Goat Farming

Goat Disease Management & Vaccination Schedule

Goat Disease Management & Vaccination Schedule

Goat Diseases and Health Care Management

Generally, goats are resistant to many diseases. However, when we rear more number of animals in one place and insufficiency of pasture facilities, intensive system of rearing leads to spread of many diseases. This causes reduced production potential and more mortality which in turn causes economic losses to the farmers. Hence, identification of diseases in goat and its prevention is most important.

Health management is more important especially worm load. Hence, the kids must be dewormed as mentioned in the Table below. Ecto-parasites must be treated carefully because it not only affects the growth but also affect skin quality.

Common Diseases, Vaccination and Deworming Schedule

Disease	Age at Vaccination	Periodicity of Vaccination
Enterotoxaemia	> 4 months	Biannual (January and July)
Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD)	> 4-6 months	Biannual (Feb/March and August/September)
Black Quarter	> 4-6 months	Annually (March/April)
Haemorrhagic Septicemia	> 4-6 months	Annually (April/May)
Anthrax	> 6 months	Annually (April/May or in affected areas)
Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR)	> 4 months	Annually (June/July)
Blue Tongue	> 4-6 months	Annually (August)
Pox	> 4 months	Annually (December)
Deworming	• 15-20 days after birth
	• Every two months for the first year • Thrice a year (April, July and November) • Repeat deworming as required.

Disease Management

Be on the alert for signs of illness such as reduced feed intake, fever, abnormal discharge or unusual behavior.
Consult the nearest veterinary aid centre for help if illness is suspected.
Protect the animals against common diseases.
In case of outbreak of contagious diseases, immediately segregate the sick animals from healthy one and take necessary disease control measures.
Deworm the animals regularly.
Examine the faeces of adult animals to detect eggs of internal parasites and treat the animals with suitable drugs.
Provide clean and uncontaminated feed and water for minimizing the health disorders.
Strictly follow the recommended vaccine schedule.

Vaccination in Goats

Deworming

Disease	Symptoms	Prevention
BACTERIAL DISEASES
Anthrax	Sudden fever and death, dark-colored bloody discharge from the natural orifice such as nose, anus and vagina	• Vaccination once in a year in affected area, • disposal of carcass either by burying or burning • don’t open the carcass as the germ spread through air
Haemorrhagic Septicemia	Fever, dysentery, swelling of lower mandible and death, More occurrence in rainy season	Vaccinate the animal once in a year before onset of rainy season
Brucellosis	Abortion during late pregnancy, infertility, scrotal swelling in male, joint swelling	• Disposal of dead foetus and placenta • Use gloves while handling infected items as it affects human beings
Enterotoxaemia	Sudden death in young growing kids, Mucous diarrhea is also seen during death	• Vaccinate the animals once in a year before the onset of monsoon • Don’t feed on young grass
Pneumonia	Fever, respiratory distress, mucous discharge from nostril, reduced feed intake and weight gain, cough	Clean water, well-ventilated house
Foot Rot	Wound in foot region	Keep the animal in dry clean house
Mastitis	Swelling of udder, change in milk	• Clean the shed • Wash the udder with disinfectant solution
VIRAL DISEASES
Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR)	Fever, Occular and nasal mucous discharge, mouth lesion, respiratory distress	• Yearly vaccination • Separation of infected one from healthy animals
Foot and Mouth Disease	Fever, wound lesion in foot and mouth, excess salivary secretion, difficult in walking	• Follow regular vaccination as per the schedule • Isolate the affected animal from the healthy animals
Goat Pox	Fever, Occular and nasal mucous discharge, respiratory distress, pox lesion in un hairy parts such as lips, thigh udder etc	• Follow regular vaccination as per the schedule • Isolate the affected animal from the healthy animals
Endo-Parasitic Diseases
Fluke Infection	Emaciation, anaemia, edema in lower jaw	• Control of snails, • Avoid grazing in early morning and late evening, • Deworming of animals periodically
Tape Worm	Reduced growth, fever, kid mortality	• Deworming of animals periodically
Round Worm	Fever, anaemia, edema in lower jaw, reduced growth	• Deworming of animals periodically
Coccidiosis	Blood tinged brownish diarrhea, anaemia, kid mortality	• Clean house • spray of 10% ammonia solution, • administration of anticoccidial drugs
Ecto-Parasitic Infestation
Tick, Lice, etc.	Reduced growth, skin allergy and wound	• Clean house, periodical dipping