Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Most common small stock ailments

Home National Most common small stock ailments

1. Heartwater (Rickettsiosis/hartwater)
Cause: 
Cowdria ruminantium (Rickettsia)
Symptoms: 
Loss of appetite, listlessness and rapid breathing.
Followed by muscular tremors, circular movements, and grinding of the teeth.
Recovering animals show diarrhoea.
Immune animals show a slight fever.
Treatment: 
Treatment should occur as early as possible (preferably before the nervous symptoms occur).
Oxytetracycline (Liquamycin L A). (Swamicin/Terramycin)
Prevention: 
Vaccination after 2 weeks of age may cause severe disease reaction, therefore end treatment on day 8 or 9 with long-acting tetracycline in a lower dose than prescribed.
Eliminate transmission by dipping.
Do not import animals from a heartwater-free area into a heartwater area without vaccination.

2. Blue udder (Blue bag)
Cause:
Staphylococcus areus or Pasteurella haemolytica (bacterium)
Symptoms:
Occur in female goats soon after kidding or even before.
Udder becomes infected, swollen and painful, later it turns purple to blue.
Loss of appetite and fever, milk is abnormal and may cause death of kid(s).
Toxins produced by the bacteria cause general disease signs and eventually death.
Treatment:
Difficult and costly to treat.
Penicillin or oxytetracycline.
Prevention:
Hygiene.
Vaccination, animals that have not been vaccinated before are given two vaccinations, 6–8 weeks and 2–4 weeks before kidding. Repeat annually.

3. Pasteurella
(Pasteurellosis/infectious pneumonia/harslagsiekte)
Cause:
Pasteurella haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida (bacterium)
Symptoms:
Acute death of animals.
Fever, lack of appetite, rapid breathing.
Coughing, loss of condition, difficult breathing, discharge from nose and eyes.
Animals lie down with neck stretched out.
Treatment:
Inject with sulpha or oxytetracycline (Sulphatrim or Liquamycin L A).
Prevention:
Vaccinate all animals according to the vaccination programme. The vaccine does not give complete protection; therefore, cases of Pasteurella can still occur.
Kids are vaccinated 2 times with an interval of 4–6 weeks, with an oil vaccine.
Adults are vaccinated annually with an alum vaccine.
This disease is stress-related. Make sure animals are protected against possible stress: weather, weaning, scarcity of feed, etc.

4.Botulism (Lamsiekte/gallamsiekte)
Cause:
Clostridium botulinum (bacterium)
Symptoms:
Stiffness of the limbs (noticed in leg and neck muscles).
Followed by partial or complete paralysis of all muscles.
Tongue may protrude.
In less acute cases, animals have difficulty feeding and drinking.
Treatment:
No treatment.
Prevention:
Vaccination (especially if animals are fed with chicken litter), twice at about weaning age, repeat annually.
Destroy all carcasses.
Bacteria form spores which occur in the soil. Make sure animals do not suffer from mineral deficiency and show signs of pica.

5. (Pulpy kidney/bloednier)
Cause:
Clostridium perfringens, also known as Clostridium welchii type D (bacterium)
Symptoms: 
Acute death of animals.
Laboured breathing, salivation, diarrhoea.
Twitching muscles, rolling eyes, grinding of teeth.
Many animals in one herd (herd problem).
Treatment:
Unsuccessful, because the disease is noticed too late.
Prevention:
Vaccinate all animals according to the vaccination programme.
Kids are vaccinated 2 times with an interval of 4–6 weeks.
Adults are vaccinated annually.
Do not make sudden changes in diet, grazing or deworming.
Vaccinate at least 3 weeks before deworming.
In a severe outbreak you may consider treating all animals once with a long-acting tetracycline.
-Compiled from various sources by Charles Tjatindi