Natural health care for goats

In short

• New goats go into quarantine for 30 days, from a herd with known health status, ideally tested for CAE, CL and Johne's.
• Look at the herd every morning: is every goat chewing the cud, eating, staying with the herd?
• Swollen left flank, a male straining but not urinating, a goat that can't get up or is convulsing: vet at once.
• Abortions, sudden deaths, blisters in the mouth and on the feet: vet and report. Foot-and-mouth, PPR, sheep and goat pox, brucellosis and bluetongue are notifiable by law.
• Don't worm blindly. A faecal egg count and the colour of the eyelid (FAMACHA) tell you which goat needs treatment.
• Trim feet every 6–8 weeks. No antibiotics on your own; respect the withdrawal period for milk and meat.

What's inside

Chapters

1. Prevention before treatment
2. A healthy goat and a sick goat
3. When to call the vet at once
4. Notifiable diseases and diseases of people
5. Vaccinations and checks
6. Internal parasites
7. External parasites and skin
8. Feet
9. Common problems in a small herd
10. Natural support and the home medicine kit
11. Medicines, withdrawal periods and a dead goat
12. Common mistakes
13. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Herd health diary
• Prevention calendar
• Feet, FAMACHA and parasites
• Quarantine of a new goat
• Health cost calculator
• Contacts and emergency plan