Preventative Health Strategies
With goats, preventing health care issues is more effective than trying to remedy them. Below are a range of strategies you can implement to assist with this.
An editable Healthcare Plan Template is included for you to download and adapt to your own farm needs, using the information contained within this section.
A separate Worm Management Plan and Kid Vaccination Plan are also available for download below.
Intestinal Worms:
Goats have less ‘built-in’ natural immunity to worms than other species such as cows and sheep as their natural diet and browsing habits see them less exposed to worm larvae. Under intensive pasture-based systems like we have in New Zealand, the best way to reduce worm burden is to limit as much of the larvae as possible from entering the goat’s digestive systems. This is what underpins the cut and carry system of feeding goats that is prevalent in commercial NZ goat farming operations. By cutting the pasture at least 2 cm higher than the base, most of the worm larvae is left in the paddock and by feeding the pasture down a centre lane or on a conveyor, the goats are not mucking back on the feed they are eating. Barber pole worm seems to be the most common type of worm affecting dairy goats. Goats with worm burden will usually look rough coated, losing weight, and have bad diarrhoea. They may also be anaemic (pale around the eyes and mucous membranes).
FREE: Download a sample Dairy Goat Worm Management Plan (in editable Word format)
Observation:
Knowing your goats and being able to pick up on subtle changes will enable you to be proactive in your health care.
Nutrition:
Nutrition plays a vital role in the preventative health of your goats but can also be a complicated area to manage. Goats have a lower tolerance to variances in the nutritional components of their diet. Monitoring their visual appearance, milk production and stool composition and making changes to the diet and supplementation as required needs to be an ongoing process. You can find out more about Dairy Goat Nutrition in this section of our site.
Vaccinations:
Each farm should have a written Vaccination Plan that is implemented throughout the year, with seasonal adjustments made as required. The most common vaccinations used in NZ dairy goat herds are listed below.
Covexin 10 - Covers 10 strands of clostridial diseases. Should be given within the first 2-4 weeks from birth with a booster given 4-6 weeks later. Subsequent booster shots should be given to mature animals at least annually, with at least one of these being 4-6 weeks pre-kidding to pass on immunity to the newborn kids.
Glanvac 6 - Covers 5 strands of clostridial diseases (Black Disease, Black Leg, Malignant Oedema, Pulpy Kidney, and Tetanus ) as well as CLA (Cheesy Gland) which is not included in in Covexin 10. Delivery of this vaccine is as per Covexin 10.
Toxovax - A live vaccine which prevents abortion resulting from infection with Toxoplasma Gondi, commonly spread by cat faeces. This is a lifetime vaccine which should be given at least 4 weeks before the start of mating.
Gudair - Aids in the reduction of Johnes infection within the herd. Should be given to kids at approximately 4-8 weeks of age.
Some vaccines are injected intra-muscular whilst others are subcutaneous - read the instructions for each vaccine and administer as per the manufacture's recommendations. Check the expiry date of each batch before using and how long an opened pack can be kept for before needing to be disposed of.
Inspect your injector gun and needle supply at least a couple of days before your planned vaccination run in case something needs replacing. Use an old jar or plastic container to collect and safely store any used needles. Most veterinary clinics in New Zealand offer a needle disposal service.
FREE: Download a Kid Vaccination Plan Template
(in editable excel format). Vaccinations for your main herd are listed in the Goat Healthcare Plan above.
You can find more information about Kid Rearing here.
Environment:
Part of your preventative health care needs to focus on the safety of the physical environment. Goats are naturally curious so the barns and pens need to be 'goat proofed' just in the same way as you might child-proof your home for young children. This is particularly important for any pens housing young goats.
Ways to Goat-Proof Your Space:
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Check all housing areas for any gates or boards that could fall onto an animal if jumped on or pushed over.
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Double latch (or use a latch and a chain) gates to prevent goats opening them themselves - this will not only prevent the goat from injuring themselves on items in the surrounding areas but will also save your machinery and equipment from being jumped on and chewed by any escapee goats.
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Avoid hoof-sized gaps between palings and between gate hinges and posts - any gaps must be small enough that they can't fit their feet into the space or big enough that they can get their feet out again if they put them in there. Spaces that narrow down to a wedge are particulalry bad as goats will be able to get their feet into the gap as they jump up but as they come down their feet will become trappped in the smaller space. The same is true for spaces in which they might put their heads and necks. Never have a feed rail space that narrows at one end or goats will end up strangling themselves or being pushed into the wedge by other goats. Avoid the use of gates with diagonal bracing, particularly with your kids whose heads can fit it the gaps and become wedged in the corners.
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Do not leave wire, rope or string (such as baling twine) in the pens or where they can reach through and pull it into the pen.
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Avoid the use of chain mesh gates as eartags catch on these easily, resulting in the loss of the tags and often torn ears.
Hoof Care:
The hooves of indoor dairy goats require ongoing management in order to prevent painful issues. Damp bedding material (which encourages bacterial growth) and over feeding maize concentrate (increases the hoof growth rate) are the two main causes of foot issues. Keeping on top of your barn maintenance and regular trimming of hooves will keep most issues under control. Bringing in external hoof trimming contractors three - four times per year will get the whole herd done within a day or two and additional hoof trimming can be done on farm in-between as required. The annual cost per animal is approximately $10-15 per doe depending on how many times they are trimmed. Where preventative measures aren't enough, antibiotic and pain relief treatments may be needed.
Biosecurity:
Being aware of the potential spread of disease from one farm to another, and putting measures in place to control this, is an important but easily overlooked preventative health strategy.
