What is Coccidiosis in Goats?
Coccidiosis are small parasites that can infest a goat’s intestine. Coccidiosis can be very hard to get rid of because they are very fast at reproducing and can lay thousands of eggs at a time. Coccidiosis is dangerous for goats because they break down important cells in the goat’s intestine that are supposed to digest food.
How do goats get Coccidiosis?
There are two ways that a goat can get Coccidiosis. The first (and most common) way is when a young goat comes into contact with the feces of an adult goat who has Coccidiosis. This is because Coccidiosis parasites are passed through the poop of the infected goat.
The second way a goat can get Coccidiosis is by sharing food or water with an infected goat.
Symptoms of Coccidiosis in goats?
The presence of a small number of Coccidiosis inside a goat is actually not considered dangerous. This is because a goat with only a small number of these parasites will probably not develop any symptoms. However, if there is a large number of Coccidiosis parasites, your goat will definitely develop some symptoms. The most common symptoms of Coccidiosis in goats are:
- Diarrhea
- Blood in feces
- Constipation
- Loss in Appetite
- Lethargy
- Dehydration
Coccidiosis usually affects younger goats that are 6 months or younger. This is because their digestive system is still not fully developed and thus more sensitive to parasites.
How to Treat Coccidiosis in Goats
There are 5 different medications that you can give your goat to treat Coccidiosis. These medications are not prescribed solely to goats, so you may need to buy the labels of other animals. These medications are Corid, Sulmet, Albon, Sulfaguanidine, and Tetracycline. Luckily, you can buy Corid here on amazon for under $30.
How to prevent goats from getting Coccidiosis
The key to protecting your goat from Coccidiosis is hygiene. You should have a quick and thorough process of removing goat feces from the yard. We remove our goat’s feces with this pooper scooper.
You should also ensure that the water and food bowls are kept clean. It is also important that you only give your goat fresh, clean water.