Why a goat can cough and home treatments, prevention
Today, many people move from town to village and start a household. Therefore, breeding goats has become a popular activity, because they are much easier to care for than cows. But content errors and carelessness lead to problems. For example, if a goat starts coughing, it can happen for various reasons, each of which needs to be known to the breeder.
Possible Causes of Cough in Goats
The animal can cough due to the development of diseases, poor care or other factors. The cough is a reflex that helps protect the goat's bronchi and lungs from irritants. Therefore, it arises:
- accidental inhalation of dust;
- in a bitch female, when the fetus begins to press on the diaphragm;
- if the pet choked on hay or branches;
- with helminthic invasions.
The cough, in the first three cases, passes quickly, when infected with worms, it is necessary to give medicine to the entire livestock. For prophylactic purposes, anthelmintic drugs are used quarterly.
Containment breach
It is more difficult if the cough is caused by illness or content errors. One or several animals may suffer from a cold, the development of various kinds of pneumonia threatens to affect all livestock. There are many prerequisites for the development of a cold:
- cold and strong drafts in the goat's house;
- walking animals through frost or dew;
- too cold water to drink;
- walking in rainy or windy weather in spring and autumn.
A cold animal sneezes and coughs, if it is not treated, nasal discharge begins, the disease can develop into bronchial pneumonia. Drafts should be eliminated, animals should be provided with thick bedding. Goats should not be kept in damp, dark or cold environments. A balanced diet, the presence of vitamins (fish oil, bone meal), allows you to get a healthy livestock.
Too cold water
The goat needs free access to drinking water. Lack of fluid causes lower milk yield and other problems. In autumn-winter and early spring, animals can catch a cold by consuming too cold water. If the goat is coughing but eats well, there is no nasal discharge or fever, the possible cause of the cough is cold water. It is better to warm it up in winter and in the off-season.
Incorrect walking
The goat needs to move and run a lot. In the absence of walking, the animal withers, becomes lethargic, gives less milk, obesity may develop.However, you should not walk goats in too windy, rainy weather or with a significant drop in temperatures, leaving them without shelter for a long time. The goat has a cold, a cough, and needs treatment.
Infectious diseases
A cough is often a sign of an infectious disease. That is why, if the animal coughs badly, eats poorly, it should be placed in a separate enclosure and a veterinarian should be called, who will clarify the reason and prescribe treatment.
Pleuropneumonia
It is transmitted by airborne droplets, develops as a result of cold and dampness, crowding, weakening of animals. It is characterized by an increase in temperature up to 42 ° C, the occurrence of shortness of breath, tremors and dry cough. Then the duration of the cough increases, it becomes moist, then mucus begins to flow from the nose, sometimes containing blood. The animal dies 7-10 days after the onset of the disease.
The disease is treated with antibiotics (for example, "Tetracycline"), has a high mortality rate. In case of mass infection, quarantine measures are carried out.
Bronchopneumonia
Most often occurs due to content errors. Animals get fever, become lethargic, cough, lose their appetite. There is a flow of mucus from the nose. For treatment, antibiotics, expectorants are used. The goat is separated from the herd, transferred to a dry warm room, provided with warm drink and good nutrition.
Echinococcosis
Disease caused by worms. Cestodes are localized in the lungs and liver, forming blisters that grow over time and squeeze the infected organ. Discovered at autopsy. Echinococcosis can cause coughing if cestodes enter the lungs of an animal.
The main source of infection is the feces of dogs, less often cats. Sick goats become lethargic, their productivity decreases, and their appetite decreases. In order to prevent the disease of animals, it is necessary to systematically worm all dogs on the farm, not to let them into the barn and places of slaughter. Carefully check the condition of the internal organs of livestock after slaughter. Treatment for goats is ineffective and not carried out. Sick animals are sent for slaughter.
Dictyocaulosis
It is caused by nematodes that parasitize the lungs of artiodactyls. Signs are weakness, lack of appetite, cough, diarrhea. Goats become infected with parasites in the pasture, when they consume water from open reservoirs or puddles. It is treated with anthelmintic drugs (Alben, Albendazole, Monizel). It is given to all livestock in case of infection and once a quarter for prophylactic purposes. Goat worms from 3 months. Sugar goats - after 1 month of pregnancy.
Preventive measures
Good living conditions, adherence to the diet, veterinary care and preventive measures allow you to grow and maintain a healthy livestock.
If you have a cough, you should isolate the animal and seek veterinary attention. Lack of treatment can lead to the death of the animal, and the consumption of milk or meat infected or infected with helminths in food is dangerous for humans.
