Goats can become susceptible to many illnesses and diseases. They can get illnesses passed from other livestock such as sheep, so make sure to keep goats and sheep separate. Here I list the most common illnesses/diseases. Note that many of them can be prevented by buying from closed or disease free herds.
Scrapies: fatal degenerative disease in both sheep and goats that affects the central nervous system; note this disease can take a few years before animals show symptoms and young are most likely to get infected, but adults can be infected too; keep sheep and goats separate
Symptoms: poor muscle control (ataxia), tremors, behavioral abnormalities, star gazing, significant weight loss, head pressing, poor body condition
Treatment: no known cure; prevention is key; buy and maintain a closed herd, reduce exposure and cull contaminated animals, confine kidding and lambing
Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE): fatal viral disease in goats caused by small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs); spread from dam (mother) to kid (baby) via colostrum and through blood or open wounds
Symptoms: lameness, arthritis, paralysis in legs in goat kids, poor body condition and loss of fur, weight loss
Treatment: no known cure; prevention is key so buy and maintain a closed herd and test reguarly; cull contaminated animals
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL): chronic, infectious and fatal disease in goats and sheep that manifests itself as abscesses externally and internally; keep goats and sheep separate
Symptoms: enlarged lymph nodes, weight loss, chronic cough, neurologic deficits; note that an abscess doesn’t automatically mean CL so testing should be done to confirm
Treatment: no known cure; prevention is key; buy and maintain a closed herd and cull infected animals; test herd reguarly; note there is a vaccine for sheep but NOT for goats
Mastitis: inflammation of the udder which can be caused by physical injury, stress, bacteria, and viruses
Symptoms: fever above 105 degrees F (normal goat temperature is 101.5-103.5 degrees F), swollen and hard or hot/red udder, loss appetite, lethargy, watery/yellow looking milk, flakey or clotting milk, hard lumps on udder
Treatment: antibiotics, cortosteroids, and oil, supportive care; can be prevented with clean bedding, regular sanitation practices during milking, and minimizing stress
References:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/sheep-goat/scrapie
https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/caprine-arthritis-encephalitis-caehttps://goats.extension.org/caprine-arthritis-encephalitis-virus-cae/
https://goats.extension.org/caprine-arthritis-encephalitis-virus-cae/
https://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/2022/11/10/caseous-lymphadenitis-of-sheep-and-goats
