile derivative
Orange
1.5x sheep dose rate
Dequantel and abamectin
Not recommended for use in goats
2x sheep dose rate
Johne’s disease in goats
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis
Largely a disease of commercial herds
Probably the single biggest cause of death or culling in these herds
Likely that an age related resistance to infection occurs in goats
Neonates are the most susceptible (first 30 days of life)
Clinical signs of Johne’s in goats
Progressive wt. loss, may extend from weeks to months and leads to dramatic emaciation
Clinical disease is often triggered by stress such as parturition or introduction into new herd
Appetite maintained initially but subsequently decreases
Increasing lethargy & depression
Rough hair coat & flakey skin
Diarrhoea is not a feature except possibly terminally, unless there is concurrent parasitism
As the disease progresses a moderate anaemia of chronic infection may develop & clinical evidence of hypoproteinaemia such as intermandibular oedema may develop
Rarely occurs 1year of age & is most common in goats 2 or 3y old
Where does Johne’s lay dormant?
The lamina propria of the intestine and the mesenteric LNs
Control of Johne’s in goats
Identification and removal of infected animals from the herd
Improved management and hygiene
Vaccination of kids between 2-4 weeks of age
Fading goat syndrome
Differential for Johne’s due to chronic weight loss
Many different causes (management, parasites, chronic pulmonary disease, chronic DJD, chronic lameness, oral problems)
Caseous lymphadenitis in goats
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
Rare but probably more common than reported
‘Onion ring’ appearance is generally absent
Pus is creamy white or yellow, and think and clinging
Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAE)
Lentivirus
Major importance
Potential serious risk to UK goat population
Transmitted in colostrum or milk
Clinical signs of CAE
arthritis (chronic hyperplastic polysynovitis); yearlings or adults, often after stress of first kidding. Commonly seen in carpal joints, but also hock, stifle, fetlock, neck, and hip
hard udder (indurative mastitis)
pneumonia (progressive interstitial pneumonia)
encephalitis (leucoencephalomyelitis) – rarely, if ever, reported in UK, usually 2 – 6 month old kids
progressive weight loss
Scrapie/BSE in goats
Notifiable disease
Clinical signs similar to sheep- pruritic and nervous forms observed with considerable overlap
No resistant genotypes like in sheep
Can be infected with BSE by intracerebral or oral challenge
Atypical scrapie has also been identified in goats
Pruritic ectoparasites in goats
- Lice
- Sarcoptic mange
- Harvest mites, forage mites, cheyletiella
- Psoroptic mange
Non-pruritic ectoparasites in goats
- Chorioptic mange
- Demodectic mange
- Pustular dermatitis
- Ringworm
Lice in goats
Two types:
- large ‘blue’ or sucking lice (Linognathus stenopsis)
- small ‘red-brown’ biting lice (Bovicola caprae, limbata, and crassiceps)
Shear and shampoo
Chorioptic mange in goats
Very common
Check legs during routine foot trimming
Exudative dermatitis and skin lesions are associated with a hypersensitivity reaction. White/brown scabby lesions
Treatment frustration
Sarcoptic mange
Relatively common
Transmitted by direct contact, and indirect
Lesions start around eyes and ears
Erythema and small nodules, progressing to hair loss, skin wrinkling and thickening
Lose condition and milk yield falls
Demodectic menage in goats
Relatively common
Show clinical disease following infection as a kid
Usually individual problem not herd problem
Small nodules in skin, yellow caseous material
Psoroptic mange in goats
Psoroptes cuniculi parasites in the ear
Usually no signs, sometimes head shaking/scratching
Scaly lesions on inside of pinnae
Ringworm in goats
Uncommon
Lesions are initially circular, crusty and raised, later irregular in shape, often occurring on the head, ears and neck
The course of the disease is 4 to 5 weeks in animals with competent immune systems
Staphylococcal dermatitis (pustular dermatitis)
Staphylococcus aureus infection
Very common
Pustules especially on udder, teats, and groin
Easily broken and spread
Common secondary invader to other skin lesions
Respiratory disease in goats
Rarely a problem in small herds
Many infectious causes are multifactorial
Mycoplasma increasingly important in respiratory disease
Most disease caused by Mannheimia strains A1, A2, & A6
Often follows a stressful incident
Young goats more commonly affected
Tuberculosis in goats
Rare and notifiable
Generally Mycobacterium bovis
May have extensive lesions without obvious clinical signs
Chronic weight loss +/- diarrhoea
Chronic cough due to bronchopneumonia
Diarrhoea in kids
Dietary scour
- insufficient colostrum
- artificially reared kids on a milk substitute
Infectious scour
- birth to 3 weeks: E. coli, crypto, salmonella
- 4-12 weeks: Coccidiosis, GI parasites
Coccidiosis in goats
Improved hygiene is the cornerstone of coccidiosis control
All goats infected
Avoid overcrowding
Provide clean dry bedding
Treat with Diclurazil, potentiated sulphonamides, or Decoquinate
Periparturient toxaemia in goats
Insufficient intake of energy
Before kidding (last 4-6 weeks of pregnancy (pregnancy toxaemia)
After kidding (2-4 weeks post partum) mild ketonaemia in early lactation
Treatment: termination of pregnancy if pregnancy toxaemia, calcium
Mastitis in goats
Comparative rarity in goats
Most common in haemolytic coagulase positive staphylococci, occasionally involved in severe gangrenous mastitis
High level of sub-clinically infected glands
Somatic cell counts useful as herd test
Goat produces milk as apocrine secretion
Urolithiasis in goats
Any straining male goat should be assumed to have a blocked urethra until proved otherwise. Urolithiasis is common, constipation rare
Tube cystotomy is the treatment of choice for relief of obstructive urolithiasis in valuable animals and in animals where a ruptured bladder is suspected
Insertion of an indwelling Foley catheter into the urinary bladder temporarily relieves the obstruction, providing immediate relief to the animal, by diverting urine flow from the blocked urethra
Disbudding in goats
Commonest surgical procedure
Must be careful not to overdose with xylazine
Can suffer disbudding meningoencephalitis
Use short acting anaesthetic (halothane, isoflurane, propofol, alfaxalone), gaseous by mask is best for the kid
Short time away from mother and short time in the surgery
Clip hair around
Very hot disbudding iron, short time of application, large enough diameter
Kids no more than 7 days of age (should be 2-4 days)
Scrape out burnt area with scalpel
Descenting of kids
Burning a semi-circular area caudomedially behind the horn buds will also remove the scent glands from the area, reducing to some extent the buck odour
Castration in goats
1st week of life
- Rubber ring or burdizzo
- by anyone
- no anaesthesia required
<2 months
- surgical
- by anyone
- no anaesthesia required
> 2months
- surgical
- vet surgeon
- anaesthesia required
Weights of adult dairy goats
Doe: 55-105kg
Buck 75-120kg
Weights of adult angora goats
Doe: 35-55kg
Buck: 50-70kg
