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Goat Medicine
Goat Medicine
Third Edition
Mary C. Smith, DVM, Diplomate, ACT

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Ithaca, NY, USA
David M. Sherman, DVM, MS, Diplomate, ACVIM

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Paris, France
This third edition first published 2023
© 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Edition History
Lea & Febiger (1e, 1994); Wiley-Blackwell (2e, 2009)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
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from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Smith, Mary C., DVM, author. | Sherman, David M., author.
Title: Goat medicine / Mary C. Smith, David M. Sherman.
Description: Third edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley-Blackwell, 2023. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022000546 (print) | LCCN 2022000547 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119382737 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119382768 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119382744 (epub)
Subjects: MESH: Goat Diseases | Goats
Classification: LCC SF968 (print) | LCC SF968 (ebook) | NLM SF 968 | DDC
636.30896–dc23/eng/20220610
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022000546
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022000547
Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Images: © Vincent and Christine Maefsky, Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm, Scandia, Minnesota; © Mary C. Smith
Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by Straive, Pondicherry, India

v
Contents
Preface to the First Edition vi

Preface to the Second Edition vii
Preface to the Third Edition viii
Acknowledgments x
1 Fundamentals of Goat Practice 1

2 Skin 22
3 Subcutaneous Swellings 67
4 Musculoskeletal System 95
5 Nervous System 183
6 Ocular System 293
7 Blood, Lymph, and Immune Systems 314
8 Cardiovascular System 366
9 Respiratory System 389
10 Digestive System 434
11 Liver and Pancreas 566
12 Urinary System 604
13 Reproductive System 640
14 Mammary Gland and Milk Production 728
15 Wasting Diseases 781
16 Sudden Death 792
17 Anesthesia 799
18 Dehorning and Descenting 817
19 Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases 828
20 Herd Health Management and Preventive Medicine 887
Appendices
A Formulary of Some Drugs Used in Goats and Suggested Dosages 910
B Alternative Medicine 920
C Conversion Factors for Biochemistry and Hematology 928
Index 930
vi
Preface to the First Edition
The writing of this book was undertaken in recognition We intend this book for veterinary practitioners dealing
of the need for a comprehensive veterinary text address- with diagnosis and treatment of individual goats as well as
ing health and disease issues of goats raised under vary- for those striving to improve the health and productivity of
ing conditions around the world. The authors’ primary commercial herds and flocks throughout the world.
experiences are with intensively managed dairy and fiber Veterinarians involved in formulation of animal health
goats in temperate zones. However, because most of the policy, regulatory medicine, and livestock development
world’s goats live in tropical and subtropical regions, should also find this information valuable.
serious effort has been made to fully cover disease enti- We expect this book to be useful also for academic clini-
ties and production constraints in those areas. Much of cians, researchers, and veterinary students with a special
the material presented on tropical diseases is derived interest in goats. Others who might find this book a useful
from the published literature. The authors invite readers reference are animal scientists, extension agents, herd
whose personal and clinical experience with these dis- managers, and hobbyists.
eases in goats varies from our presentation to share their
knowledge with us for the purpose of improving later David M. Sherman
editions. Mary C. Smith
vii
Preface to the Second Edition
The first edition of Goat Medicine was well received and subsistence farmers and herders who depend on goats for
we are pleased to have the opportunity to produce a sec- their livelihoods. Repeated outbreaks of Rift Valley fever in
ond edition. Since the first edition appeared in 1994, the Kenya have also taken a toll on goat populations and the
global landscape for veterinary medicine has changed dra- people who rely on them. As such, the second edition of
matically. In 1996, bovine spongiform encephalopathy Goat Medicine continues to maintain a global perspective
was recognized to be a zoonotic disease, causing variant and provide information on goat diseases as they occur
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. In 1999, throughout the world.
West Nile virus infection reached the United States and in Another significant development since the publication
a short time was endemic throughout the country. In 2001, of the first edition has been the advent of the Internet and
there was a major outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the increased availability of information on all subjects,
northern Europe, with devastating effects in the United including the diseases of goats. Some of this information is
Kingdom. That same year, the specter of bioterrorism very good and some is not so good. As in the first edition,
emerged with the use of anthrax as a weapon against citizens we have strived to provide the most accurate information
in the United States. available on the diseases of goats, their diagnosis, treat-
These events underscored the continued importance ment, and control. We have avoided whenever possible
of infectious diseases in what has become an intimately extrapolating information from other species and we con-
interconnected, global society. These events also empha- tinue to strive, as in the first edition, to provide definitive
sized the need for veterinary practitioners everywhere to information that is specific to goats and supported by cita-
have knowledge of and be able to recognize diseases which tions from the world’s veterinary literature as well as our
traditionally have been considered exotic to their own own expanded experience in dealing with goat diseases in
countries. International issues influencing contempo- various locations around the world.
rary veterinary medicine are discussed further in David As with the first edition, we intend this book primarily
Sherman’s other textbook “Tending Animals in the Global for veterinary practitioners but believe that academic clini-
Village”, also available from Wiley-Blackwell. cians, veterinary students, regulatory veterinarians,
Global infectious disease trends also have affected goat researchers working with goats, animal scientists, exten-
medicine. In 2005, the first case of bovine spongiform sion agents, livestock development workers, and goat own-
encephalopathy was confirmed in a goat in France. Peste ers will also find it useful.
des petits ruminants, a serious viral disease of goats and
sheep, has extended its range from Africa through the Middle David M. Sherman, Kabul, Afghanistan
East and well into Asia, causing widespread hardship for Mary C. Smith, Ithaca, New York
viii
Preface to the Third Edition
The first and second editions of Goat Medicine were well the need for practitioners to include scrapie in their diag-
received, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to nostic assessments of live goats showing neurologic signs.
produce a third edition. Since the second edition appeared Another development of note since the last edition of
in 2009, the global landscape for veterinary medicine and Goat Medicine is the global eradication of rinderpest (cattle
for goats has continued to change. plague), announced in 2011 by the World Organisation for
Goat numbers worldwide now exceed 1 billion, reflect- Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture
ing the ever-growing demand for goat products in the meat, Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Goats were sus-
dairy, and fiber sectors and the recognition that goats are ceptible to rinderpest and while they usually did not show
versatile, resilient, and highly adaptable, making them an clinical signs of the disease, rinderpest was an important
increasingly attractive form of hoofed livestock in regions differential diagnosis for the related morbillivirus disease,
where climate change is resulting in warmer, more arid peste des petits ruminants (PPR), known in English as small
conditions. ruminant plague. PPR occurs commonly in goats and sheep
Climate change is also affecting global patterns of disin the same regions where rinderpest occurred in cattle.
ease, particularly vector-borne disease, as vector ranges Following the successful eradication of rinderpest, the
expand in association with warming temperatures. This OIE and FAO in 2015 launched a global program for the
has implications for goats. Bluetongue, for example, which eradication of PPR. The disease has been expanding across
is transmitted by Culicoides midges, is now present in every Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for decades and causes
continent except Antarctica. Its presence in Europe has significant morbidity and mortality in small ruminants.
been steadily expanding northward, affecting goats and As such, PPR is a major constraint on the well-being of
other ruminant animals in countries where it had not pre- farmers and herders who depend on goats and sheep for
viously been noted. There are concerns that other serious their livelihood. The goal of the program is for PPR to be
vector-borne diseases of goats, notably Rift Valley fever, eradicated globally by 2030, which, like the eradication of
may eventually become established in Europe due to rinderpest, would be a major achievement in the veteri-
warming temperatures. Other diseases, such as leptospiro- nary arena.
sis, though already present, may become more common The growing problems of antimicrobial resistance and
due to increased rainfall and associated flooding. resistance to anthelmintics also have a significant impact
Around the time that the second edition of Goat Medicine on the health of goats and the practice of caprine medicine.
was published, a single case of bovine spongiform enceph- It is increasingly evident that practitioners must advocate
alopathy (BSE) had been confirmed in a clinically normal vigorously with their clients for improved management
goat at slaughter in France and it was unclear if BSE was practices that will reduce the occurrence of infectious and
going to emerge as an important disease in the species. parasitic diseases, and stress the importance of vaccination
However, since that report, countries throughout the and other preventive measures so that when antibiotics
European Union have conducted extensive slaughter sur- and anthelmintics are truly required to protect goat health,
veillance in small ruminants, searching specifically for they will be reliably efficacious.
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. This surveil- The availability of information on goats, goat health, and
lance indicates that the initial caprine BSE case was an iso- goat disease continues to expand dramatically. On the posi-
lated occurrence and there is little evidence that BSE is a tive side, peer-reviewed publications on veterinary medi-
concern in goats. Nevertheless, that same surveillance cine are now readily available to anyone on the internet.
activity revealed that scrapie was occurring in goats at On the negative side, the internet continues to be a major
about the same frequency as it does in sheep, underscoring source of misinformation. As with past editions of this
Preface to the Third Edition ix
book, we have attempted to provide the most accurate, We intend this book primarily as a resource for veteri-
evidence-based information available on the diseases of nary practitioners, but believe that academic clinicians,
goats, their diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control. veterinary students, veterinary technicians, regulatory
We have avoided whenever possible extrapolating informa- veterinarians, researchers working with goats, animal sci-
tion from other species, and we continue to strive to pro- entists, extension agents, livestock development workers,
vide definitive information that is specific to goats and and goat owners worldwide will also find it useful.
supported by citations from the world’s veterinary litera-
ture, as well as our own expanded experience in dealing David M. Sherman, Paris, France
with goat diseases in various settings around the world. Mary C. Smith, Ithaca, New York
x
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge with great appreciation I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of
and sincere thanks the contributions of the following the following colleagues in the preparation of this edition:
colleagues: Professor Christophe Chartier, Department Dr. Nita Irby, ophthalmologist, Cornell University College of
of Farm Animal Health and Public Health, National Veterinary Medicine, for her assistance with many clinical
Veterinary School-ONIRIS, Nantes, France, for providing cases in goats and with the revisions of Chapter 6; Dr. Pablo
current information on the use of various anthelmintics Moroni, Quality Milk Production Services at the Animal
in goats in Europe in Chapter 10; Dr. William G. Gavin, Health Diagnostic Center in Ithaca, NY, for his insights into
Chief Operating Officer, LFB USA, Inc. (formerly GTC the diagnosis and control of mastitis in goats as presented
Biotherapeutics, Inc.), Framingham, MA, for his major in Chapter 14; Dr. Stephanie Hon, anesthesiologist at the
contributions in Chapters 1 and 20 on the content related Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, for her
to transgenic and cloned goats; Dr. John Spiropoulos, helpful review of the myriad of options for analgesia and
Pathologist, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), anesthesia of goats in a hospital setting; and Dr. Andrew
Weybridge, Surrey, UK, for his significant contributions Miller, pathologist at the Cornell University College of
to Chapter 5 on the content related to the transmissible Veterinary Medicine, for his contribution of excitement and
spongiform encephalopathies, scrapie and bovine spongi- expertise to the understanding of the many specimens from
form encephalopathy; and Ms. Ann Starbard, author of goats that I have brought to him through the years.
The Dairy Goat Handbook: For Backyard, Homestead, and
Small Farm and former owner of Crystal Brook Goat Mary C. Smith
Cheese, Sterling, MA, for her review and suggestions on
dairy goat herd health in Chapter 20. Any errors that From both of us, a special acknowledgment is needed for
might occur in the sections for which these colleagues Dr. David Van Metre (formerly of the Colorado State
have provided inputs are solely the responsibility of University College of Veterinary Medicine) for his prelimi-
the author. nary comments on revised chapters and his eagerness to
serve as a third author of this textbook, before his untimely
David M. Sherman death in 2019.
1
Fundamentals of Goat Practice
CHAPTER MENU
Overview, 1 Special Considerations for Hobby Farms, 9
Distribution of Goats, 1 Special Considerations for Organic Goat Production, 9
Use of Goats, 1 Special Considerations for Genetically Modified (Transgenic)
Current Interest in Goats, 2 and Cloned Goats, 10
Distinguishing Goats from Sheep, 3 Physical Examination, 13
Goat Behavior, 3 Inspection from a Distance, 13
General Characteristics, 3 Direct Physical Examination of Individual Goats, 13
Ingestive and Eliminative Behavior, 4 General Inspection, 13
Sexual Behavior, 4 Examination of the Integument, 15
Maternal Behavior, 5 Examination of the Head, 15
Handling Goats, 5 Examination of the Neck, 16
Group Considerations, 5 Examination of the Chest, 16
Individual Restraint, 5 Examination of the Abdomen, 17
Administering Medications, 6 Examination of the Limbs, 17
Clinical Examination of Goats, 7 Examination of the Reproductive System, 17
History Taking, 7 Examination of the Environment, 18
Special Considerations for Range and Pastured Goats, 9 Field Necropsies and Slaughterhouse Checks, 19
Special Considerations for Intensively Managed Goats, 9 References, 20
Overview Use of Goats

Goats are exploited for diverse purposes, including meat
Distribution of Goats production, milk and cheese production, cashmere and
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) mohair fiber production, and skins for leather making.
of the United Nations, in 2020 there were an estimated Specialty uses include brush and weed control, sometimes
1.13 billion goats in the world, approximately 51.4% of referred to as “goatscaping” (Putzier 2020), pack and draft
which were in Asia, 43.4% in Africa, 2.9% in South and use, research (particularly as models of ruminant digestion
Central America, 1.4% in Europe, 0.3% in the Caribbean, and human heart disease and as transgenic animals), com-
0.4% in Oceania, and 0.2% in North America. Approximately mercial antibody production, transgenic production of
55.9% of the world’s goats are found in 50 low-income, recombinant biopharmaceutical proteins, and companion-
food-deficit countries as defined by the FAO (FAO 2022a). ship. Goat horn and bone are sometimes used for orna-
Goats are well adapted to a broad range of climatic and mental purposes and musical instruments, while goat
geographic conditions and are more widely distributed skins are also used for drum making.
than any other mammalian livestock. Goats are managed Meat production is the major use of goats on a world-
under every imaginable production system, including feral, wide basis, particularly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East,
transhumant, nomadic, extensive, intensive, and total con- and Latin America, and world goat meat production
finement systems. continues to expand dramatically, as it has for decades
Goat Medicine, Third Edition. Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman.

