Most goat losses can be prevented: look at your goats every day, vaccinate on time, deworm before and after the rains, keep the shed clean and dry, and keep new or sick goats apart. This page covers prevention and warning signs only. For a sick goat, call your vet or the toll-free animal helpline 1962.
Check your goats every day
Count your goats morning and evening, and watch them at feeding time. A healthy goat:
- is alert, stays with the flock and comes eagerly to feed;
- chews the cud when resting;
- has bright eyes, a clean nose and a smooth coat;
- passes firm, dry pellets;
- walks without limping.
ICAR-CIRG advises every farmer to learn the early signs of the common goat diseases so that the vet can be called in time (ICAR-CIRG).
Warning signs of a sick goat
Call the vet the same day if you see any of these (TNAU, TNAU):
- not eating, or not chewing the cud;
- fever — the goat stands apart, dull, with its head down;
- discharge from the nose or eyes, or sores in the mouth;
- loose or bloody dung;
- coughing, or fast and difficult breathing;
- blisters on the mouth, udder or feet, or limping;
- pale eyelids, weight loss or swelling under the jaw;
- constant scratching and hair loss.
Move the goat to a separate pen at once and keep it in the shade with water. Do not wait and guess — early help saves goats.
Vaccination calendar
This calendar is from ICAR-CIRG's Annual Goat Health Calendar (ICAR-CIRG):
| Disease | First vaccination | Booster | Repeat |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPR (goat plague) | At 3 months | Not needed | Every 3 years |
| Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) | At 3–4 months | 3–4 weeks after the first | Every 6 or 12 months |
| Goat pox | At 3–4 months | 3–4 weeks after the first | Every 12 months |
| Enterotoxaemia (ET) | At 3–4 months | 3–4 weeks after the first | Every 6 or 12 months |
| Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) | At 3–4 months | 3–4 weeks after the first | Every 6 or 12 months |
- The repeat gap depends on the vaccine used, as the calendar notes; your vet will tell you which applies (ICAR-CIRG).
- Kids that drink colostrum right after birth are protected for about the first 3 months (ICAR-CIRG).
- Deworm at least 15 days before vaccinating (ICAR-CIRG).
- Finish the ET and HS vaccines before the rainy season (TNAU).
- Your vet may add other vaccines where a disease is common in your area, such as anthrax (TNAU).
Free government campaigns. The national PPR programme vaccinates healthy goats and sheep older than 4 months that are not pregnant, and aims to wipe out PPR by 2030 (ICAR-NIVEDI). Under the National Animal Disease Control Programme, FMD vaccination is done every six months (PIB); ask at your veterinary hospital whether goats in your area are covered and when the camp reaches your village.
Deworming
- ICAR-CIRG advises deworming goats from 3 months of age, twice a year — before and after the rainy season — and more often when the worm load is heavy or the rains are long (ICAR-CIRG).
- Kids and goats in wet areas often need it more often: TNAU suggests every month for kids up to 6 months, and every 3 months after that (TNAU).
- The best guide is a dung test. Ask your vet to check dung samples and decide when to deworm and with what (ICAR-CIRG, TNAU).
- Keep worms down: move goats between grazing plots, avoid wet ground with pits and shallow pools, and keep kids away from the adults' shed (TNAU, ICAR-CIRG).
Ticks, lice and mites
- Look over each goat once a week: inside the ears, the neck, under the tail, between the legs and around the udder.
- Ticks are worst in the rainy months; lice before and after winter (ICAR-CIRG).
- Keep the shed dry. Remove dung, damp dark corners and standing water, and fill cracks in walls and floors where ticks and mites lay eggs (TNAU).
- If you find many ticks or lice, ask the vet what to use. Never spray crop pesticides on goats — farm chemicals can poison animals (TNAU).
Quarantine new goats
- Buy goats that are already vaccinated against PPR (ICAR-CIRG).
- Keep new goats in a separate pen, away from your flock, for at least 30 days (TNAU). NABARD's model farm has a separate shed for this (NABARD).
- Watch them every day, and deworm and vaccinate them as your vet advises before they join the flock.
- Do not move does in the last part of pregnancy, kids under 1 month, or sick and weak goats (ICAR-CIRG).
See How to buy goats safely: health, age and fraud checks for health checks before you pay.
Isolate sick goats
- Move a sick goat to its own pen straight away, with its own feed and water buckets (TNAU).
- Look after healthy goats first and sick goats last, and wash your hands after.
- If many goats fall sick: stop goats, vehicles and visitors coming in and out, stop using common grazing land, and call the vet (TNAU).
- If a goat dies suddenly, do not cut it open; call the vet, who will tell you how to bury it safely (TNAU).
- Some goat diseases can pass to people. Wear gloves when you handle an aborted kid or an afterbirth (TNAU).
Free help: 1962 and mobile veterinary units
- Dial 1962, a toll-free number, to reach the mobile veterinary unit (MVU) that serves your area. MVUs bring a vet to the farmer's door and run in 29 states and union territories (PIB).
- In Tamil Nadu, the free mobile veterinary service of the state government is reached on 1962 (Dindigul district).
- Your nearest government veterinary hospital or dispensary also gives vaccinations and advice.
Keep health records
ICAR-CIRG advises keeping breeding, feeding and health records (ICAR-CIRG). For each goat, note:
- its ear-tag number or name, and date of birth;
- each vaccination, with the date and disease;
- each deworming date;
- illnesses and vet visits;
- matings, kidding dates and weights.
A notebook or the notes app on your phone is enough. Records tell you when the next vaccination is due, and you can share them with a buyer when you sell — see How to sell goats: timing, fair price and safe payment.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for an outbreak before vaccinating.
- Vaccinating weak, sick or pregnant goats without asking the vet first.
- Putting new goats into the flock on the day they arrive.
- Waiting and guessing instead of calling the vet early.
- Keeping no record of vaccination and deworming dates.
Frequently asked questions
At what age should kids be vaccinated?
From about 3 months: PPR at 3 months, and FMD, goat pox, ET and HS at 3–4 months, as per ICAR-CIRG. Colostrum protects kids until then. The national PPR campaign vaccinates goats older than 4 months.
How often should goats be dewormed?
At least twice a year, before and after the rains, as per ICAR-CIRG; kids and goats in wet areas often need it more often. Ask your vet to test the dung.
Can I vaccinate a pregnant goat?
Ask your vet first. The national PPR campaign vaccinates only goats that are not pregnant.
How long should I keep new goats apart?
At least 30 days, in a separate pen, as TNAU advises.
Is the 1962 helpline free?
The call to 1962 is toll-free. In Tamil Nadu, the mobile veterinary service on 1962 is free.
Next
Good feeding and a clean, dry shed prevent many problems: read Goat feeding: fodder, concentrate mix and water and Goat shed and housing: space, floor and roof. For pregnancy and newborn kids, see Goat breeding: heat signs, mating and kidding and Goat kid care: colostrum, creep feed and weaning. Buying goats? Check each goat's health before you pay, and browse goats for sale near you.
