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Both sheep and goats are ruminants, along with cows and llamas. The general health of all these animals is, by and large, dependent upon their digestive tract. This means they have a complex stomach which is divided into four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. Non-ruminants, such as pigs, horses and man, have a single stomach, equivalent to the abomasum. The first ruminant stomach is the rumen. Here, ingested food is soaked by stomach acids and subjected to digestion by microorganisms before passing through to the the next stomach. It is from here that food not thoroughly masticated can be regurgitated to be rechewed. This is often called "chewing cud". Cows do this very often as they are inefficient grazers, but goats do it less often as their lips are capable of selecting the very tenderest plant tips and the back teeth are jaggedly sharp for maximum mastication. The rumen is a large organ and it occupies most of the left half of the abdominal cavity. Animals with rumen problems often look lopsided to the left due to bloating of the rumen. The rumen is normally filled with coarse fibrous materials. The second stomach is the reticulum. It is characterized by a honeycombed appearance on the inside. These many ridges present a large surface area through which to absorb ingested nutrients. It lies next to the heart. Occasionally, especially in cattle, ingested wire can puncture the nearby heart causing reticulum pericarditis, or "hardware disease". Goats, of course, would not be inclined to ingest a large piece of wire so this condition is almost unknown. The third stomach, the omasum, is oval in shape and lies primarily on the right side opposite the 9th and 10th ribs, although it has no contact with the abdominal wall. It is normally filled with fluid to a capacity of 300ml, or about 10 ounces. The abomasum, or true stomach is the glandular portion of the ruminant digestive tract. It corresponds to the glandular regions of the simple stomach of non-ruminants. The rumen, reticulum and omasum are the primary organs of the digestive system, being the main sites for for digestion and absorption of water, electrolytes and volatile fatty acids. The function of these stomachs is closely interrelated and problems with one usually involves the others. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT Primary diseases of the omasum are infrequent and rarely diagnosed clinically. Omasal impaction is the most common problem and it is difficult to differentiate this from rumen impactions. Some common digestive system diseases of sheep and goats are colibacillosis, enterotoxemia, rumen acidosis complex, salmonellosis, septicemic pasteurellosis and coccidiosis. Colibacillosis - The first one, colibacillosis, is an acute disease of lambs and kids that affects them during the first few days of life. It is caused by Escherichia coli, a common gut bacterial flora, and there are two basic forms: enteric and septicemic. The clinical signs are of the enteric form are diarrhea, dehydration and death. There is little or no time to figure out this disease and take steps to save the kid or lamb. The septicemic form usually occurs in lambs and kids that are two to six weeks old and the only clinical sign is sudden death. Diagnosis is upon necropsy. Treatment is usually not practical due to the acute nature of the disease and is very expensive. If administered, treatment would consist of antibiotics and fluids administered intravenously. The key to prevention is is clean, sanitary environments, avoidance of stressful situations such as sale barns or cold temperatures, and plenty of colostrum. Enterotoxemia - There are two types of enterotoxemia: the common overeating disease and FSE, or Focal Symmetrical Encephalomalacia. The first type is caused by Clostridium perfringes Types C & D. It is an acute, usually fatal disease. Death is caused by the accumulation of toxins produced by C. perfringes, another common gut flora, that tie up the nervous system receptors. It can occur in all ages of goats and sheep. Some predisposing factors are overfeeding of milk, a sudden introduction to higher quality pasturage or feed than the animal is used to, any sudden change in feed such as an accidental over-ingestion of cereal feed grains, and any digestive system upset such as stasis (lack of stomach peristalsis or movement). Clinical signs are sudden, unexplained death with perhaps some ataxia, convulsions, coma, paralysis or diarrhea apparent to the careful observer. Treatment is again very difficult. C & D Antitoxin can be administered intravenously at the rate of 40cc every 20 minutes for an hour accompanied by IV fluids, Vitamin B complex, and dextrose in an intensive care unit. Again, this is very expensive and may not be effective unless administered immediately upon onset of clinical signs. Enterotoxemia is easy to prevent when proper annual vaccinations programs are followed. FSE develops in a small percentage of lambs and kids following an outbreak of enterotoxemia caused by C. perfringes. The cause is poorly understood and diagnosis is usually made upon necropsy. Obvious clinical signs are death, neurological and brain abnormalities. Treatment is aggressive administration of antitoxin, but the disease is usually fatal. Again, prevention is in the proper and timely administration of vaccines for C & D. Rumen acidosis complex is a common disease of feedlot lambs. It is most likely to be seen when the lambs are being pushed on high quality feeds. The clinical signs are an inability to rise, grunting, abdominal distention, diarrhea and sudden death. Treatment involves oral antacids or baking soda, antibiotics, IV fluids and intensive care. It is possible to perform surgery on the rumen to remove the excess undigested grain. Prevention is rooted in good management. This is not as much of a problem in goats are they are not normally raised on a feedlot. Salmonellosis is an acute, contagious disease of sheep and goats characterized by digestive upset, diarrhea and general illness. It is caused by Salmonella typhimurium. Some predisposing factors include stress due to transportation, starvation, inclement weather and overcrowding. Differentiating clinical signs are fever, usually 105 degrees plus (normal is 102 degrees), lack of appetite, weight loss, watery green feces mixed with mucous and blood, dehydration and death. Treatment is administration of of antibiotics, fluids both oral and IV and intensive care. Reduction of shipping stress by providing food during shipment, medicated water, and isolation of infected or newly arrived animals all contribute to prevention. Septicemic pasteurellosis is an acute infectious disease of lambs and kids caused by the bacterium Pasteurella hemolytica. Clinical signs are often confined to sudden death, an initially high fever (106 - 108 degrees) which drops to normal before death, lack of appetite and rapid breathing. Treatment is as described for previous bacterial infections; IV antibiotics, fluids and intensive care. Prevention is again rooted in good management. Coccidiosis is an internal parasite rather than a bacterial disease, but because the clinical signs are so similar to other digestive tract diseases, it is included within this section. Coccidiosis is a proliferation of the protozoa Eimeria spp. in the gut. The coccidia cover the entire gut wall, preventing absorption of nutrients and producing a toxin. Coccidia are host specific, meaning that cattle coccidia are not infective to sheep or goats and visa versa. There are several thousand species of Eimeria so laboratory reports will always report them lumped together. Any oocyst count above 300epg (eggs per gram) should be considered a warning flag even though any Diagnostic Lab will indicate that 300epg is a low incidence not worthy of action. Onset of the clinical sign, chronic wasting can occur with or without diarrhea, and is due to stress. All goats carry Eimeria spp. as part of their natural gut flora. Some immunity to coccidiosis can be induced when kid goats are exposed to their mother's feces but during severe outbreaks, all animals are likely to be affected. Treatment is best done using an oral coccidiostat such as aprolium administered in the drinking water. Prevention can be attained by using a coccidiostat during or just previous to times of stress such as weaning, kidding or shearing. Care must be taken to not develop resistance to the disease by maladministering the coccidiostat. Follow the directions carefully. One good preventative medicine, Rumensin works well in goats but is lethal to horses, so watch out. Vaccines, while promising, are not yet available. Order Form Click here for the most up-to-date information available.
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