Medical A-D

Abdominal Pain

Signs of abdominal pain are depression, restlessness, bleating, teeth grinding, reluctance to move, increased shallow breathing, increased heart rate, abnormal posture such as an arched back and a tucked-up abdomen.  (Smith and Sherman (1994) at p. 286)

Age Determination

Using teeth to determine age

A quick and easy way to estimate age of a goat or sheep is to divide the teeth down the middle and count all large teeth to the right of the line.

University of Pennsylvania Disease Image Gallery http://www.das.psu.edu/goats/health/gallery/

  In overgrazed areas of the world, where goats are eating too close to the ground, goats will wear their teeth down very early in life, so it will be difficult to determine age. (Steve Weerts, Ethiopia Interview)

Age when teeth come in

Using presence of body parts to determine fetal age 

(Lazarro)

Using fetal length to determine fetal age

             (Lazarro)

Links:

How To Tell The Age of Goats  (Excellent pictures showing teeth at different ages.) http://www.acga.org.au/goatnotes/B010.php

Anatomy and Physiology

Links:

Anatomy and Physiology of The Goat http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/178336/goat-anatomy.pdf

Anatomy of the buck reproductive organs http://kinne.net/fertbuck.htm    

Parts of a Dairy Goat  http://www.portal.msue.msu.edu/objects/content_revision/download.cfm/revision_id.283436/workspace_id.27665/Dairy%20Goat%20Parts.pdf/

Pictures of acceptable and unacceptable udders, p. 5 of http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/em4894/em4894.pdf

Assessment Form

This is a printable form that helps you get organized for a vet visit. http://cometothefarm.com/medical_assessment.htm

Behavior of Goats

Goat Handbook  http://www.goatworld.com/articles/behavior/behavior.shtml

Blood Sampling

Body Condition Scoring

The following diagram illustrates what you are feeling under the skin when you body score goats.

Diagram from http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/meatgoat/pdf_factsheets/matchingforagesmg.pdf)

Here is a pictorial summary showing the excellent materials from "How to Body Score Goats" from the E [Kika] de la Garza Goat Research Center at Langston University. Go directly to the site to learn how to body score.  http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/bcshowto.html and 2011 Goat Field Day notes at http://www.luresext.edu/goats/library/field/bcs2011.pdf

Table from Haskell, http://www.rmncsba.org/SMALLRUMINANT.pdf

Links:

Boluses and balling guns

You can give a tablet or big capsule (bolus) to a goat with a balling gun.  This will get the tablet or bolus back far enough in the mouth to have some chance of getting the goat to swallow it. 

A kid can be held between your knees to deliver the bolus.

For an adult goat, you will need a friend to hold the gun for you, and then to help you keep the goat against the wall while you administer the drug. 

The following directions are for an adult goat.

Using a balling (bolus) gun

Castration

Age

Bucklings should be castrated before 14 days of age.

Reasons to Castrate

Methods

There are several methods of castration: elastrator bands, burdizzo clamps or knife.  See "links" section below for specific procedures.

Treatment slings are often used to hold adult goats for castration or other treatments.  For more information about using treatment slings (also called deck chairs) see the article at  http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/instruction/9.pdf

Premier 1 Supply 

Cleaning/ Disinfecting

Composting Dead Goats

Disaster Preparedness For Livestock

See Disaster Preparedness for Livestock at http://www.luresext.edu/goats/training/disaster.html

Disbudding (see "Horns" on Medical page E-M)

Drenching and Dosing

Drenching and dosing are two ways of giving liquids to the goat.  For drenching you can either buy a drencher or you can use a glass soda bottle.  For dosing you will need a 60 cc. syringe (no needle).  These methods are easier to use, and are less uncomfortable for the goat, when giving dosages of up to 8 or 10 oz, rather than using a stomach tube. You can give mineral oil, dewormers, antacids, diarrhea treatment fluids and other liquids this way.  You may need someone to hand you the drencher (or syringe) and then to help you hold the goat.

Method for drenching with a small drenching gun:

1. Back the goat into the corner and crowd its left side against a wall.  Encircle its upper neck with your left arm.  Have your helper hand you the drencher into your right hand.

2. Insert the thumb of your left hand into the goat’s mouth, and with a combination of prying and pushing, open it’s mouth wide enough to allow you to insert the neck of the bottle with your right hand.  Be very careful not to get your fingers between the grinding teeth or you will be bit.

3. Insert the neck of the drenching bottle into the corner of the goat’s mouth about 1 ½ to 2”.  At the same time, lift the goat’s head so that the goat is looking up at a 45 degree angle.