© 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 Goat Medicine
(Morand-Fehr et al. 2004; Skapetas and Bampidis 2016). subsistence farmers and the rural poor. Methodologies for
In 2020, the ten leading goat meat–producing nations improved goat production in the tropics in support of rural
in descending order were China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, development have been published (Peacock 1996). The
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Chad, Mongolia, Sudan and impacts of climate change on rural livelihoods have also
Myanmar (FAO 2022b). A multitude of local and regional brought increased attention to goats, as studies indicate
breeds exists around the world that are used mainly for that goat ownership can help buffer households against
meat. In recent years, more attention has been paid to climate shocks, most notably drought (Acosta et al. 2021).
selective breeding in goats for meat production, leading to There is also increased demand for goat products in
the development of two highly efficient, purpose-bred developed countries, especially goat cheese, cashmere
meat goat breeds. These are the South African Boer goat goods, and goat meat. Demand for goat meat in the United
(Mahan 2000) and the Kiko goat of New Zealand States, for example, has exceeded domestic supply in recent
(Batten 1987), both of which have gained popularity in the years. In 2014, 43 188 million pounds of goat meat were
United States. imported for a total value of $94.7 million, compared to
The major milking breeds of goats originated primarily 2994 million pounds in 1990 for a total value of $1.9 million
in Europe. These breeds include the Saanen, Toggenburg, (Luginbuhl 2015). Increases in the global trade in goats and
Anglo-Nubian, and Alpine breeds. The more recently goat products is associated with certain risks for the spread
developed La Mancha breed originated in the United of goat-associated diseases, which veterinarians need to be
States. The Jamnapari and Beetal breeds of India are also aware of from both a clinical and a regulatory standpoint
important dairy breeds that are well adapted to and becom- (Sherman 2011).
ing more widely distributed in the humid tropics. The use Through the National Animal Health Monitoring System
of goat milk to manufacture cheese is an important indus- (NAHMS), the US Department of Agriculture has tracked
try in France, Spain, and some other European countries. the expansion of the goat industry and its use of veterinar-
The global situation regarding dairy goat production has ians (USDA 2020). The number of goats increased from
been reviewed (Miller and Lu 2019). approximately 2 250 000 in 1997 to approximately
Angora goats, the source of mohair fiber, have tradition- 2 700 000 in 2017, and the number of goat operations
ally been concentrated in a number of distinct regions, increased from approximately 76 500 in 1997 to approxi-
notably Turkey, where they originated, South Africa, Texas, mately 136 400 in 2017. The proportion of goat operations
Argentina, and some central Asian republics formerly in identified as primarily dairy increased from 11.9% in 2009
the USSR. Cashmere or Pashmina goats, which produce to 18.7% in 2019, while the proportion of goat operations
cashmere fiber, are found primarily in the mountainous that consider themselves to be multipurpose (e.g., meat
regions of Central Asia, including parts of Tibet, China, and dairy) has also increased. This expanding interest in
Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and and exploitation of goats have been associated with an
Tajikistan. Skins are usually a byproduct of goat slaughter increased demand for goat-related clinical veterinary ser-
for meat, but skins of certain goat breeds such as the Red vices, with the number of US goat operations that con-
Sokoto of Niger are prized for high-quality leather goods sulted a veterinarian increasing from 39.5% in 2009 to
such as kidskin gloves and purses. Details of the various 49.7% in 2019. In response to this growing demand, inter-
goat industries are beyond the scope of this veterinary text. ested veterinarians must familiarize themselves with goats
The interested reader is referred to other sources (Gall 1981; as a species distinct from sheep and cattle, recognizing
Dubeuf et al. 2004; Morand-Fehr et al. 2004; Skapetas and their characteristic behavior and physiology, the diseases
Bampidis 2016). that affect them, and the proper diagnosis and manage-
ment of those diseases.
Fortunately, the growing interest in goats has been
Current Interest in Goats
accompanied by a growth of organizations and informa-
Worldwide interest in goats continues to increase dramati- tion focused on the species. The International Goat
cally. There is a greater understanding of the importance of Association (https://www.iga-goatworld.com) sponsors a
goats in agricultural systems in low-income countries and quadrennial international conference on goats and regu-
the factors involved in improving their worth and produc- larly publishes the peer-reviewed, international research
tivity for smallholders and herders (Devendra 2013). Some journal Small Ruminant Research, which reports research
humanitarian and development organizations, such as findings on all aspects of goat production including health,
Heifer International and FARM-Africa, have recognized nutrition, genetics, physiology, and husbandry from all
the value of using goats as a tool in rural development pro- over the world. The American Sheep Industry Association
grams to improve the social and economic conditions of regularly produces a similar, multidisciplinary research
publication, Sheep and Goat Research Journal, which butt heads. The anatomic structure of the horns, frontal
focuses specifically on small ruminant production in sinuses, and neck muscles of each species is appropriate to
North America and is available on the internet its method of fighting, minimizing the risk of injury to
(https://www.sheepusa.org/sheep-goat-research-journal). combatants (Reed and Schaffer 1972). When young bucks
The American Association of Small Ruminant and rams are maintained together, the rams become domi-
Practitioners (AASRP) is an excellent resource for veteri- nant because they preemptively strike bucks in the abdo-
nary practitioners in North America. This member organi- men while the male goats are still in the act of rearing up.
zation produces a regular newsletter, Wool and Wattles, full Whereas lambs are almost constantly at the side of ewes
of current, relevant information on regulatory and clinical in early life, goats practice “lying-out” or “planting” behav-
issues as well as an e-mail discussion forum for AASRP ior, with kids left in “camps” for a good part of the day
members. The AASRP website (www.aasrp.org) provides while does feed.
links to other useful resources for goat health and produc-
tion. Another useful web-based resource for veterinarians Anatomic Distinctions
is Consultant, which generates differential diagnoses based When wool is not obvious in sheep, other anatomic differ-
on clinical signs entered by the user on a species basis, with ences may be observed. Most goat breeds have an erect,
goats recognized as a distinct species. It is available on the upright tail, while the tail of sheep always hangs down. The
internet at http://consultant.vet.cornell.edu. Finally, many sheep has an upper lip divided by a distinct philtrum and
state extension agencies now have much more information the goat does not. Male goats, and to a lesser extent female
available on goat husbandry and production than they had goats, have beards, which are lacking in sheep. Goats do
in the past, with much of it accessible on the internet. not have infraorbital, interdigital, or inguinal glands, while
sheep do. Goats have sebaceous glands beneath the tail-
head that sheep lack.
Distinguishing Goats from Sheep
Source of Confusion
For those whose experience with sheep and goats is limited
to the common European wool breeds of sheep and the
Goat Behavior
European dairy breeds of goats, the notion that individuals
General Characteristics
of the two species could be confused may seem ridiculous.
However, in tropical and subtropical regions, various Goats exhibit some very distinct behavior patterns
breeds of hair sheep are common. These breeds are often (Hafez 1975; Kilgour and Dalton 1984). Many aspects of
maintained in mixed flocks with local breeds of goats, and goat behavior are conditioned by the circumstances in
may not be readily differentiated. The following informa- which the animals are kept. Many natural behavior pat-
tion can help in distinguishing the two species. terns observed in free-ranging feral goats may be altered or
not expressed at all under different degrees of confine-
Genetic Distinctions ment. Nevertheless, some behavior patterns are widely
Goats have 60 chromosomes and sheep have 54. Though characteristic.
very uncommon, fertile goat–sheep hybrids have been Goats tend to flock together in extended family groups.
reported. These hybrids have 57 chromosomes. The phe- They have a strong hierarchical structure in the flock or
nomenon is discussed in Chapter 13. Efforts to map the herd. Both males and females will establish social domi-
entire goat genome are well advanced (Bickhart et al. 2017). nance in their respective groups through head-to-head
fighting. Goats use their horns to advantage when fighting
Behavioral Distinctions to establish their social dominance. Therefore, all goats in
A major difference between sheep and goats is feeding a group should be either horned or hornless to avoid exces-
behavior. Sheep are grazing animals, consistently feeding at sive bullying by horned goats.
ground level, while the goat is more of a browsing animal, When goats are accustomed to human contact, they will
readily feeding on shrubs, bushes, and trees. While both approach strangers rather than flee. When threatened or
species are social, individual goats are less anxious than upset, they will turn and face an intruder and make a char-
sheep when separated from the group. Goats are less toler- acteristic sneezing noise. In keeping with their browsing
ant of rain and more readily seek shelter in wet weather. behavior, goats orally investigate everything in their envi-
The males of both species will fight, buck goats by rear- ronment. This includes veterinary equipment, paperwork,
ing up on their hind feet and coming down forcefully to clothing, and jewelry brought within their reach. When
butt heads, while rams back up and then charge forward to drawing blood samples or writing health papers, it is
4 Goat Medicine
essential to keep the paperwork in a safe place or it will be This tendency can be countered to some extent by feeder
eaten or destroyed. Goats will chew on pen partitions and designs that inhibit the goat from pulling hay out of the
other structures made of wood, and a large group of goats feeder and dropping it on the floor. Goats are also finicky
can actually devour pen walls over a period of months. about contaminated feed and water supplies and may
They will also eat the paint off walls, so lead paint should refuse water containing fecal pellets or hay and grain in
be avoided. wet troughs that smell moldy.
Goats are very agile and are excellent climbers. They are For free-ranging feral and Angora goats, approximately
occasionally found in barn rafters, in trees, or on the hood 30% of the day is spent in feeding, usually divided into
of the veterinarian’s vehicle, if allowed access. Providing a sunrise, midday, and sunset periods. One-third of this is
rock pile in paddocks or pastures can foster recreation and grazing time, two-thirds browsing. About half the day is
will help to control hoof overgrowth. Goats will stand on spent resting, 10% ruminating, and 12% traveling (Askins
their hind legs and lean against fences, causing considera- and Turner 1972; Kilgour and Ross 1980). In contrast,
ble damage over time. Broken limbs may occur if legs are intensively managed Saanen milking goats were noted to
caught in the openings of chain-link fences. The goats’ eat for 20% of the day, ruminate 25%, travel 20%, sleep 11%,
agility combined with their curiosity can be fatal if their rest recumbent 14%, and rest standing approximately 8%
heads get caught and they are strangled in fences, gates, of each day. They defecate on average 11.2 times and uri-
doors, windows, or other structures. Backward-curving nate 8.3 times daily (Jiabi Pu, personal communication,
horns contribute to this problem. Chengdu, China, 1990).
Goats are notorious for successfully undoing simple gate Goats raise their tails to defecate and normally produce
closures and latches. This is a common occurrence in acci- pelleted feces. Female goats squat to urinate. During the
dental grain overload cases, so goat keepers must ensure non-breeding season, males urinate on the ground with
that gates are securely fastened. Goats can easily jump little or no extension of the penis beyond the prepuce.
fences designed for sheep and also will dig under fences However, during the breeding season, the pattern of urina-
that do not closely skirt the ground. Goat fencing should tion is markedly different and associated with sexual
never have interior-sloping support posts because goats behavior, as discussed below. Goats cannot easily be
will use them to climb out of the enclosure. Goats may prompted to urinate by holding off their nares, as is done
ignore barbed wire and therefore it should not be used with sheep. This makes simple collection of a urine
because it can inflict serious damage. Thus, electric fencing specimen problematic.
has become popular for goat operations because the ani-
mals quickly learn to respect it.
Sexual Behavior
In tropical and subtropical regions estrus generally
Ingestive and Eliminative Behavior
occurs year-round, while in temperate regions goats are
A key to the adaptability of goats worldwide is their effi- seasonally polyestrus, with breeding season triggered by
cient browsing ability. This same efficiency, however, has decreasing day length. Breed factors may also play a role in
given the goat notoriety as an important cause of desertifi- this pattern, because relocation of some indigenous breeds
cation in some regions of the world. The reputation is not to new climatic zones does not result in a change of estrus
necessarily deserved, because over-grazing by numerous pattern. Specific information on the frequency, signs, and
livestock species may be at fault, but only the goats are left patterns of estrus is provided in Chapter 13. Male sexual
surviving when vegetation is almost gone (Dunbar 1984). behavior reflects the pattern seen in does. Libido and sperm
Goats may climb into trees to reach food when it is scarce. If quality may be depressed during anestrous seasons.
permitted, they can girdle the bark from trees, thus killing However, if females are brought into estrus by hormonal
them. Goats are used to clear brush to reclaim pasture land manipulation, bucks quickly respond out of season.
for sheep and cattle. When run simultaneously with sheep The obnoxious behavior and strong odor of bucks during
and cattle, they may improve pasture quality for these other breeding season are notorious. At least two factors contrib-
species by contributing manure for fertilization, removing ute to buck odor. First, the aroused buck repeatedly uri-
toxic plants such as oak to which they are more resistant nates on himself, soaking his head, neck, and forequarters.
than the other ruminant species, and eliminating brush to He will sometimes take his erect penis into his mouth.
allow more sunlight for improved grass growth (Ward 2006). Afterwards, the buck may yawn and demonstrate the fleh
Owners feeding goats in confinement often complain men reaction, curling his upper lip. Second, the buck pos-
that the animals waste a good deal of hay, particularly leav- sesses sebaceous scent glands on his head, caudomedial to
ing behind the nutritious leafy parts of good legume hay. the base of the horn, which during active rutting produce
an odiferous compound identified as 6-trans nonenal Handling Goats

