It is important to recognize what is "normal" about your goats so that problems can be identified correctly and in a timely manner. Here are just a few of the normal vital signs and life stages your goats will encounter:
Temperature: 102.5- 104 deg. F
Pulse: 70-80 bpm
Respiration: 15-30 per minute
Rumen Movements: 1-1.5 per minute
Puberty: 7 weeks- 8 months
Estrus Cycle: 17-23 days
Gestation: 143 to 155 days
Full Growth: in about 3 yrs. Breed standards will give
and average heights
Here are some of the common conditions and diseases that our herd has experienced in the past. Listed below are the symptoms to look for a multiple ways for treatment.
Bloat-
Symptoms: Enlarged barrel, tight at the flanks, inability to get up, frothing at the mouth, and death.
Cause: Overeating on lush wet pastures, or overeating grain.
Treatment: Keep the goat on its feet and walking around. Hopefully this will releave some gas. Drench the animal with 6-8 fluid ounces of mineral oil NOT VEGETABLE. Vegetable oil will only add to the problem, mineral oil is non-digestable and will help speed the release of gas. Continue to massage the stomach and lead the goat. If bloat does not subside CALL THE VET.
An easy way to prevent bloat is to mix baking soda in with your animals grain ration or keep it out as a free choice. This will help stabilize the ph level of the stomach and promote normal functionality.
Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis-
Symptoms: Enlarged kness, arthritis, loss of weight, extremely hard udder when freshened swelling of the brain.
Treatment: Unfortunately CAE is a virus that can not be treated. The best advice is to isolate the infected doe right away and remove her from the herd.
Before buying new animals it is always a good idea to ask if the animal has been tested to CAE to prevent your herds contamination.
Coccidiosis-
Symptoms: Profuse diarhhea, blood in stools, listlessness, dehydration, and fever.
Treatment: Bisol at 2-5 cc for kids, and 7-10 cc for adults for 5-7 days. Living on a dairy heifer farm, we use Corrid on the calves as well as the goats. Corrid can be administed at 1cc per 4 lbs of live body weight. As a precaution we also mix this half and half with a gastro coat (pepto bismol) to make the solution easier on the digestive tract.
Cycstic Ovaries-
Symptoms: Doe will not settle, she will come into heat about every 4 days, and act masculine.
Treatment: An injection of GNrH will usually correct any hormonal imbalance the doe will have. This is a perscription you must get from your vets office. Following the first injection, give a second injection of Lutalyse in 9-10 days.
Goat Polio-
Symptoms: Blindness, uneasy or drunken gait, bleating, temperature, and death.
Treatment: This very serious disease can be treated quite easily with thimine injections from the vets office. What usually happens, is the animal has eaten too much grain and not enough forage, leaving them deficient in the B vitamin thimine. If injections are given within 24 hrs. the goat has a great rate of surviving and regaining site.
Pneumonia-
Symptoms- Chronic cough, runny nose, hanging of head, cold ears or nose, slight temperature, and death.
Treatment: