Prevention and Treatment Methods for Common Winter Diseases in Goats
I. Braxy: This disease strikes suddenly, leaving almost no time for treatment, so immune prevention is the main approach. Commonly used vaccines are the “braxy—struck—enterotoxemia” triple vaccine or the “braxy—struck—enterotoxemia—lamb dysentery—black disease” quintuple vaccine. Subcutaneous injection of 5 ml; immunity develops 2 weeks after injection, with a protection period of more than six months.
II. Enterotoxemia, struck, and black disease: Because the disease progresses rapidly, animals often die before treatment can be given. For the few sheep with a slow course, early use of antibiotics, sulfonamides, and intestinal disinfectants, along with cardiotonic, fluid infusion, and detoxification therapies, offers hope of a cure. The best approach is to vaccinate in advance with the triple or quintuple vaccine for prevention.
III. Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia: This disease can be prevented by vaccinating with contagious caprine pleuropneumonia aluminum hydroxide vaccine: 3 ml for goats under 6 months old and 5 ml for goats over 6 months old. Reliable immunity is produced 14 days after injection, and the immune protection period is 1 year. For affected goats, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, kanamycin, streptomycin, and others can be used for treatment, continuously for 5 to 7 days, which can achieve a certain therapeutic effect.
IV. Mastitis: When a ewe develops mastitis, the udder should be cleaned and udder trauma treated, cold compresses applied to feverish udders, and deteriorated milk in the udder promptly squeezed out. For drug treatment, glucose saline, analgin, and tetracycline can be used by intravenous injection, and sodium bicarbonate should be supplemented to relieve acidosis symptoms. If it is unclear which bacterial infection is involved, traditional Chinese medicine therapies can be used: 100 grams of fresh dandelion and 6 grams of Tetrapanax papyrifer pith, crushed, mixed with boiling water, and administered orally in one dose after cooling to a warm temperature; or 15 grams of Angelica dahurica root, 15 grams of Fritillaria thunbergii, and 10 grams of Trichosanthes root, ground into powder, mixed with boiling water, and administered orally in one dose; or 70 grams of purslane, 60 grams of adzuki bean, and 50 grams of winter melon peel, decocted into a juice and administered orally in one dose, while separately applying an appropriate amount of mashed purslane and adzuki bean to the affected area; or 50 grams of loofah sponge, 30 grams of wild chrysanthemum, and 25 grams of Cirsium japonicum, decocted into a juice and administered orally in one dose.
V. Tapeworm disease: To prevent tapeworm disease, use 20% quicklime water or 5% cresol solution to spray and scrub goat sheds and feeding utensils. For preventive deworming, praziquantel or bithionol can be used; the former at 12 mg/kg body weight, and the latter at 60 to 80 mg/kg body weight. Drug treatment methods include: oral administration of 1% copper sulfate, 15 to 45 ml for lambs 1 to 6 months old and 45 to 100 ml for sheep over 7 months old; or oral administration of arsenic preparations such as lead arsenate, stannous arsenate, and calcium arsenate, 0.5 grams for lambs and 1 gram for adult sheep, followed by an oil-based laxative to help expel the parasites; or niclosamide (niclosamide), 50 to 75 ml per kg body weight, administered orally in one dose.