(Smith et al. 1984). This compound may also be released
from the sebaceous gland under the tail. It acts as a potent Group Considerations
pheromone and the odor alone can induce estrus in the doe.
Bucks show active fighting behavior at the beginning of It is generally recognized that goats are more interactive
and during the breeding season to establish dominance. with humans than are other domesticated ruminant spe-
Veterinarians and owners should exercise caution when cies, and behavioral studies have demonstrated that goats
working around sexually active bucks. A full-grown buck show referential and intentional communicative behavior
striking from the standing position can produce serious or with humans that is similar to that exhibited by domestic
fatal injury. For this reason, bucks of different sizes in con- companion animals such as dogs and horses (Nawroth
finement operations should be segregated so that smaller, et al. 2016). Goats are highly adaptable and trainable ani-
younger bucks are not injured or killed. Do not turn your mals. Feral goats captured in Australia and New Zealand
back to an unrestrained buck! may become used to handling in confinement within
During courtship, the buck will sniff the urine of does weeks, although if frightened suddenly they can clear
and follow with the flehmen response. To display to does, sheep fences with ease. Dairy goats are readily trained into
a buck holds his head erect and high, or lowers his milking routines involving parlors and machine milking.
extended head and neck to the ground. He may also kick Although Angora kids may scream the first time they are
out at the doe with an extended forelimb, but rarely actu- sheared, they get used to the procedure.
ally strike her. Courtship is accompanied by much fren- Goats used to human contact can be mustered by call-
zied vocalizing and flicking the tongue in and out. ing. Moving less tame goats on open range is similar to
Sexually active bucks commonly lose weight during the moving sheep. Dogs can be used, but they must be well
breeding season. trained. The flight distance of feral goats is 8–10 m. Goats
are more likely to turn and fight than are sheep if pro-
voked by a dog. Animals that break away from the group
Maternal Behavior should be left to follow along rather than chased. The
Free-ranging goats separate from the herd and hide to kid. presence of sheep with the goats can actually facilitate
Confined goats may attempt to conceal themselves. As par- flocking and driving, although on hills goats tend to move
turition approaches, does become restless and paw at the upward and sheep downward. When collected in yards,
ground, making rudimentary efforts to “nest build.” Details anxious goats may pile up in a corner and some may suf-
of parturition and the recognition of dystocia are discussed focate, so they should be divided into small groups. When
in Chapter 13. Following parturition, the doe actively licks possible, goats should be allowed to spend 24 hours in a
the kids, and this is considered to be critical to successful handling facility before they are worked so they are more
bonding. If does are frightened or disturbed at this point, comfortable with their surroundings. Horned goats may
or if licking is delayed longer than one hour, bonding may be very wary of entering narrow races and gates. When
be impaired and kids may be abandoned or mothered less working horned goats in close quarters, the danger of face
effectively. and eye injuries to handlers is high, and protective eye
Kids are precocial, standing and seeking the hairless wear should be used.
udder shortly after birth. In free-ranging herds there is a
“lying-out” period of several days to several weeks when
Individual Restraint
does may leave kids in sheltered areas for periods of two to
eight hours while they feed. Does must be familiar with the Tame goats will stop when caught by the gastrocnemius
geography to return successfully to their kids. Therefore, it tendon. However, if a frightened or wary goat is actively
is not advisable to move does to new grazing areas immedi- fleeing or struggling, capture by the limb can lead to seri-
ately before kidding. Does will respond to alarm calls from ous dislocations of joints or fractures of long bones, par-
their distant kids and return to defend them if bonding is ticularly in young animals. It is preferable to catch animals
strong. Kids gradually begin to follow their dams, learning by hooking an arm around the neck or torso or by grabbing
to browse and graze. The infrequent nursing pattern of the collar, horns, beard, or, less desirably, the ears.
young kids makes the goat adaptable to the twice-a-day Goats used to human contact can be trained to lead.
feeding regimens that are often practiced under intensive Goats that pull strongly against neck chains will com-
management. If given boxes to hide in, kids raised in con- monly cough and, rarely, cause trauma to the trachea.
finement will use them for the first week, coming out only Goats accustomed to being handled are usually easily
to suckle the dam. restrained for examination, administration of medication,
6 Goat Medicine
or routine sample collection. Such goats can be haltered of urolithiasis. In this case, the weight of the goat’s upper
or lead shanks can be tied to neck straps and then secured. body needs to be shifted forward to facilitate extension of
Uncooperative goats can be straddled over the withers by the penis. Foot trimming is most easily carried out by
a handler with the goat’s hind end backed into a corner raising the distal limbs of the standing goat.
and the head held firmly by the handler (Figure 1.1). If a
goat is horned, the horns should be held when restraining
Administering Medications
goats in close quarters to avoid injury to the handler.
Bearded goats can be led by the beard and non-bearded Oral Medications
goats by the ears, though some owners may object to the Mass medication of feed and water is no more reliable in
latter practice. For smaller, uncooperative goats, flipping goats than in other species because sick animals are likely to
the animal into lateral recumbency and then placing the have reduced feed and possibly water intake. In addition,
handler’s knee on the goat’s neck may provide effective goats, being fastidious about water supplies, may detect a
restraint. change in the odor or flavor of the water and refuse to drink it.
Goats do not become passive when tipped up on the When drenching individual goats, the head should be
rump in the manner used for sheep, so this method of held horizontally and not tilted up, reducing the chances of
restraint is less useful; this is a problem regarding shearing. aspiration pneumonia. The drenching gun should be
A modification of the technique to avoid struggling is first inserted at the commissure of the lips and the medication
to tip up the goat, and then to allow the head to fall back- dispensed. To successfully administer boluses with a balling
ward between the handler’s thighs so that the goat’s back is gun, the gun must be carefully worked over the base of the
resting on the handler’s shins. This redistributes the goat’s tongue before dispensing the bolus or the pill will be chewed
weight from the bony rump to the back, making it more and spit out. Put the gun into the mouth at the commissure
comfortable for the goat. Tipping up the goat is useful for of the lips to facilitate this process. Do not force the gun into
examining the prepuce and penis of male goats suspected the pharynx or traumatic injury can occur. Balling and
a b
Figure 1.1 Useful restraint methods for intravenous blood sampling or medicine administration via the jugular vein of a goat.
Backing the goat into a corner, as shown, improves control. In Figure 1.1a, the goat is restrained so that an assistant, kneeling in front
of the goat, can easily take the sample or give the medicine. In Figure 1.1b, the goat is positioned with the head tucked under the
handler’s arm so that sampling or medicine administration can be accomplished by the handler alone. Source: Illustrations by
Mr. Nadir Kohzad.
drenching guns should be examined before use to ensure Permanent muscle damage can also occur that devalues
that they do not have sharp defects that could injure the the carcasses of meat goats.
goats. Passing a stomach tube in goats via the mouth is not Subcutaneous injections are commonly given in the neck
particularly difficult if proper restraint and a suitable specu- in the same region described for intramuscular injections,
lum are available. Commercially available sheep speculums or on the chest wall about 5 cm behind the point of the
work well with goats, as does a block of wood with a circu- elbow. Injections ahead of the shoulder should be avoided
lar hole cut through it. Small-diameter, well-lubricated in show goats because local reactions near the superficial
tubes can be passed through the nose to the stomach. cervical (prescapular) lymph node may be confused with
caseous lymphadenitis. Needles should be 18–20-gauge.
Injections The risk of accidental intramuscular injection may be
Mass medication or vaccination using a common needle increased if long needles are used.
has long been practiced by some farmers and veterinarians. Intravenous drugs are given via the jugular vein, gener-
In the case of goats, as with other species, it is time to ally using 2–3 cm long needles of 18- or 20-gauge. Blood
rethink this practice, particularly in light of the growing samples can be taken from the jugular vein using an 18-
importance of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) gauge needle. Intradermal injections are given using 26-
in goats. This retrovirus may be transmissible by blood- gauge, 1 cm long tuberculin needles. Intraperitoneal
contaminated needles. Certainly, in herds where the virus injections are rarely used, except to treat neonates for hypo-
is known to exist, or attempts are under way to control it, it glycemia with glucose solutions or navel infections with
would be counterproductive and negligent to use common aqueous-based antibiotics. With the kid held hanging by
needles. Additional discussion of this important caprine the front legs, an 18-or 20-gauge needle is inserted perpen-
disease is found in Chapters 4 and 5. dicular to the skin about 1 cm to the left of the navel, no
Another reason to use individual needles in conjunction deeper than 1 cm.
with other good hygienic practices during vaccination is When intramammary infusions are given, the teat should
the tendency for goats to develop large swellings and even first be cleaned and swabbed with alcohol. As in cattle,
abscesses at injection sites after vaccination with clostrid- single-use teat cannulae should be used for each infusion,
ial, chlamydial, and paratuberculosis vaccines. If the vet- with the cannula inserted into the teat only enough to gain
erinarian’s technique is exemplary, he or she is unlikely to entry into the teat cistern. For very small teat openings,
be held accountable for any problems that develop later. sterile tomcat catheters can be used to infuse the teat.
If skins are marketed from a goat herd, the veterinarian
should avoid injections of any kind in regions of the body
that become part of the marketed skin, because defects can Clinical Examination of Goats
occur secondary to injection site reactions and devalue the
skin. Therefore, the back and upper flanks should be A complete clinical examination consists of three major ele-
avoided, even though they are often convenient. ments: history taking, physical examination, and inspection
Intramuscular injections can cause difficulties in goats. of the environment. Many diseases seen in individual goats
The preferred site is in the neck, in a triangular region are likely to represent potential herd problems; therefore,
bounded by the vertebral column ventrally, the nuchal liga- prompt diagnosis of clinical cases is essential so that, in
ment dorsally, and the shoulder caudally. The triceps can addition to therapy, appropriate preventive measures can be
also be used. If skin quality is not a consideration, the lon- introduced into the overall management program. In many
gissimus muscles over the back in the lumbar region may caprine diseases, subclinical cases often exist in addition to
also be used. In all cases, the volume of drug administered the obvious clinical ones, and additional diagnostic testing
in one site should not be greater than 5 mL. Needles should may be required to identify them. The existence of subclini-
be 2–3 cm long and no larger than 18-gauge unless the cal infections and carrier states is a troublesome one for vet-
medication is highly viscous. Shorter needles should be erinarians performing prepurchase health examinations or
used for young kids. writing health certificates for exportation or interstate
The thigh muscles should be avoided as a site of intra- travel. A list of such caprine diseases that the veterinarian
muscular injection in adults and especially young goats. must be aware of is given in Table 1.1.
The muscle mass is small compared to other ruminants,
and sciatic nerve damage is not uncommon. Owners
History Taking
should be counseled against using this site. Even when the
nerve is not damaged, marked lameness can occur when Very few diseases or health-related problems are randomly
irritating drugs such as oxytetracycline are given in the leg. distributed in a flock or herd of goats; rather, they are
8 Goat Medicine
Table 1.1 Goat diseases characterized by chronic infection or a carrier state.
Viral/prion Rickettsial Bacterial Protozoal Unknown
Caprine arthritis encephalitis Chlamydiosis Caseous lymphadenitis Toxoplasmosis Udder warts in white goats
Foot and mouth disease Coxiellosis (Q fever) Paratuberculosis
Scrapie Salmonellosis
Listeriosis
Brucellosis
Melioidosis
Tuberculosis
Mycoplasmosis
Staphylococcal mastitis
concentrated in specific groups, usually by sex, function, Localization of death or disease to specific areas on the
production status, or age. Always establish early on what premises is helpful. For example, if losses are seen only in
age, sex, breed, or group of goats is dying, showing signs of certain areas of the farm, specific pastures, or particular
illness, aborting, or showing decreased productivity. If it is barns, then suspicion of poisoning is increased.
a mixed farm operation, the number of other types of live- Other important aspects of the history include ques-
stock and their degree of contact with goats should be tions pertaining to the actual ration being fed and its
ascertained. consumption, methods of feeding, changes in feeding,
Detailed history should include a determination of the access to grazing, and water supply type and water
total flock or herd population and estimation of its break- availability.
down by sex, age, breed, and pregnancy status. Having If management interventions or preventive health proce-
determined the total animal population, the population at dures have been undertaken recently, they should be iden-
risk, and the number of animals affected and dying, it is tified. Handling of animals for shearing, drenching,
possible to determine rates of disease occurrence and case dehorning, spraying or dipping, castration, or vaccination
fatality rates. By counting cases, the investigator is also in a may be associated with increases in morbidity and mortal-
better position to determine the actual significance of a ity. When range animals are mobbed for such procedures,
problem as compared to the farmer’s perception of it. In sudden close confinement, temporary feed deprivation,
some cases, the loss of a few animals may be insignificant and abrupt weather changes can predispose to outbreaks of
compared to a more serious unrecognized problem such as conditions such as abortion, coccidiosis, salmonellosis,
endoparasitism or ectoparasitism. hypocalcemia, or starvation as a result of mismothering.
Such an epidemiologically based history should aim to When drugs or vaccines are used, the products and dos-
identify not only specific problems, but also specific risk ages, number of treatments, and method of administration
factors that appear to be associated with mortality, morbid- should be determined, particularly because many goat
ity, or suboptimal performance. For example, when a pri- farmers traditionally obtain their drugs and biologicals
mary complaint of kids developing diarrhea after weaning from non-veterinary sources.
suggests coccidiosis, additional questions concerning the If animals have been transported recently, dates, origins,
segregation of kids from adults, the manner in which kids means of transportation, and quarantine times should be
are fed, the design of feeders, the frequency and manner of determined. Information should also be collected on visits
barn cleaning, and details on the use of coccidiostats are to shows or fairs and on the origin of purchased animals,
necessary. In such cases, modification of management be it other farms, stockyards, or specialized goat sales.
practices may halt the spread of disease. If animals have come from out of state, the relevant health
Temporal relationships are important to note. Some dis- certificates should be examined and the disease situation
eases may occur seasonally, in association with abrupt in the state of origin reviewed.
weather changes, or in relation to specific events such as Finally, the reliability of information obtained should be
breeding, pregnancy, shearing, parturition, and lactation. checked with the actual goat keepers if the owner is not
For example, an unexpected cold snap or heavy rain right involved with day-to-day management decisions. If the vet-
after shearing of Angora goats can increase pneumonia, erinarian has prior knowledge of the local disease patterns
abortion, and death rates, particularly if adequate shelter in goats, such knowledge should not be used to make hasty
and supplemental feed have not been provided. and possibly incorrect judgments.
Special Considerations for Range procedures or personnel may help to explain mastitis
and Pastured Goats problems.
Extensively managed animals may not be closely observed,
and histories can be sketchy. With large flocks, it should be Special Considerations for Hobby Farms
determined if the animals are managed as a single flock or
Because hobbyists often have little previous agricultural or
in smaller, self-contained units. The seasonal pattern of
livestock experience, it might be helpful to practitioners to
grazing and the length of grazing periods should be noted.
gauge the owners’ knowledge and attitudes regarding basic
Pasture composition, seasonal stocking rates per acre, the
animal husbandry before history taking. Some fundamen-
degree of pasture subdivision, and length of resting periods
tal misunderstandings about the care and management of
between grazing should be established. Note if supplemen-
goats may be revealed, such as non-recognition of basic
tal feeding is practiced and the types of feed and minerals
ruminant physiology and the need for roughage in the diet.
used. This may be important in terms of meeting specific
In other situations, owners may know about basic hus-
nutritional needs, and, in the case of silage, may be associ-
bandry and disease problems, but may have seemingly
ated with diseases such as listeriosis or rumen acidosis.
unorthodox ideas about management and treatment. A
Inquiries should also be made about whether crops are fed
good deal of tact may be required to obtain a useful history
or grazed, the type and stage of growth, and whether there
and prescribe appropriate therapy while not offending the
is a recent history of fertilizer or herbicide application.
hobbyist’s sensibilities.
Knowledge of local trace element deficiencies or excesses
In addition, hobby farmers often perceive goats more as
may be helpful.
companion animals than as livestock production units.
The type of grazing, whether set stocked or rotational,
While they may seek the expertise of a livestock clinician,
may be relevant to some disease outbreaks, particularly to
they often expect the “bedside manner” of the companion
gastrointestinal helminthiasis. The presence of other live-
animal practitioner. Therefore, the veterinarian who
stock species and feral, predatory, or scavenging animals or
appears insensitive to the client’s emotions or indifferent to
birds should be established if relevant to the problem under
pain of the goat, or who emphasizes only the economic
investigation.
value of the animal, may not be called to the farm again.
Special Considerations for Intensively Special Considerations for Organic

