Goat Sniffing

Goat Sniffing
And other herd health management tools you
might not learn in a book.....
Rachel Scherer
Heritage Fields Farm
Orange, MA
heritagefields@gmail.com
Affect
Breath
Gait
Behavior
Rumen
Feet
Eyes
Nose
Ears
Use all 6 senses
Tail
Genitals
Teeth
Cheeks
Udder
Teats
Skin
Coat
See, Hear, Smell, Touch, Taste,
Connect
Things to sniff
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Breath
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abscesses, dental, retained cud, rumen function, ketosis
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Under-the-tail
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Post-kidding infections, yeast infections, scours diagnosis
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Coat
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General health vis a vis nutrition, barn hygiene
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Milk
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Animal hygiene, barn hygiene, person-al hygiene
What do you see from afar?
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Posture
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Gait
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Interactions
What do you see/feel up close?
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Coat texture and coloration
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Bright eyes or dull?
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Fish tail?
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Bald spots on neck?
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Lumps or swellings? Hard or soft? Hot?
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Udder textures – temperatures?
Body Condition Scoring
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Look at ribs and spine: visible?
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Run hands along spine
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Run hands over hips
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How much pressure to feel bony protrusions?
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“pinch” test at sternum
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Lumbar access
How to interpret BCS
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Age
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Dry or fresh? How many freshenings?
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Gestation or Lactation?
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Kids on or weaned?
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Milking pressure?
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Bucks – age? Pre, In, or Post Rut?
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Wethers: no mercy!
FAMACHA
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Quick, easy assessment of anemia
but not of its cause
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DEEP Inside Lower Eyelid
FAMACHA Foibles
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Test designed for barberpole worm
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Should be backed up by fecal egg identification
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Barberpole worm is easy to ID, eggs are not
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Repeated attempts on same eye/animalmay
skew the reading
Gums: Depends on animal
Under tail: depends on estrus or gestation
stage
Fecal Egg Counting
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You can send samples out -
Keep cool if you have to store them
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You can do it at home!
Microscope is necessary, slides and coverslips
everything else is easily accessible
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You must do it fairly often for it to be useful
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Repeat after 10 days to determine % reduction
Home Setup
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/goats/
Resources/GoatArticles/GoatHealth/
GoatParasites/TakingFecalSamples.pdf
The easy part
The hard part
FAMACHA + FEC
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Use these together with observations
Some animals have high FEC but low
FAMACHA score, or vice versa : know your
animals!
Factor in all observations to determine cause of
anemia (Cu, Fe, Md, Mn) before assuming
deworming medication is needed
Is a Poor FAMACHA score
Copper Anemia or Parasites?
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Fish Tail
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Voracious but thin
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“bleached” hair
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Dull coat
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Coarse hair
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Curled hair
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Late shedding
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Loose manure
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Attracts flies
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Normal manure and
appetite
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Thin or decreased
milk
Gets picked on
What is causing the Cu anemia?
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Most goats are chronically copper deficient
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DO you feed according to the mfr label?
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Do you feed goat or sheep and goat?
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Do you topdress loose minerals?
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DO you have a lot of iron in your water?
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DO you have a lot of Mg, Mn and or Mb in your
soil or hay?
Dosing by Weight
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Use the weight tape regularly
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Write it down – you won't remember!
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So much variation in reading due to position,
time of day, etc that you must know the highs
and lows.
Put 10% extra in the drench to cover spitting
and spills
Dip and/or backfill with molasses
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
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Test, test, test
FAMACHA, FEC, BCS all together, individual
and herd averages
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Forage: both pasture and hay
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Soils: your own and where you get hay!
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Water
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Create a profile of inputs and use your
observations to see if they are adequate
How to fit it all in?
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Observe while you are entering/exiting
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Watch them get on/off milkstand, in/out barn
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Have a greaseboard handy to jot down obs
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Have a camera in your phone?
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Leave yourself a voicemail!
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Make an easy schedule -
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1st of the month, Equinoxes etc (kelp day, herb
day, don't overload them or yourself!)
Sample schedule
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Entering barn for AM milking, see who is up,
what are they doing?
As they enter milking parlor, run hand along
back
Look at eyes, mouth, ears while closing
headgate
Note udder and teat temp and texture
Sniff while milking! Become a burp/fart
connoisseur!
Regular Events
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Equinoxes: Cu boluses by weight
First of the month: mani-pedi, buck and wether
Selenium paste
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Sunday is kelp feast day
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Monday is BCS day
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Wednesday is herbal Wormerday
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Friday is FAMACHA day
May You Have Happy Healthy
Goats