Sick Goat: Trouble Shooting for Treatment
Understanding how to assess a goat so you can get help quickly.
Dealing with a sick goat is never a pleasant thing. It can be intimidating, especially for new goat owners, who may panic with the tasks that come with troubleshooting and investigating the severity and cause of illness. On top of this, a veterinarian isn’t always just a phone call away. Finding a veterinarian who knows and treats goats can be difficult.
Sometimes, goat owners must turn to local or online goat communities to help resolve their issues. Amid the chaos and uncertainty, many people are unaware of how to fully assess a sick goat and pinpoint individual symptoms. Some might struggle to properly determine what is and isn’t “normal” and what’s changed leading up to the event.
If your social media feeds are anything like mine, it isn’t uncommon to come across a post with a photo of a down goat captioned, “What’s wrong? What do I do?!” without any other essential information provided.
Narrowing down the wide landscape of health issues begins with assessing the basics. This guide can be a powerful tool to give you a launchpad for diagnosing the problem with a sick goat.
First Glance
When you encounter a goat that seems “off” or is in a full-blown trauma response, start by assessing what’s normal. This begins with basic vitals — temperature, respiration, heart rate, and rumen activity — before considering behavior and other details. While many signs of health and distress are universal to all goats, it’s equally important to recognize what’s normal or abnormal for kids versus adults and for your specific animals.
Temperature
Anytime you come across a goat that’s experiencing distress, the first step is to get its temperature. Anything outside the normal range (l01.5 to 104 degrees F) will prompt your next step. Too cold means bodily functions are suppressed, especially the rumen, which can be deadly. If a goat is too cold (especially a kid), your next course of action must be to immediately warm the animal with blankets and a direct heat source. A fever, on the other hand, is usually indicative of some kind of active infection caused by a pathogen.
Respiration
Normal respiration patterns are 12 to 30 breaths per minute for adults and 20 to 40 breaths per minute for kids. If an animal is struggling to breathe (especially if no other symptoms are evident), choking is the first thing to check. Once that’s ruled out, you can look for other signs of general respiratory infection.
Cardiac
The normal heart rate is 70 to 90 beats per minute for adults and 120 to 160 beats per minute for kids. A higher heart rate could be caused by several bodily distresses, so knowing the heart rate alone won’t tell you much. However, it can be an indicator of shock, discomfort, or a major event like labor.
Rumen Activity
The rumen is key to proper digestion and nutrient absorption, which fuels the rest of the body. An improperly functioning rumen can cause a host of issues. Likewise, an excessive amount of stress or suppressed metabolism can cause the rumen to shut down, which will lead to organ failure. Always keep distressed goats sternal (propped up on their chest) to prevent rumen gases from becoming trapped and digestion from slowing. You can listen for signs of normal rumen activity by counting the ruminations or “churns” that happen each minute. You can hear these easily with a stethoscope or by putting your ear against the left side of the barrel (bulging midsection). Healthy goats will also chew cud throughout the day, usually while lying down or standing and relaxing.
The Ins and Outs
How much is going in, and how much is coming out? If it’s a kid that hasn’t been weaned yet, is it a bottle baby or dam raised? If it’s a bottle baby, are you giving whole milk or a milk replacer? How many bottles a day and how much at a time? If it’s dam-raised, when was the last time you saw it nurse, and are you sure it’s getting milk? If it’s an adult goat, have you seen it eat? If so, what and how much? Is it drinking? If it’s a male, when was the last time you saw him urinate? Kid or adult, have there been bowel movements? If so, what do they look like? Are they pellets, runny, or something in between?
FAMACHA Score
Worms are the beginning and ending of many symptoms in a sick goat. Checking the eyelids using the FAMACHA scoring system can tell you quickly if an animal is anemic. It should be noted that FAMACHA will only tell how anemic an animal is. In the majority of cases, this is caused by a significant barber pole worm infestation. However, coccidia and even severe lice or mites can also be culprits. The only way to have a detailed, full-scope view of the true worm load is via lab analysis of a fecal sample.
Overall Strength and Attitude
The general disposition, vigor, and strength of your goat should always be considered. Is it physically unable or reluctant to get up? Is the goat lying on its side and unable to support itself?
Obvious Signs of Distress
As prey animals, goats are good at concealing their discomfort. Train yourself to pick up subtle signs, such as head tossing and acting strangely (circling, limping, or other odd behavioral patterns). In goats, the most common signs of distress are grinding teeth, standing hunched or with their head pressed against a wall, isolation, or similar depressive behaviors.
Skin, Muscles, and Skeleton
A close-up external examination of a sick goat should include looking at the skin for parasites, irritation, or injury. Don’t forget to also step back and evaluate the coat’s overall condition. Is it dull, patchy, or off-color in any way? Next, examine body condition and muscle tone. If your goat is thin, is there an obvious reason why, or was there a sudden change recently? Are there oddities in muscle tone or indications of neurological tremors? Skeletally, you can check for broken bones, swollen joints, swelling, and stiffness.
Eyes, Nose, Tail, and Ears
Be sure eyes, nose, and ears are clear and unobstructed. Check for any signs of current or impending infections such as respiratory diseases, pinkeye, or ear mites. Does the hair at the end of the tail look like a fish tail? Is there dried, runny feces on it?
General Health and Life Status
Whenever you go to someone with questions about a sick goat, expect to be asked about its general state in life. How old is it? Is it a pregnant or possibly pregnant doe? If pregnant, how many months into it is she? Is it a kid who was freshly weaned? If male, is he castrated or intact? Any chances of a recent injury from other goats or the environment? What about access to any potential toxins? Vaccination and deworming status? This is yet another reason why it’s always super helpful to have your records for any treatments, life events, and management practices in one place. You might be surprised what basic things slip your mind in the fiasco that comes with an emergency!
Remember your Protocols
If it’s safe to do so, it’s a good idea to quarantine any animals that are acting unwell as soon as possible while you analyze and decide on treatments. Prevention and control of current and future illnesses are key to protecting the rest of your herd.
Goat health is perhaps one of the trickiest parts of the trade for anyone to truly master. And it can take a lot of advice and real-world experience to become adept at diagnosing and treating, especially if you don’t have an experienced caprine veterinarian or a good goat mentor to help you out. But being able to understand the essentials of a good assessment can go a long way in helping you get to the bottom of the problem — or at least do some ruling out — even during a heated situation.
JACLYN DE CANDIO is a professional agriculture writer, communications specialist, and farmer. A member of the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Agriculture Communicators Network, she lives in southwest Ohio with her husband and children, where they operate Latria Livestock Co., feeding out market kids and lambs.
Originally published in the May 15, 2025 digital issue of Goat Journal