Managed Goats Goat Production
A complete history can usually be obtained from the owner Consumer interest in organically produced food has grown
or person responsible for the intensively managed goats. considerably over the past 20 years or so and producers
The patterns of disease are also likely to be different, with have responded by producing and marketing an expanding
pneumonia and enteric diseases of young goats assuming variety of foodstuffs certified as organic. Increasingly, this
much greater significance than the foot rot, helminthiasis, includes foods of animal origin. Goat owners may choose
predation, or toxic plant problems more often seen under to raise their goats under organic conditions. Veterinary
grazing systems. Feed composition and intake are more practitioners with such clients need to be aware of and
regulated, but the veterinarian must inquire about episodes familiar with the constraints on conventional therapy that
of sudden changes, excesses, or deprivations in feed and are associated with organic livestock production, which is
water supplies. now strictly regulated by law (Karreman 2006).
Under close quarters, the movement, mixing, or intro- In the United States, the Organic Food Production Act
duction of new animals is more likely to cause an outbreak (OFPA) was signed into law in 1990, creating the frame-
of disease. Kidding is often assisted in intensively managed work for regulation and certification of organically pro-
operations, and artificial kid-rearing methods are com- duced foods of plant and animal origin. The OFPA created
monly used. These procedures should be carefully reviewed the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which
when morbidity and mortality are concentrated in young reviews materials for consideration as acceptable for use in
kids. Weather, per se, should not adversely affect inten- organic food production, including veterinary inputs used
sively managed animals. However, extremes in tempera- to maintain animal health. As a general rule, all natural
ture may tax the ventilatory capacity of confinement materials are allowed for use in organic agriculture,
buildings and extremely cold weather may freeze water unless specifically prohibited, while all synthetic materials
supplies or incapacitate mechanized feeding equipment. are prohibited unless specifically permitted, following a
Answers to questions about changes in dairy herd milking successful petition process to the NOSB. The specific
10 Goat Medicine
regulations of the National Organic Program are found in (SCNT; or “cloning”), and also the propagation of desira-
the United States Code of Federal Regulations at 7 CFR ble animals using cloning, are no longer just scientific
205. These regulations became effective in 2002. research endeavors. They have become established pro-
Vaccination is promoted as an organic livestock health- duction systems for the propagation and management of
care practice under 7 CFR 205, but the use of antibiotics and transgenic goats for a number of scientific and commer-
most anthelmintics is prohibited. Veterinarians must cial applications. It behooves veterinarians with an active
approach therapeutic interventions in organically raised goat practice, or in a laboratory animal setting, to be famil-
animals differently than in conventionally raised animals, iar with the basic techniques and potential health issues
relying heavily on so-called natural treatments, including associated with transgenic or cloned goat generation and
botanicals, acupuncture, etc. The standards of livestock management.
healthcare practice that must be observed under the OFPA The first foray into animal gene transfer was reported
are given in 7 CFR 205.238. Veterinarians should be aware, (Jaenisch and Mintz 1974) by injecting virus directly into
however, that 7 CFR 205.238 considers the welfare of organ- blastocyst-stage mouse embryos and demonstrating viral
ically raised livestock by stipulating that an organic live- genome in numerous tissues in the adult animals. The field
stock producer may “not withhold medical treatment from of transgenic technology was further codified when the
a sick animal in an effort to preserve its organic status. All first transgenic mouse was developed (Gordon et al. 1980)
appropriate medications must be used to restore an animal by the use of MI into the pronucleus at the one-cell embryo
to health when methods acceptable to organic production stage. Thereafter, the first transgenic goat was developed to
fail. Livestock treated with a prohibited substance must be produce rhtPA (recombinant human tissue plasminogen
clearly identified and shall not be sold, labeled, or repre- activator) in the milk (Ebert et al. 1991) as a potential
sented as organically produced.” The synthetic substances human therapeutic agent. Since then, the field has mark-
allowed for use in organic livestock production are found in edly expanded, with transgenic animals in multiple species
7 CFR 205.603. The full text of the regulations can be found becoming commonplace within many programs and facili-
at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2011-title7- ties around the world.
vol3/pdf/CFR-2011-title7-vol3-part205.pdf. The applications for transgenic animals are considerable
In Europe, organic production is regulated throughout and include not only the investigation of gene function, but
the European Union (EU). EU regulation number 1804/99, also the development of animal models, increased disease
which became effective in 2000, sets forth the rules for resistance through either transgene insertion or knock-out
organic livestock production, including animal health and techniques, and production of recombinant, biopharma-
veterinary interventions. All EU member states at a mini- ceutical proteins in a number of biological fluids such as
mum comply with these rules, but some individual coun- milk, blood, urine, and semen (Nieman and Kues 2003). In
tries have included additional rules of their own. EU rules fact, the first transgenically derived human therapeutic
prohibit the use of antibiotics and synthetic anthelmintics recombinant protein from goat milk (ATryn®, rEVO
in organically raised livestock for prevention of disease and Biologics, Framingham, MA, USA) was approved by the
growth promotion, but do allow the use of these drugs for European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products
treatment of disease on humane grounds under the super- (EMA) in 2006 and by the Food and Drug Administration
vision of a veterinarian when other treatments are ineffec- (FDA) in the United States in 2009.
tive, with the caveat that meat and milk withdrawal times In the United States, most genetically modified or trans-
be suitably extended (Alliance to Save our Antibiotics 2021). genic goats are maintained in USDA-APHIS-AC–licensed
Specifications of the European and US regulations have research facilities. Under the terms of the Animal Welfare
been compared (Nardone et al. 2004). The International Act (AWA), these licensed facilities must maintain strict
Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) is adherence to rules and regulations specifically governing
a source of information on standards for organic agricul- animal care, health, and welfare (housing, lighting, feed-
ture in other regions and countries (https://www.ifoam.bio). ing, veterinary care, and environmental enrichment at a
The global situation regarding organic goat production has minimum). Depending upon the type of research and the
been reviewed (Lu et al. 2010). funding source, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
may also be involved through their Office of Laboratory
Animal Welfare (OLAW), as government funding brings
Special Considerations for Genetically
along its own slightly different set of rules and regulations
Modified (Transgenic) and Cloned Goats
for animals used in a research setting. A growing number
Production of transgenic or genetically modified animals of institutions are also striving for accreditation by the
using microinjection (MI) or somatic cell nuclear transfer Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of
Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC-Int), endogenous gene could be negatively impacted, leading to
considered by many to set the gold standard for animal potential adverse physiologic effects and a transgenic goat
care in licensed research programs and facilities. Most presenting with clinical signs of abnormal physiology or
recently, depending upon the intended use of any tissues/ health. Therefore, appropriate postparturitional monitor-
fluids from the transgenic animal, the FDA’s Center for ing of animal health is warranted for any transgenic
Veterinary Medicine (FDA-CVM) may also have regulatory founder animal and subsequent generational offspring.
oversight and impose its own set of guidance and regula- Introduction of a transgene primarily is aimed at gener-
tions (FDA-CVM 2017). ating a transgenic goat that is hemizygous for a given
The two primary and long-standing techniques employed transgene. However, the newer gene-editing technologies
for making transgenic animals are MI and SCNT, also may be utilized to produce a homozygous animal from the
known as cloning. While MI was the first technology to be start. Alternatively, subsequent breeding within a lineage
used in making large transgenic animals (Hammer (between hemizygous animals) may be aimed at achieving
et al. 1985), and specifically the goat (Gavin 1996), the pro- this homozygous state for the transgene. With a homozy-
cess is inefficient, with only a small percentage of the gous state for a given transgene or genetic modification,
resulting animals being transgenic. Large animal SCNT possible additional concerns may arise through this genetic
was developed many years later by the cloning of sheep aim as well. First, inbreeding of related goats is the primary
(Campbell et al. 1996; Wilmut et al. 1997) and provides for route to achieving a homozygous animal. Therefore,
a near 100% transgenic rate when compared to MI. The inbreeding coefficients need to be considered and animals
cloning of the first transgenic goat soon followed (Baguisi need to be monitored for ill effects from this relatedness
et al. 1999; Keefer et al. 2001). There are now other tech- and for possible impacts on overall health and ability to
niques (as reviewed in Kalds et al. 2019) that have also thrive. Second, achieving a homozygous state may bring to
been developed subsequently over the years for producing light an insertional gene effect, since both copies of an
transgenic animals, such as retroviral gene transfer, artifi- endogenous gene may now be affected, thereby causing
cial chromosome insertion, and the use of advanced gene- physiologic or clinical issues that were not seen in the
editing tools such as recombinases, transposons, and hemizygous state. Again, appropriate monitoring of ani-
endonucleases, for example meganucleases such as zinc mal health is warranted for the first homozygous animals
finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effec- produced for any line carrying a specific transgene or
tor nucleases (TALENs), and clustered, regularly inter- genetic modification. Lastly, the potential exists that breed-
spaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs). ing for the production of a transgenic homozygous animal
The use of MI to produce a transgenic animal involves will reveal a lethal outcome. A lethality issue may be sus-
actually microinjecting the transgene into the pronucleus pected when breeding of two hemizygous animals pro-
of a fertilized, one-cell embryo and then the transfer of sur- duces no detectable pregnancies; pregnancies do not hold
viving embryos to a surrogate mother. One of the first areas to term with either resorptions or abortions; or offspring
for possible concern, and for which observation and moni- succumb during the perinatal or postnatal periods. Thus,
toring are appropriate, is the physical/mechanical effects production of a homozygous transgenic animal may not
on the nucleus/gene due to the actual MI process at the always be possible, and close animal health monitoring is
one-cell stage. If any negative impacts occur or gene func- warranted when homozygosity is pursued.
tions are altered or impaired, one may see outcomes rang- One additional set of concerns related to transgene
ing from decreased pregnancy rates from transferred effects (for example when the aim is to produce a recombi-
embryos to increased pregnancy loss, late-term abortions, nant protein in any tissue or fluid type) is the possibility of
or possible physiologic abnormalities at birth with clinical systemic circulation of the recombinant protein being
sequelae. However, years of experience in transgenic goat expressed and the potential health impacts arising from
generation (Gavin et al. 2018) have shown that these phe- expression of pharmacologically active molecules.
nomena, while possible, occur at a very low incidence, as Depending on the tissue or fluid where the recombinant
evidenced by the lower metrics/efficiencies in key repro- protein may be directed for expression (e.g., milk, blood,
ductive parameters monitored. urine, semen, etc.), one must be vigilant for systemic
Regardless of the technology or technique used to pro- effects, as the protein usually will be found systemically
duce a transgenic goat, another possible concern involves due to leaky vasculature and normal lymphatic drainage.
endogenous gene function and potential transgene inser- Therefore, the biological nature and function of the recom-
tional site effects. The gene of interest either inserts ran- binant protein being introduced must be known, so that
domly or at a specified location into the genome following any effects that may be exerted can be anticipated and rec-
transgene introduction. Hence, there is a chance that an ognized. Consideration must also be given to potential
12 Goat Medicine
adverse health impacts if this is a new gene and novel pro- The potential abnormal physiology with or without
tein not normally physiologically found in the genome or c linical presentations may continue after birth and into
animal. Lastly, the quantity of the recombinant protein the neonatal and early prepuberal stages (Hill et al. 1999).
that is expressed and then found systemically in the trans- Documented abnormalities in a few large animal species
genic animal must be considered. Even if the target protein have been shown at the level of the renal, cardiac, res-
is endogenous to the animal, it may be found at signifi- piratory, hepatic, hematopoietic, and immune systems.
cantly higher levels than normal now in the transgenic ani- However, if the small percentage of animals, includ-
mal with this transgene inserted, and this may cause ing goats, that present with these abnormal physiologic
physiologic effects that alter normal homeostasis. entities can be clinically supported over time, as the
With the development of the SCNT or cloning technol- animals grow, many of these abnormalities resolve and
ogy, nuclear transfer has become one of the preferred they can lead normal and healthy lives (Chavatte-Palmer
methods for producing transgenic goats and has improved et al. 2002).
the overall efficiency of the process compared to standard With regard to the newer approaches for transgenic
MI. However, the use of nuclear transfer has added some animal generation available with gene-editing technolo-
additional health concerns in a small percentage of ani- gies (e.g., the meganucleases), the potential for addi-
mals. Nuclear transfer starts by removing the maternal tional or new concerns at the level of the genome and
DNA from an unfertilized oocyte through enucleation. A the actual transgenic animal produced needs to be
full complement of genetic material is subsequently monitored closely as this field matures. Specifically,
replaced by addition of a somatic cell (e.g., fetal or adult “off-target” hits in the genome from a given gene-editing
skin fibroblast cell) through a process termed “reconstruc- technology have been documented and raised as a con-
tion.” Thereafter, in vitro techniques are used to fuse the cern. This phenomenon should be investigated fully to
oocyte and somatic cell and activate the couplet to begin ensure that no other potential unexpected physiologic
dividing normally. Following a brief in vitro culture period, sequelae arise or are overlooked in a transgenic or geneti-
these newly developed cloned embryos are then trans- cally modified animal.
ferred to recipient goats using traditional embryo-transfer Lastly, as with any traditional goat agricultural produc-
techniques. tion operation for meat, milk, or fiber, optimizing health
With nuclear transfer, a decreased in utero fetal survival and product output starts with a sound nutritional pro-
rate can be seen very early in pregnancy and has been well gram. Relative to transgenic production, nutritional pro-
documented in many species (Campbell et al. 1996; Wilmut grams should consider the nature of the recombinant
et al. 1997; Baguisi et al. 1999). This inability to thrive may protein to be produced or the genetic modification cre-
be associated with inappropriate or inadequate reprogram- ated. Specifically, if the recombinant protein is novel to
ming (Dean et al. 2001) of the nuclear/genetic material of the physiologic output of the goat’s normal cellular
the donor cell line or karyoplast, and has been postulated to machinery, or if quantities are above what is normally pro-
be at the level of the DNA (e.g., methylation patterns). An duced in vivo, then one may need to augment the diet. This
altered inheritance of cellular mitochondria (Wells 2005) modified or fortified diet may need to contain increased
has also been shown to occur in cloned embryos, adding to levels of vitamins, minerals, or specific amino acids. One
the possible causes for some of the abnormalities in homeo- should understand the normal cellular machinery and
stasis. These phenomena (inadequate reprogramming and biochemical pathways involved in protein production to
mitochondrial inheritance patterns) may be directly linked know if supplementation may be appropriate or necessary
to the small percentage of physiologic problems seen in and what kind.
utero for some cloned animals, such as abnormal placenta- In summary, the vast majority of transgenic and cloned
tion and/or organogenesis (Farin et al. 2006; Loi et al. 2006; animals are normal and healthy (Walsh et al. 2003; Enright
Fletcher et al. 2007). Abnormal placentation can also lead et al. 2002; Tayfur Tecirlioglu et al. 2006) and subsequent
to abnormal uterine fluid homeostasis and fluid retention generations of animals produced from first-generation
in does carrying cloned embryos, which may warrant close clones have not to date shown any of the health-related
clinical monitoring or intervention where appropriate. issues seen in a small percentage of original founder clones
Other possible outcomes of abnormal placentation include (Wells 2005). Additionally, passage through the germ line
a tendency toward decreased pregnancy rates for animals has been reported to reverse any abnormal patterns
receiving cloned embryos, an increased in utero loss rate detected at the DNA level in first-generation clones
through resorption, or an increased level of abortions if (Wells 2005), thereby further reducing the concern for ani-
there is late-term fetal loss. mals generated via these technologies.
Physical Examination unilateral facial paralysis, and blindness. Details on carry-