4.  Pour the liquid slowly onto the rear of the tongue and allow the goat to swallow it.  Do go too fast or it could go into the lungs, causing pneumonia.  (Batagglia, p. 446)

Method of drenching, using an oral calf feeder bag

1. Fill the drencher bag with the desired solution.  Hang the drencher bag on a hook on the wall or in the ceiling in a corner location, and place the hook high enough to keep the bag higher than the goat's head.  Back the goat into the corner and crowd its left side against a wall.  Encircle its upper neck with your left arm.  Have a helper hand the tube part into your right hand.

2. Insert the thumb of your left hand into the goat’s mouth, and with a combination of prying and pushing, open it’s mouth wide enough to allow you to insert the tube with your right hand.  Be very careful not to get your fingers between the grinding teeth to avoid being bitten.3. Lift the goat's head at a 45 degree angle, so she is looking up, and insert the tip of the drenching tube

into the corner of the goat’s mouth on the left side.  Push the tube into the esophagus.  Look at the outside of the goat's neck to see whether you have it in the right place. If you can see a bulge in the neck area, you are in the esophagus where you should be.  But if you cannot see a bulge in the neck area, you are in the trachea (windpipe), and discharging fluid into the trachea can cause pneumonia or death of the animal.  If you are in the trachea, remove the tube and try again until you are in the esophagus.  

4.  Release the clampon the tube,  enough to let the liquid flow slowly into the goat's esophagus.

5.  When the fluid is completely gone from the tube, shut the clamp.    This will prevent drops of fluid from entering the lungs as you pull the tube out. 

6.Wash the bag after each use, and make sure it is completely dry before you store it.  

 (General directions on using a drencher are from Batagglia, p. 446.  Directions for using a drencher bag and how to tell if it is in the esophagus are from -Dr. Emma Ewing, DVM.  Other directions from package insert provided by the manufacturer, Jorgensen Laboratories, Inc.)

Method for dosing using a syringe:

Use the same method as "drenching with a small drenching gun", above, except the liquid is put into a large syringe.  The syringe is inserted into the corner of the mouth and by slowly pushing down the plunger, you put the solution into the goat’s mouth. (Batagglia, p. 446)

Drug Databases

University of Maryland Sheep and goat: alphabetical list of sheep and goat diseases with links: http://www.sheepandgoat.com/disease.html

Langston University's 2010 Field Day notes are an excellent resource for basic goat care. (Go to  http://www.luresext.edu/goats  Select library in the left panel and then Field Day.)  These are filled with excellent materials.  They are written for meat goats, but much of the material also applies to dariy goats.  The Herd Health pages contain tables for vaccinations, anthelmintics (dewormers) and common drugs.  They give goat dosages, and milk and meat withhold times specific to goat. 

Medical treatment forms which are available on the Goat Dairy Library: 

Naxcel dosage chart  this is a chart that allows you to know exactly how much Naxcel to give for a goat of a certain weight.  You can make the same kind of sheet for any drug you give a lot.

Treatment chart  A form for recording medical treatments.

Drug Labeling, Extra-Label Drug Use (ELDU), AMDUCA, MUMS 

Extra label drug use or ELDU, means that you are using a drug that has not been approved for goats, or you are giving doses or are administering it in a way that is not put on the label.  For example, the label says it is ok to give the drug to cows, but it says nothing about giving it to goats.  You cannot give that drug without permission from your veterinarian.  Why? The dose, meat and milk withhold times may not be accurate for goats. Goats need much more medicine than what would be given for a cow, because food moves through a goat's body much faster than through a cow.  Therefore less gets absorbed. 

The AMDUCA (Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act): http://www.avma.org/reference/amduca/extralabel_brochure.pdf allows vets to give medicines to species other than those listed on the label, but they must adjust the dose, milk and meat withholding times.  It is illegal for farmers to do this themselves.  You must have a personal, ongoing relationship with your vet in order to have the vet give you permission to use these drugs.  You must also keep good records about who you call and what they tell you to do, so if you get into trouble, you have a record  showing that you tried everything possible to get reliable information. Those records must be kept for two years.(Haskell, Reproduction) 

FARAD (Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank):  http://www.farad.org/ (This service will give your vet dosage and withdrawal times for goats).

MUMS: Minor Use / Minor Species Animal al Health Act.  On July 20, 2004  Congress passed the MUMS (MINOR USE/MINOR SPECIES) Animal Health Act that makes it possible to use sheep/goat pharmaceuticals, de-wormers and parasite control mixtures that are currently approved overseas.

Drug Dosages  (How to Figure Them)