ing out a neurologic examination and differential diagnosis
Inspection from a Distance for signs of neurologic disease are provided in Chapter 5.
Straining while attempting to urinate, particularly in
It is often useful diagnostically to observe a group of goats bucks and wethers, suggests the possibility of urolithiasis
from a distance prior to disturbing them for “hands-on” or posthitis.
examination. This is especially true at the time of the initial Cutaneous swellings or discharges may be observed.
visit to identify the existence of common problems in the Draining abscesses associated with lymph nodes are highly
herd or flock. The animals should be observed at rest, while suggestive of caseous lymphadenitis in the flock or herd.
eating or drinking, and during spontaneous and forced A high rate of subcutaneous swellings is often associated
movement. General impressions of body condition, mental with injection site reactions in goats in response to certain
attitude, and social hierarchy may be acquired and abnor- adjuvanted vaccines or bacterins, or when aseptic injection
mal behaviors characteristic of certain diseases may be techniques are not followed.
noted. Estimated prevalence of common disease problems When kids are left with does, careful observation of
such as kid pneumonia, diarrhea, and pinkeye can be suckling behavior can indicate kids that are not success-
roughly assessed, respectively, by counting coughers, stained fully nursing. Their does should be examined particularly
hindquarters, and runny eyes. Other specific observations for signs of mastitis or other udder problems.
that might suggest commonly seen disease problems in
goats are briefly discussed below. This is for illustration
and is not meant to be comprehensive. Direct Physical Examination
Individual goats that appear listless, separate themselves of Individual Goats
from the herd, or are not actively feeding when others are A topographic approach to physical examination is pre-
should be noted and later caught for careful examination, sented here. Because of the small size of goats, rectal palpa-
as should animals in very poor body condition. Reluctance tion is limited to insertion of a finger into the rectum to
to feed may be due to a wide range of systemic diseases or assess the pelvic structures and to determine the presence
localized conditions such as dental or pharyngeal prob- and character of feces. When economics permit, physical
lems, or be the result of inadequate bunk space or bullying examination findings should be supplemented through use
by dominant does. of appropriate imaging techniques, diagnostic procedures,
Latent signs of respiratory disease or anemia associated and laboratory tests. When numerous individuals in a herd
with parasitism can be brought out by forced movement of or flock show signs of disease, field necropsy examination
a flock. Anemia is manifested by rapid fatigue, increased may be the most effective way to establish or confirm a
heart and respiratory rates, and sometimes collapse. diagnosis.
Increased respiratory rate, dyspnea, and coughing indicate
respiratory problems.
General Inspection
Signs of skin irritation or pruritus manifested as hair
loss, fleece biting, or rubbing against fences or other solid Body condition, mental attitude, and the status of the
objects usually suggest ectoparasitism, though scrapie, superficial lymph nodes should be noted. The tempera-
pseudorabies, and migrating Parelaphostrongylus tenuis ture, pulse, and respiration should be recorded. Fleece in
are other possibilities. Goats scratching at their ears with Angora goats makes visual assessment of body condition
their hindlimbs or shaking their heads vigorously probably difficult. Digital palpation of the ribs, spinous and trans-
have ear mites. verse processes of the vertebrae, and the loin muscle may
Goats observed resting or walking on their knees often be necessary to evaluate condition. A word of caution
have chronic CAEV infection or sore feet. Any animals with about condition scoring in goats: scoring systems derived
abnormalities of gait or lameness after forced exercise for sheep are not directly applicable to goats, because
should be carefully examined for evidence of arthritis, frac- goats as a species tend to deposit stored fat intra-
tures, laminitis, and lesions of foot rot, foot scald, or masti- abdominally rather than subcutaneously. Scoring systems
tis, as the latter condition may induce the affected animal to for dairy goats combine palpation of the sternal and lum-
alter its gait to avoid brushing the painful udder with its leg. bar regions and are described in detail in Chapter 19. In
A variety of clinical signs may be observed in goats with general, any palpable back fat in a dairy goat would clas-
neurologic disease. Among the more common are ataxia, sify her as obese. A scoring system applied to the Small
posterior paresis, circling, depression, head pressing, East African goat in Zimbabwe showed a good correlation
14 Goat Medicine
between a backbone condition score and changes in body-

weight, with a one-point change in condition score repre-
senting an average change of 12% in bodyweight (Honhold
et al. 1989).
Normally goats have an alert, attentive, and inquisitive
mental attitude. A depressed attitude is characterized by
dullness, separation from the flock, and indifference to
handling. Depression is present in a wide variety of septic
and toxemic conditions, but is a particularly prominent
sign in pregnancy toxemia and listeriosis. An anxious or
apprehensive state is often associated with urethral
obstruction in males, sudden blindness as may occur in
polioencephalomalacia, or persistent irritations such as
flies and nasal myiasis. An attitude of extreme excitation
is most often associated with neurologic diseases such as
tetanus and meningitis, which may be accompanied by
muscular rigidity, or encephalitic conditions such as pseu-
dorabies and rabies.
Digital palpation of all superficial lymph nodes should
always be a part of the physical exam because of the clini-
cal importance of caseous lymphadenitis in goats. The
mandibular, parotid, retropharyngeal, superficial cervical
(prescapular), subiliac (prefemoral), popliteal, and superfi-
cial inguinal (supramammary) lymph nodes should be
inspected. Normal-sized nodes may not be palpable in
some of these locations, but affected nodes should be read-
ily evident. Any other swellings on the body surface should
be noted. Temperature, pulse, and respiration should be
measured when the animal is calm, because the activity of
catching the animal for examination may elevate all three Figure 1.2 Typical waxy secretion found at the base of the tail
of goats, which is produced by the sebaceous glands in that area.
parameters. When taking the goat’s rectal temperature, an This secretion should not be confused with diarrhea, vaginal
accumulation of brown, waxy material may be noted near discharge, or lochia. Source: Courtesy of Dr. M.C. Smith.
the anus. This is the normal secretion of the sebaceous
gland located below the base of the tail (Figure 1.2).
The normal body temperature of goats is usually reported forth. Normal resting respiratory rate is 10–30 per minute
in the range of 38.6–40 °C (101.5–104 °F). However, the in adults and 20–40 in kids.
body temperature of a normal Angora goat with a full Neonates should be inspected particularly for congeni-
fleece on a hot, humid day can reach 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) or tal defects. More commonly observed problems include
higher, and goats of lighter bodyweight are more likely to brachygnathia, cleft palate, hydrocephalus, atresia ani, or
have higher temperatures when exposed to sun than are rectovaginal fistula, and abnormalities of the genitalia
bigger goats (McGregor 1985). To accurately assess the associated with the intersex condition as discussed in
febrile state of the patient, it is useful to record body tem- Chapter 13. A list of congenital and inherited diseases is
peratures in apparently normal herd mates. provided in Table 1.2. Not all of these, of course, will be
The heart rate can be measured by stethoscope over the evident at birth. Up-to-date information on inherited con-
heart or by digital palpation of the femoral artery. Normal ditions of goats as well as other species is available through
pulse rate ranges from 70 to 90 beats per minute (bpm) in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA)
resting adults, but can be double that in young, active kids. database at http://omia.org. In 2019, 85 inherited traits or
Fetal heart rates up to 180 bpm have been recorded by disorders were listed for goats and 37 were considered to be
ultrasound. It may be useful to assess respiratory rate both potential models for the study of human diseases.
at rest and after exercise. Any abnormalities of respiration Goat stature is quite diverse. Many small breeds of goats
should also be noted, including flaring of nostrils, exten- such as the Pygmy or West African Dwarf goat are in fact
sion of head and neck, grunting, abdominal press, and so achondroplastic dwarfs. They appear disproportionate,
Table 1.2 Some congenital and inherited abnormalities in goats.
Known inherited conditions Known acquired conditions Conditions of unclear status
Afibrinogenemia in Saanen goats Arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly Absence of hair

Beta mannosidosis in Nubian goats caused by Akabane, Schmallenberg, Atresia ani
Bipartite scrotum in Angora goats and Cache Valley viruses Atresia coli
Brachygnathia superior or inferior Border disease Cleft palate
Cryptorchidism in Angora goats Congenital copper deficiency Congenital goiter of Boer goats
Excessive facial hair in Angora goats Cyclopia due to Veratrum californicum Double or fused teats
Gynecomastia Freemartins Entropion
Hereditary goiter in Dutch goats Hydrops
Inherited abortion in South African Angora goats Patellar luxation
Intersexes associated with polled condition Precocious milking
Myotonia congenita Progressive paresis of Angora
N-acetylglucosamine 6-sulphatase deficiency in goats
Nubian goats (mucopolysaccharidosis IIID) Rectovaginal fistula
Recessive atrichosis Skeletal malformations
Robertsonian translocation Spastic paresis
Short tendons in Australian Angora goats Sticky kid syndrome of Golden
Sperm granulomas Guernsey goats
Supernumerary teats Umbilical hernia
Testicular hypoplasia
with short legs and normal-size torsos. This may draw vis- be noted. The differential diagnoses for such swellings are
ual attention to the degree of abdominal distension pre- discussed in Chapter 3.
sent, which, though quite pronounced, is usually normal.
Dwarfism because of pituitary hypoplasia is also seen in Membranes
goats. These small goats are proportionate in appearance; Inspection of the conjunctivae and mucous membranes of
the Sudan goat is an example (Ricordeau 1981). the mouth may reveal paleness due to anemia, icterus
resulting from hemolysis or hepatic dysfunction, or hyper-
emia and congestion associated with acute febrile or tox-
Examination of the Integument
emic states.
In goats the character of the skin and haircoat is a good
indicator of general health. A rough, dry, unglossy coat; Oral Cavity
excessive dander or flakiness; and failure to shed out in the Evidence of brachygnathism, cleft palate, mucosal lesions,
spring are all suggestive of poor nutritional status, parasit- dental abnormalities, or dysphagia such as drooling,
ism, or other chronic diseases. The hair or fleece should be salivation, dropping food from the mouth, or accumulat-
parted and the skin examined for lice, ticks, fleas (in the ing food in the buccal space should be noted. The differen-
tropics), nodules, swellings, crusts, eczema, necrosis, neo- tial diagnoses for these signs are given in Chapter 10.
plasia, photosensitization and sunburn, and focal or Necrotic odors of the breath may occur. They may reflect
regional alopecia. The differential diagnoses for these find- necrotic stomatitis, alveolar periostitis, pharyngitis, or
ings are discussed in Chapter 2. even pneumonia.
Because many goats are used primarily for cashmere or Thorough examination of the oral cavity requires good
mohair production, the veterinarian should know some- restraint, a speculum, a towel, and a penlight. All oral
thing about the nature of goat hair used in textiles. Detailed structures should be examined and the molar arcades digi-
information on the subject is given in Chapter 2. tally palpated for missing teeth from outside the mouth.
If more direct examination of the teeth is required, extreme
caution should be taken, because the molars may have
Examination of the Head
sharp, jagged edges and exert a powerful grinding motion.
Many conditions can cause general asymmetry or focal Tranquilization is indicated, because fingers can be badly
swellings around the head and these abnormalities should injured. Wearing gloves during oral examination is a wise
16 Goat Medicine
precautionary measure, particularly if the goat shows neu- Horns

rologic signs. Goats may be horned or polled. Horn buds may be present
at birth or become palpable within several days, or in the
Eyes case of Nigerian Dwarf goats weeks, of birth. Generally,
Facial hair covering the eyes is a heritable trait in Angora horned kids have two irregular whorls of hair over the
goats. Affected goats tend to do poorly on range because location of the horn buds, whereas hornless kids have a
their ability to selectively browse is impaired. The body smooth poll with a single central symmetrical whorl of
condition of such individuals should be noted, as well as hair. It is important to establish and record which offspring
their prevalence in the flock. Blindness is initially are naturally polled, because homozygous polled goats
assessed by testing the menace response, but facial nerve have a high incidence of infertility. The relationship of the
paralysis can render a sighted animal unable to blink. polled trait and the intersex condition is discussed in detail
Intact pupillary light responses in a blind goat suggest a in Chapter 13. Deformed horns, or scurs, are often seen on
cerebrocortical lesion. Lacrimation and hyperemia of the older goats as a result of incomplete removal of germinal
conjunctiva, cloudiness of the cornea, and hypopyon in horn tissue at the time of disbudding. Techniques for, and
the anterior chamber should be noted if present. The dif- problems with, disbudding and dehorning are discussed in
ferential diagnoses for these various findings are given in Chapter 18. The glands partially responsible for the charac-
Chapter 6. teristic odor of buck goats in the breeding season are
located in skin folds just caudomedial to the horn buds.
Nares
Both nostrils should be evaluated for symmetry of air flow.
Examination of the Neck
If nasal discharge is observed, determine if it is unilateral
or bilateral and note its character. Collapse of a nostril may Traumatic injuries to the pharynx from balling guns and
result from facial nerve paralysis. Crusting of the nares drenching equipment occur in goats. The throat should be
occurs when the sick animal does not clean the nostrils, or palpated for swelling, heat, and pain associated with celluli-
it may be a sign of specific disease problems. The differen- tis from traumatic injury. A number of normal and abnor-
tial diagnoses for nasal discharge and crusting of the nares mal structures and swellings in the neck must be
are given in Chapter 9. differentiated on physical examination, including goiters,
thymus, branchial cleft cysts, wattles, and abscesses. Their
Ears differentiation is discussed in Chapter 3. Thorough exami-
Ear mites, if suspected, can be identified by collecting nation of the neck should include palpation of the jugular
debris from the ear canal on a cotton swab and smearing it furrows for evidence of phlebitis, palpation of the esopha-
on a slide for examination. gus for evidence of obstruction, and auscultation of the tra-
Goats are often identified with tattoos applied inside the chea. Prominent distension of the jugular vein, though
ear; tattoo numbers may have to be checked against health possibly suggestive of congestive heart failure, is most com-
papers at shows and sales. It may be necessary to clean the monly due to overly tight collars or neck chains in goats.
inside of the ear with soap and water and use a powerful This should be brought to the owner’s attention if found.
light source to backlight the tattoo to make it readable.
Metal and plastic ear tags commonly tear out of goats’ ears
Examination of the Chest
and their use should be avoided in pet and show animals.
Tags that can rotate around a post are preferred to tags that The extent and severity of respiratory disease are often dif-
make a closed loop around the ear, as the latter are more ficult to assess in goats. To improve the chances of accurate
easily torn out. In the United States, scrapie tags are diagnosis and prognosis, careful attention should be given
required when selling unregistered goats or moving them to auscultation. When possible, the animal should be moved
interstate, unless the herd identification is tattooed into to quiet surroundings. The fleece in Angora goats should be
the ear. parted to place the stethoscope in contact with the skin. The
Ear tips may be lost on young goats due to prolonged trachea and the lungs should be ausculted to identify the
exposure to freezing temperatures. Goats of the La Mancha presence of referred sounds. Eliciting a cough by compres-
breed lack a well-developed external ear. Only a vestigial sion of the pharynx may clear the trachea or reveal the pres-
pinna is present and is referred to as an elf (up to 5 cm, with ence of bronchial exudate. Care should be taken to listen
some cartilage) or gopher (up to 2.5 cm, with little or no with a stethoscope placed well forward under the elbow and
cartilage) ear. These animals are usually tattooed on the in front of the shoulder, otherwise cranial ventral pneumo-
underside of the tail. nias, which are common, may be overlooked. The intensity
of identifiable sounds can be augmented by forced activity recumbency. The differential diagnoses for recumbency
of the animal before auscultation or by placing a plastic bag are discussed in Chapter 4.
or exam glove over the nares to increase the depth of respi-
ration by rebreathing of carbon dioxide. Radiographic or
Examination of the Reproductive System
ultrasound examination is indicated when questions about
the severity of lung disease persist. Mammary Gland
Normally the heart can be heard about evenly on both Careful examination of the udder is always warranted.
the right and left sides of the chest at the fourth or fifth rib Visual inspection may reveal weakness of the suspensory
space. Mediastinal abscesses may displace the heart, result- apparatus, slack halves, abnormal swellings, and discolora-
ing in a shift in intensity of cardiac sounds. Muffling of the tions of the skin. Digital palpation of the gland will identify
heart sounds because of pericarditis is uncommon in goats. udder edema, active inflammation, fibrosis, scarring, or
Murmurs are rarely heard and are discussed in Chapter 8. abscesses in the parenchyma or teats. In gangrenous masti-
tis the udder skin may be blue-black and cold, and in time
the gland may slough if the animal survives. Patency of the
Examination of the Abdomen
teats should be assessed in lactating animals.
The abdominal contour should be inspected to assess con- Supernumerary teats may be present. Their identification
ditions such as bloat, advanced pregnancy and false preg- and removal are discussed in Chapter 14.
nancy in females, and ruptured bladder in wethers and The milk of lactating does should be observed on a black
intact males. Characteristic contours and their clinical sig- plate or strip cup to assess color, consistency, and the pres-
nificance are discussed in Chapter 10. Ballotment may help ence of clots or flakes. Bovine screening tests for subclini-
to detect abdominal fluid accumulations, pregnancy, or cal mastitis such as the California Mastitis Test must be
rumen impaction. Auscultation of the rumen in the left used cautiously in goats, because normal goat milk tends to
paralumbar fossa is essential. Normal rumen contractions have higher cell counts. The somatic cell count issue and
occur at a rate of one to two per minute. Observation of cud interpretation of test results are discussed in Chapter 14.
chewing suggests normal rumen activity.
Vulva
Swelling and hyperemia of the vulva may be signs of heat
Examination of the Limbs
or impending parturition, but may also be seen in herpes
Locomotor problems are common in goats. Lameness and vulvovaginitis in conjunction with vesicles or scabs. Any
abnormalities of gait may result from neurologic disease, vulvar discharges should be noted. As females come out of
conformational defects, muscular dysfunction, skeletal heat, the vulvar discharge, initially serous and mucoid,
trauma, infectious and non-infectious arthritides, and dis- may become white and tenacious. This is often misinter-
eases of the foot. Localization of the problem by careful preted as a purulent discharge by the inexperienced
physical examination is the first step in making an accurate observer. Often, there is a sanguinous discharge after ter-
diagnosis. Differential diagnoses of locomotor problems mination of a pseudopregnancy and neoplasia of the repro-
are discussed in detail in Chapter 4. ductive tract may also result in a bloody vaginal discharge.
Overgrown hooves must be pared with shears or a hoof Speculum examination of the vaginal canal and cervix
knife to adequately assess the health of the foot. Hyperemia should be carried out when there is doubt about the source
and swellings at or above the coronary band should be and nature of the discharge. Occasionally, otherwise nor-
noted. They may represent either local infections or sys- mal does may have ectopic mammary tissue present at the
temic disease. vulva, which may swell at the beginning of lactation.
All joints should be carefully palpated. Distensions of the Does may show vaginal eversion or frank prolapse in
joint capsule, heat, pain, swelling, or fibrosis of periarticu- advanced pregnancy or immediately post partum. After
lar structures, limitations on the range of joint motion, and uncomplicated births, normal lochia may be discharged for
enlargement of bursae should all be noted. The degree of a period of one to three weeks. It is reddish brown in color
joint enlargement may not necessarily correlate with the and odorless. Placentas are usually passed within four
severity of lameness. hours of parturition and are frequently eaten.
The vertebral column and the long bones of the legs It is important to carefully examine the external genitalia
should be palpated for evidence of fractures in acutely of young does, particularly when there is a complaint of
lame or recumbent animals. A major goal of physical infertility, because of the high incidence of intersexes
examination in recumbent goats is to differentiate muscu- among polled goats. Malformations of the genitalia range
loskeletal, metabolic, toxemic, and neurologic causes of from the clinically subtle, such as a slightly enlarged
18 Goat Medicine
clitoris, to the overt, such as male phenotypes in geneti- with either contaminated or overly long, large-gauge nee-
cally female individuals. Accurate record keeping may help dles can result in injection abscesses or systemic infec-
to identify homozygous polled individuals. tions. Drug and vaccine stocks should be examined to
determine if they are appropriate, clean, unexpired, and
Scrotum maintained at proper temperatures. Storage facilities for
The scrotum and its contents should be palpated. Normally these items should be properly secured. If the farmer
there is bilateral symmetry of all structures. A bipartite or blends his or her own feed or components, the techniques
split scrotum is a common congenital condition that some and constituents used should be examined, particularly
breeders consider a fault. The differential diagnoses for when toxicoses are suspected. Accidental inclusion of
abnormalities of the scrotum, testes, and spermatic cord agricultural or other farm chemicals is not uncommon.
structures are given in Chapter 13. Semen samples can be Milking machines used for goats should also be examined
collected for evaluation by electroejaculation or by use of to determine their efficiency and the milking procedures
an artificial vagina. These procedures are described in studied if it appears that mastitis is a significant problem.
Chapter 13. Gynecomastia occurs in male goats and it is Finally, the facilities available and routinely used to dis-
not extraordinary to detect distended teats anterior to the pose of any dead animals should be particularly noted to
scrotum during physical examination, as discussed in see that they are consistent with any legal requirements,
Chapter 13. do not attract predators, and do not serve as environmen-
tal contaminants or as a source of infection for the remain-
Penis and Prepuce der of the flock or herd.
Examining the penis of male goats, especially wethers, can In recent years, in association with the expansion of
be difficult and is not ordinarily attempted unless there is a international trade in livestock and livestock products and
history of urinary or breeding problems. Details on special increasing concerns about bioterrorism, there has been a
examination and catheterization of the penis are given in growing emphasis on food safety and biosecurity, with rec-
Chapter 12. ognition that food safety encompasses all aspects of food
The preputial opening should be routinely examined, production, from the farm to the table. As such, quality
particularly in wethers, for the presence of ulcerative post- management assurance programs have grown in popular-
hitis. The preputial orifice may become occluded in this ity, as have procedures to ensure biosecurity to limit the
condition. Crystals or drops of blood may be noted at the introduction and spread of disease on and between farms.
orifice in cases of obstructive urolithiasis. Environmental inspections should include an assessment
of biosecurity and aspects of management and sanitation
that can affect food quality.
Examination of the Environment
An examination of the environment where goats are Special Considerations for Range
raised should include a detailed review of all feeds used, and Pasture Operations
the feeding facilities, water sources and water delivery The quality and quantity of pasture and the availability of
systems; the yards, pastures, range, or buildings where supplementary or conserved feed should be assessed. This
the animals are kept; and any mechanical or manual may require specialized knowledge of pasture species,
equipment used as part of the routine farm procedures. weeds, or other potentially toxic plants. A list of plants
Too often, farmers attempt to make do with equipment known to be poisonous to goats is provided in Chapter 19.
and buildings that are inadequate for an expanding opera- If possible, animals should be observed while feeding. The
tion. Because of prolificacy, goat herds tend to expand source of water available both year-round and seasonally,
faster than owners anticipate. Inadequate feeder space for its quality, and its quantity should also be inspected. Feed
does, a smell of ammonia in the air due to poor ventila- and water samples should, if necessary, be collected for
tion and/or soaked bedding, and overcrowded kid pens laboratory examinations.
are three examples of common faults found on environ- On range or pasture, goats may congregate in certain
mental inspection. Besides the visual inspection of equip- shaded or sheltered areas, particularly during periods of
ment, farmers could be asked to demonstrate how high or low temperatures or precipitation, and after shear-
common procedures are carried out to detect if they are ing. Provision of adequate shelter should be documented.
using inappropriate techniques. Heat stress can be reduced by ensuring the animals have
Equipment used for treatment should be examined for adequate shade and water when the livestock weather
its potential to cause injury. Poorly maintained syringes safety index is in the danger or emergency zone. Cold
stress is particularly likely in recently shorn animals, and allowing access of inquisitive goats with resultant over-
temporary shelter and extra feed are necessary for these doses, poisonings, and/or grain overload, respectively. In
animals. If shelter areas are limited or overused, buildup the barn, overcrowding with inadequate feeder space is
of infectious and parasitic agents can occur, leading to often observed, along with fecal contamination of feed and
increases in enteric and other diseases, especially in kids. water supplies.
This is aggravated by poor drainage under feeders and In winter, lack of adequate ventilation in closed, over-
water troughs. crowded barns leads to outbreaks of pneumonia. Some
Fencing for these types of operations should also be owners consistently shut all windows and doors, believing
inspected, particularly regarding its effectiveness in keep- that animals must stay warm in winter. These individuals
ing goats in and keeping predators out. need to be counseled on the beneficial effects of continu-
ous air exchange on respiratory health. Pasture problems
Special Considerations for Confinement Operations often involve disappearance of animals or predation due to
In semiconfinement operations, adult animals and some- inadequate fencing, bloat due to inadequate adaption to
times young stock are grazed on pasture during the warmer pasture, or parasitism due to placement of young stock on
months, but confined during the winter and early spring. contaminated, overcrowded plots. The veterinarian should
As herds expand, there is a tendency for small pastures to examine all elements of the ration being fed on the hobby
be overused, with poor nutrition and increased parasitism farm to ensure that the hobbyist understands basic rumi-
as the result. Stocking rates should be noted and deworm- nant nutrition.
ing history and efficacy verified.
In confinement systems, the type of buildings used for
Field Necropsies and Slaughterhouse Checks
housing should be evaluated for the following: available
area (square feet or square meters) per adult breeding ani- The economic value of most individual goats in commer-
mal; type of flooring and bedding; degree of insulation; cial herds and flocks is such that most owners can be per-
presence of supplemental heating if any; adequacy of suaded to have a necropsy undertaken of an ill or obviously
natural or mechanical ventilation systems; source and moribund animal. This is an extremely useful adjunct to
availability of water; and the amount of trough or bunk clinical examination, because necropsy can confirm the
space per goat. Requirements for goats are given in suspected diagnosis or suggest new avenues of investiga-
Chapter 9. The distribution of animals within buildings tion. All necropsies should be carried out following a sys-
should be noted. Ideally, a separate kidding facility should tematic procedure, with special regard to the likelihood of
exist and be hygienically maintained. Artificially reared any zoonotic infections being transmitted and the safe and
kids should be in a separate facility from adult stock, and legal disposal of carcasses.
bucks should be housed separately from milking does. Necropsy of all or a random sample of young animals
Bucklings should be separated from females by three born dead or dying in the first two to three weeks of life is
months of age, to avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancies. an extremely valuable service that veterinarians can pro-
Methods and times of feeding for all groups within the vide to their clients. Categorization of deaths into prepar-
herd should be noted. If other species of livestock are pre- turient, parturient, and postparturient causes can be done
sent, consideration should be given to them as possible with a minimum of laboratory diagnostic techniques and
sources of disease for goats. immediately direct the owner to possible ways of reducing
Unfortunately, many confinement goat operations have these losses.
both rodent and associated feline populations. Cats are a Whenever possible, goats slaughtered for meat or culled
recognized source of Toxoplasma gondii, a major cause of from the herd or flock should be examined post mortem by
abortion in goats and a potential zoonotic disease from a veterinarian as an inexpensive and worthwhile means of
consumption of meat or milk. Farmers should be encour- disease surveillance. Such inspections can provide infor-
aged to seek alternate means of rodent control. mation on the efficacy of parasite control measures; the
presence of subclinical pneumonia; and the occurrence of
Special Consideration for Hobby Farms injection site abscesses, visceral caseous lymphadenitis,
The principles and procedures of environmental exami- and hydatid disease. Opportunities to perform routine
nation already described also apply to the hobby farm. slaughter checks on goats at an abattoir are uncommon in
Special considerations that occur are usually the result of the United States because the goat meat industry is decen-
inexperience on the part of the hobbyist. Medications, insec- tralized, though this will change as demand for goat meat
ticides, and grain supplies may be inadequately secured, continues to increase.
20 Goat Medicine
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22
Skin
CHAPTER MENU
Normal Anatomy and Physiology of the Skin and Hair, 23 Chorioptic Mange, 44
Skin, 23 Psoroptic Mange, 45
Specialized Skin Structures, 23 Raillietia, 45
Hair and Shedding, 23 Demodectic Mange (Demodicosis), 45
Fiber Production, 23 Free-Living Mites, 46
Mohair, 23 Rhabditic Dermatitis and Strongyloidiasis, 47
Cashmere, 25 Parelaphostrongylosis and Elaphostrongylosis, 47
Cashgora, 25 Filarid Dermatitis, 47
Pygora, 25 Besnoitiosis, 48
Production of Skins, 26 Nutritional Diseases, 48
Diagnosis of Skin Disease, 26 Zinc Deficiency and Zinc-Responsive Dermatosis, 48
History, 26 Iodine Deficiency, 49
Clinical Signs of Skin Disease, 26 Vitamin A Deficiency, 49
Body Localization as an Aid to Diagnosis, 28 Vitamin E and Selenium-Responsive Dermatosis, 50
Clinical Laboratory Examination, 28 Selenium Toxicosis, 50
Etiologic Diagnoses, 29 Sulfur Deficiency, 50
Viral Diseases, 29 Environmental Insults, 51
Contagious Ecthyma, 29 Sunburn, 51
Capripox, 32 Burns Induced by Fire, 51
Miscellaneous Virus Infections, 33 Photosensitization, 51
Bacterial Diseases, 34 Kaalsiekte, 52
Staphylococcal Dermatitis, 34 Frostbite, 52
Dermatophilosis, 35 Ergotism, 52
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, 37 Urine Scald, 52
Actinobacillosis, Actinomycosis, Mycobacteriosis, Other Contact Dermatitis Conditions, 52
and Protothecosis, 37 Neoplasia, 53
Fungal Diseases, 37 Papilloma, 53
Ringworm, 37 Udder Warts, 53
Yeast Infections, 38 Carcinomas, 53
Miscellaneous Fungal Infections, 38 Melanomas, 53
Parasitic Diseases, 38 Inherited or Congenital Conditions, 54
Lice (Pediculosis), 38 Miscellaneous Conditions, 54
Fleas, 40 Pemphigus, 54
Keds, 40 Alopecia Areata, 55
Biting Flies, Gnats, Mosquitoes, and Fire Ants, 40 Alopecic Exfoliative Dermatitis, Psoriasiform
Cutaneous Myiasis, 40 Dermatitis, 55
Warbles, 41 Lichenoid Dermatitis and Ichthyosis, 55
Ticks, 42 Allergy or Hypersensitivity, 55
Sarcoptic Mange, 43 References, 55
Goat Medicine, Third Edition. Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman.

© 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 Skin 23
ormal Anatomy and Physiology

N the growth cycle (anagen), growth from the bulb is contin-
of the Skin and Hair uous. Anagen is followed by the resting phase (telogen)
and then by molting. When growth resumes, the new fiber
The structure and function of the skin have been reviewed produced by the follicle helps to push out the old fiber. In
elsewhere (Scott 1988) and will not be discussed in goats not specifically selected for fiber production, fibers
detail here. form brush ends and growth stops at about the time of the
autumn equinox, and the follicles remain dormant until
late spring (Ryder 1978).
Skin Hair follicles in goats are grouped in bundles or clusters.
The epidermis can be divided histologically into four lay- Within each bundle are primary follicles (often a central
ers: stratum corneum, stratum granulosum, stratum spino- and two laterals) and a variable number of secondary folli-
sum, and stratum basale (Sar and Calhoun 1956). Goat cles. The primary follicles produce long, coarse guard hairs,
skin is thickest on the forehead and dorsal aspect of the while secondary follicles produce undercoat or down. In
body. As in other species, the major histocompatibility sys- the Angora, secondary follicles have been modified to pro-
tem is involved in allograft rejection if skin grafting is duce mohair. Goats adapted to tropical regions have little
attempted (van Dam et al. 1978). undercoat, while secondary fibers contribute to cold resist-
ance in goats in cold climates.
The inheritance of coat color involves numerous genes.
Specialized Skin Structures One possible interpretation of color in American goats has
Wattles are specialized skin appendages sometimes found been proposed by Mitchell (1989). Several other papers
in the cervical region of goats. They contain a central carti- have attempted to summarize various aspects of color
laginous core, smooth muscle, connective tissue, nerves, inheritance in goats (Ricordeau 1981; Adalsteinsson
and blood vessels (Sar and Calhoun 1956). Wattles have no et al. 1994).
known function, but might represent rudimentary append-
ages (Reber et al. 2015). Subcutaneous cysts associated
with the base of the wattle are discussed in Chapter 3. The Fiber Production
presence of wattles is determined by an autosomal domi-
nant gene with complete penetrance but variable expres- Certain breeds of goats are kept specifically for fiber pro-
sion regarding location (neck, ear, face), size, and number duction. Anything that adversely affects the quality and
(Lush 1926; Ricordeau 1981; Reber et al. 2015). In a study quantity of fiber harvested, including skin diseases, can
of Saanen goats in France, does with wattles were approxi- have severe economic consequences. Branding paint also
mately 13% more prolific than does without wattles damages the fleece, and thus range animals should be
(Ricordeau 1967). paint branded only on the ears or horns.
The skin caudomedial to the horns of buck goats con-
tains branched sebaceous glands that produce lipids and
Mohair
chemicals that contribute to the buck odor (Van Lancker
et al. 2005). The glands are also present, but much smaller Mohair is the fleece of the Angora goat (Figure 2.1). The
in female and castrated male goats (Bal and Ghoshal 1976). Angora evolved in Asia Minor many centuries ago, possi-
These glands and descenting procedures that destroy them bly a descendant of the wild goat of Persia. Mohair proba-
are discussed in Chapter 18. bly developed by elongation of the wooly undercoat of the
primitive goat. Although the sultans of Turkey attempted
to prevent exportation, populations of Angora goats
Hair and Shedding
reached South Africa and the United States in the
Hair growth in goats resembles that in other land mam- mid-1880s. Currently, important production centers for
mals (Shelton 1981; Scott 1988). Hair follicles are initiated mohair include South Africa, Texas, Turkey, Argentina,
prenatally by invagination of the epidermis into the der- New Zealand, and Australia (Dubeuf et al. 2004).
mis. Sweat and sebaceous glands and the arrector pili mus-
cle develop in association with the follicle. The histologic Factors Affecting Mohair Quality
anatomy of these structures has been reviewed by Scott Mohair mainly consists of non-medullated fibers that lack
(1988). The hair is produced by rapidly dividing cells in the crimp. They arise mostly from secondary follicles and grow
bulb at the base of the follicle. During the active phase of continuously, albeit at a lower rate in winter. These fibers
24 Goat Medicine
c ontrol. Fiber diameter increases with age and bodyweight.

Kids produce mohair with a fiber diameter of 28 μm or
less at the first shearing, whereas the diameter of the fib-
ers from adult goats varies from 36 to 46 μm. The mohair
mass produced peaks at 3–4 years of age, but because the
finer fibers are more valuable, the economic value of the
fleece peaks somewhat sooner (van der Westhuysen
et al. 1988).
Undernutrition results in reduced body growth and
production of mohair as well as a reduction in fiber
diameter (Russel 1992). Thus, finer, lighter fleece is
produced during periods of drought or overstocking.
A slightly coarser fleece may result from overfeeding,
although published documentation of this is scarce.
Figure 2.1 Angora goats, the source of mohair. Source: Courtesy In one study in which Angoras were fed individually to
of Dr. M.C. Smith. maintain different bodyweights, fiber diameter increased
by 0.4 μm for each kilogram increase in bodyweight
are strong, elastic, and composed of keratin. Flat scales that (McGregor 1986). Nutrition of Angora goats is discussed
hardly overlap give the fibers smoothness and luster more in Chapter 19.
(Margolena 1974). Different countries have different stand-
ards for fiber diameter, but the range is typically 24–46 μm. Stress Medullation
The fleece is typically harvested in two clips per year. A reversible change from normal to medullated fibers
occurs in a stress syndrome that seems to be comparable to
Kemp wool break in sheep. Reported causes of stress-induced
At birth, goat fleece contains approximately 44% kemp, medullation include lactation for twins, transport, and
or medullated fibers from primary follicles, but this pro- hard work by bucks. The time period when the stress
portion drops to 7% by 3 months of age due to shedding occurred can be demonstrated by immersing a full-length
of the kemp (Dreyer and Marincowitz 1967). Later in life, staple of fleece in kerosene in a black container. Kemp fib-
some primary follicles may produce fibers with discon- ers and bands of medullation in mohair will show as white
tinuous or no medullation. Kemp and colored fibers are streaks due to air-filled cores. Normal mohair is almost
generally undesirable fleece contaminants due to uneven invisible in kerosene (Ensor 1987).
dyeing. It has been proposed that shearing shortly before Other possible causes of medullation have been reviewed
the spring and autumn equinoxes decreases the propor- (Lupton et al. 1991). Dietary protein and energy levels do
tion of medullated fibers in the clip, because natural not seem to be important in individually housed animals,
shedding of these fibers will have recently occurred but heredity may contribute. Selection should be based on
(Litherland et al. 2000). objective evaluation of whole fleeces, not just mid-side
samples, of Angora goats older than 1 year of age.
Perinatal Nutrition
In the developing fetus, a central and two (or more) Freeze Loss
lateral primary follicles are in place by 90 days of gesta- Whenever Angoras are shorn, even during summer
tion (Wentzel and Vosloos 1974). The development of months, they are vulnerable to exposure to wind, rain,
secondary hair follicles occurs later and is affected by and temperature changes. Angoras have minimal body fat
nutrition during the fourth month of gestation through and a small body size, with relatively greater surface area,
the first month after birth. Poor nutrition during these compared to sheep. Mortality can be very high in freshly
critical times probably will compromise the Angora goat’s shorn goats, especially if they have not had time to return
ability to produce mohair later in life (Eppleston and to full feed before inclement weather arrives. Methods of
Moore 1990). limiting freeze loss include sheltering the animals for four
to six weeks after shearing, shearing with a comb that
Age and Nutrition leaves a longer stubble, and leaving a narrow strip of
Hair follicle density in the skin determines fiber density unshorn hair (“cape”) along the backbone (Shelton 1981;
in the fleece and is under both genetic and nutritional Bretzlaff 1990).
2 Skin 25
Feeding of alkali-ionophore-treated grains (to avoid grown and improved nutrition has no direct effect on cash-
rumen acidosis, see Chapter 19) is helpful when shorn ani- mere production. The fiber is shed (or the entire fleece may
mals are exposed to severe weather. Individual recumbent be cast simultaneously) when the fibers are lost from the
animals may respond to intravenous or intraperitoneal secondary follicles. The fleece may be harvested by comb-
glucose (van der Westhuysen et al. 1988). ing or by shearing just before it would be shed naturally,
usually at the end of the winter. Freeze losses of shorn
goats may occur. It may be several months before normal
Cashmere
seasonal growth resumes (Betteridge et al. 1988). Chemical
Cashmere is a fine, soft fiber used to produce fashion- defleecing with mimosine has been investigated as a means
wear. It comes from the downy undercoat of certain goats of leaving the protective guard hairs on the goat (Luo
(Figure 2.2). Originally, cashmere was combed from et al. 2000).
Pashmina goats in Central Asia (Mason 1984). Goat down Raw, or greasy, cashmere contains both guard hairs and
(unmedullated, from secondary follicles) with a mean down. Dehairing machinery removes the long guard hairs
fiber diameter of 19 μm or less can be produced by many that remain after hand removal of most of the coarse hairs.
breeds. By comparison, the mean diameter of the guard Major suppliers of the raw fiber are China, Mongolia,
hair outer coat is typically 60–90 μm. Latitude, and there- Afghanistan, and Iran. The maximum guard hair content
fore photoperiod, appears to be more important than alti- after dehairing is 0.5% for knitting and 3% for the weaving
tude as a factor influencing down production. Evidence of trade. Imported cashmere is sometimes contaminated with
this is that most Australian cashmere production occurs anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) spores (Hunter et al. 1989).
near sea level (Couchman 1987). In spring-born kids, max- As with mohair, the finest cashmere fibers are produced
imum secondary follicle development (as determined by under conditions of nutritional stress. In an Australian
skin biopsy or fiber measurements) is achieved by 20 weeks study, however, feeding enough energy to maintain or
of age, permitting selection at that time (Henderson and slightly increase body condition during summer and
Sabine 1991). autumn maximized cashmere production. Fiber diameter
Cashmere goats have a three-phase annual cycle of fiber of the total fleece averaged 1 μm larger for goats fed energy
growth that is influenced by photoperiod, probably via at 1.25 maintenance (M) compared with 0.8 M
melatonin (Klören and Norton 1995), and nutrition. The (McGregor 1988). Cashmere production is usually not lim-
period of fiber growth typically coincides with summer in ited by protein nutrition (Galbraith 2000).
wethers and maiden does, but is often delayed until autumn
and early winter in lactating does (McDonald 1985). Next,
Cashgora
fiber regression occurs and the root bulb of the fiber forms
an enlarged brush end, which holds the fiber in the follicle. Cashgora is a coarse undercoat produced by the secondary
Finally, there is a follicle resting phase when no down is hair follicles, with more luster and mostly harvested from
the progeny produced by crossing Angoras with feral goats
in Australia and New Zealand. The current fiber diameter
is 18–23 μm (McGregor 2007). Some breeders are attempt-
ing to stabilize the fleece type.
Pygora
Pygoras are a newly developed breed resulting from the
crossing of purebred Pygmy goats and purebred white
Angoras. Two such “first-generation crossbreds” are mated
to produce the actual Pygora. Backcrossing to Pygmy goats
or Angoras is permitted by the breeders association.
Currently, registration requirements include fleece evalua-
tion. The soft undercoat resembles cashmere, comes in a
variety of colors, and is often plucked or combed for sale to
handspinners in the United States (Hicks 1988). Some
Figure 2.2 Cashmere goats from Mongolia. Source: Courtesy of Pygora goats have a mohair-like fleece or a combination of
Dr. M.C. Smith. cashmere and mohair.
26 Goat Medicine
Production of Skins other ruminants from other farms, and what treatments
have already been applied, with what results (Jackson 1986).
The annual worldwide production of raw goat skins was
estimated at 1 252 000 tons in 2012, an increase of 45% from Clinical Signs of Skin Disease
2000 (Skapetas and Bampidis 2016). China, India, numer-
ous countries in Africa, and Greece are important produc- A reasonably short differential diagnosis list can usually be
ers of goat leather products. generated if close attention is paid to primary lesions (those
The quality of the skins produced is influenced by breed, directly reflecting the underlying disease). Primary lesions
nutritional status of the goat, disease conditions affecting include papules, vesicles, pustules, and nodules. Secondary
the skin, and traumatic injuries (e.g., from injections, lesions such as scales, crusts, and alopecia are often the result
thorns, and dog bites). Angora skins are considered to be of self-trauma or superimposed bacterial infections. Secondary
unsuitable for leather production because of insufficient lesions are less helpful for making a diagnosis (Corke and
connective tissue (van der Westhuysen et al. 1988). Local Matthews 2018), but may suggest the need for symptomatic
drought conditions result in particularly weak skins. therapy. Subcutaneous lesions are discussed in Chapter 3.
Mange, grubs, tick infestations, capripox and contagious
ecthyma infections, and dermatophilosis decrease the Papules
value of goat skins. When the goat has been slaughtered, A papule (pimple) is a circumscribed solid mass less than
additional losses occur during flaying, drying, and storage. 1 cm in diameter that is usually elevated and erythematous.
Humid weather predisposes to rotting, while extremely Follicular papules suggest bacterial, fungal, or parasitic
arid conditions make cracking of the skins more likely. infection, whereas papules without a hair follicle at the
Goat skins are used locally for water containers, tents, center are typical of allergy and ectoparasites. A large flat-
mats, and leather. Others are exported as cured skins, sim- topped lesion, usually arising from confluent papules, is
ple tanned skins, drum heads, or leather. Uses include foot- termed a plaque.
wear, garments, bookbinding, and luggage (Naidu 2000).
Production could be most easily increased by limiting Vesicles and Pustules
wastage (Holst 1987). A vesicle is a papule-shaped fluctuant elevation containing
serum. Vesicles are transient and suggest autoimmune, irri-
tant, or viral etiologies. A pustule is a pus-filled vesicle and
Diagnosis of Skin Disease indicates infection if follicular in orientation, but may be
autoimmune (pemphigus) if non-follicular. Demodicosis is
The ideal approach to the diagnosis of skin disease is a logi- a common pustular disease in goats. Pox lesions (conta-
cal progression from history, to an overall clinical examina- gious ecthyma, capripox) follow a typical progression from
tion of the goat, to a detailed examination of the skin, and papule, to vesicle, to pustule, to a crust or proliferative lesion.
finally to confirmatory testing or diagnosis by response to
therapy. The experienced clinician often performs these Hyperkeratosis
steps subconsciously and in an abbreviated fashion. For Hyperkeratosis is an increased thickness of the stratum
instance, if contagious ecthyma has been diagnosed on the corneum. The term is often used in place of the more pre-
farm in past years and now three otherwise sleek and cise term orthokeratotic (anuclear) hyperkeratosis.
healthy kids have proliferative scabs restricted to the lips Parakeratotic hyperkeratosis (often called parakeratosis)
and muzzle, the prior probability that these kids also have differs in that nuclei remain in the keratinized layer of the
contagious ecthyma is so high that no additional testing is skin. Both of these conditions are common and non-
justified. On the other hand, when the skin disease is unu- diagnostic histologic findings in chronic skin diseases of
sual, chronic, or refractory to initial therapy, the entire many sorts. Diffuse parakeratosis suggests ectoparasitisms,
sequence should be followed for best results. seborrhea, zinc-responsive disease, dermatophytosis, and
dermatophilosis (Scott 1988). During physical examina-
tion, hyperkeratosis is used to refer to accumulations of
History
adherent keratinized material.
Historical information to gather includes details on feeding
and management, health history of the affected animals, Scales and Crusts
date when signs were first noticed, and any apparent spread Scales (squames, flakes) are loose fragments of stratum
to others in the herd. It is also important to determine if corneum. Admixture with sebaceous and apocrine secre-
there has been any contact, however brief, with goats or tion makes the scales yellowish, greasy, and adherent.
2 Skin 27
Crusts are solid adherent combinations of materials such that sell copper oxide wire particles. There is no published
as serum, blood, pus, keratin, microorganisms, and medi- evidence that copper deficiency is involved when hair is
cations. They indicate that exudation has occurred and lost from the tail, and the crusty skin on these tails could be
thus have multiple causes. Close examination (crust the result of sunburn or trauma. “Fish tails” occur in areas
biopsy), however, may reveal diagnostic clues such as der- where soil copper is high and there is much anecdotal evi-
matophyte hyphae, Dermatophilus, or many acantholytic dence for copper toxicosis in goats treated with copper
keratinocytes (pemphigus complex). Crusts are said to be oxide wire particles they did not need. Baby oil or oint-
pallisading when layers of keratin and exudate alternate, as ments containing zinc oxide can be used to address the
is common in dermatophilosis and dermatophytosis. skin changes on the tail.
Bacterial colonies are to be expected in all crusts, whatever
the cause, and have no diagnostic significance. Pruritus
Pruritus, or the semblance of itching, frequently leads to
Alopecia excoriations and other secondary lesions. If pruritus is
Spontaneous hair loss occasionally occurs in Angoras severe, special consideration is given to the possibility of
and more often in crossbreds, mainly at the end of win- sarcoptic or chorioptic mange. Other conditions that may
ter. Shearing at an inappropriate time is thought to be pruritic include lice, fleas, hypersensitivity to other
increase the risk of hair loss. Nutritional deficiencies or insects such as Culicoides, zinc deficiency, pemphigus,
imbalances (such as high calcium with low zinc) have and photosensitization. Occasionally, bacterial or fungal
also been incriminated (van der Westhuysen et al. 1988). dermatitis is mildly pruritic. If vertically oriented linear
There are anecdotal reports that hair loss and scaling excoriations develop, migration of Parelaphostrongylus
along the dorsal spine of adult goats resolve when an tenuis or Elaphostrongylus rangiferi through the spinal
organic zinc supplement is added to the concentrate por- cord or dorsal nerve roots should be considered. Acute
tion of the ration. Periorbital alopecia (with mild scaling) pruritus in a goat that dies very soon after clinical signs
is often prominent in vitamin E- or selenium-responsive are noted is suggestive of pseudorabies (Baker et al. 1982).
dermatosis and alopecic exfoliative dermatitis. There are Extreme pruritus but with a longer clinical course has
also anecdotal reports of almost complete hair loss (early been reported in a single goat with confirmed rabies
shedding) in dairy does that have been subjected to pho- (Tarlatzis 1954). Pruritus was reported as a clinical sign in
toperiod manipulation for out-of-season breeding. Partial 11 of 20 goats in Great Britain with scrapie (Wooldridge
alopecia (hypotrichosis) is a non-specific secondary and Wood 1991; Wood et al. 1992) and in more than 80%
lesion. Alopecia can be induced by self-excoriation when of 500 goats developing scrapie in Italy after infection via
pruritus is present or can be the result of grooming by a contaminated contagious agalactia vaccine (Capucchio
pen mates (Figure 2.3). et al. 2001).
Mention needs to be made of focal hair loss on the tail
tip, as goat owners in the United States call this “fish tail” Erythema
and diagnose a copper deficiency based on Internet sources Erythema, or reddening of the skin, occurs in many acute
disease conditions and is thus not diagnostic. It is an early
sign in photosensitization. When a chronic disease condi-
tion also has crusting and alopecia, response to therapy
may be difficult to judge. Subsidence of a previously promi-
nent erythema suggests improvement, even before hair
regrowth is noted.
Pigmentary Changes
Few skin diseases in goats are associated with pigmentary
changes. Decoloration of hair might occur with copper
deficiency, because a copper-containing enzyme is neces-
sary for melanin production. Affected Toggenburg goats
and repigmentation with copper supplementation have
been reported. Light-skinned Saanen goats normally
develop large irregular areas of black pigmentation when
Figure 2.3 Alopecia on the side of a wether caused by
grooming by its pen mate, a white-tail deer. Source: Courtesy of exposed to sunlight. The color fades with confinement
Dr. M.C. Smith. away from the sun.
28 Goat Medicine
Absence of Skin ●● Besnoitia dermatitis

Cutaneous asthenia, a congenital skin defect seen in ●● Zinc deficiency
sheep where the skin is abnormally fragile and easily ●● Contact dermatitis
torn, has apparently not been reported in goats. There is ●● Pemphigus foliaceus
an anecdotal report of epitheliogenesis imperfecta, where
a portion of the epidermis is absent, in a Pygmy goat Udder
(Konnersman 2005b). ●● Contagious ecthyma
●● Staphylococcal folliculitis
Zinc deficiency
Body Localization as an Aid to Diagnosis
●●
●● Hyperpigmentation from exposure to sun

The entire body surface should be examined. The distribu- ●● Neoplasia
tion of skin lesions over the body helps to arrive at a diag-
nosis. Listed here are some diseases found initially or most Perineum
severely, but not invariably, in the specified locations. ●● Contagious ecthyma
Lesions present only on the ventrum may result from con- ●● Caprine herpesvirus
tact dermatitis or parasite invasion. Lesions present only ●● Staphylococcal dermatitis
on non-pigmented skin may be caused by photosensitiza- ●● Ticks
tion or sunburn. ●● Neoplasia
●● Ectopic mammary gland
Lips, Face, and Neck
●● Contagious ecthyma
Clinical Laboratory Examination
●● Capripox
●● Peste des petits ruminants Simple observation allows identification of most of the
●● Bluetongue clinical signs of skin disease, and thus many conditions can
●● Staphylococcal folliculitis be diagnosed with reasonable certainty with just the find-
●● Dermatophilosis ings of a physical examination. However, the repertoire of
●● Dermatophytosis injured skin is limited, and the same sign (such as a pustule
●● Sarcoptic mange or crust) may occur in a variety of conditions of different
●● Zinc deficiency etiologies and necessitate further testing.
●● Pemphigus foliaceus
●● Protothecosis Skin Scrapings
When searching for surface-dwelling ectoparasites such as
Ears lice and nits or chorioptic mange mites, a flea comb can be
●● Dermatophilosis used to harvest scales and crusts or hair from extensive por-
●● Dermatophytosis tions of the body. The collected sample is then placed in a
●● Sarcoptic mange petri dish or ziplock plastic bag for transport to good light
●● Ear mites or even a dissecting scope. After initial visual examination,
●● Ticks the sample next undergoes a fecal flotation procedure.
●● Photodermatitis Mites and eggs come to the surface with centrifugation and
●● Squamous cell carcinoma can thus be concentrated and separated from the debris
●● Frostbite that would otherwise obscure their presence.
●● Pemphigus foliaceus Repeated, deep scrapings using a scalpel blade dipped in
mineral oil are usually necessary to identify sarcoptic
Feet mange mites or their eggs. A few drops of 20% potassium
●● Contagious ecthyma hydroxide solution are added to the sample, a coverslip is
●● Foot and mouth disease applied, and clearing of debris allowed to proceed for
●● Staphylococcal folliculitis 15–30 minutes before microscopic examination. Larger
●● Dichelobacter infection (foot rot) samples may be processed by boiling for 10 minutes in 10%
●● Dermatophilosis potassium hydroxide solution, centrifuging, and perform-
●● Sarcoptic mange ing a sugar flotation on the sediment.
●● Chorioptic mange Direct microscopic examination of hair and keratin is
●● Pelodera dermatitis useful for demonstrating the presence of dermatophytes.
2 Skin 29
Ectothrix infections of hair shafts often can be seen if the of a tongue depressor. The skin specimen quickly adheres
specimen is placed in mineral oil. Clearing in potassium to the wood; it can then be dropped upside down into a vial
hydroxide solution, as for mite identification, is of 10% buffered formalin, where the wood will keep it sus-
another option. pended in the preservative. The skin defect is closed with
absorbable suture. Consideration should be given to the
Bacterial Examination tetanus vaccination status of the animal and tetanus anti-
Skin lesions in goats are almost invariably heavily contami- toxin or toxoid given if indicated.
nated by bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus. A cul- The testing laboratory should be consulted if electron
ture is most meaningful, then, if material is aspirated from microscopic examination is required (as for pox).
an intact pustule, nodule, or abscess. A punch biopsy Glutaraldehyde is usually the preferred fixative.
obtained after careful disinfection of the skin surface is
suitable for culture if intact pus-containing structures are Immunofluorescence Testing
absent. Routine inoculation onto a blood agar plate (aero- An autoimmune skin disorder (pemphigus foliaceus) may
bic) and into thioglycolate broth (anaerobic) is recom- be suspected from clinical signs or after routine histologic
mended. More immediate guidance can be derived by examination of a skin biopsy specimen. If confirmation
making a direct smear of an aspirate or deep aspect of a with direct immunofluorescence testing is desired, a new
biopsy specimen and staining with new methylene blue, skin sample (with intact vesicles and pustules) should be
Gram, or Diff Quik® (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, procured and fixed with Michel’s fixative, which is best
Germany) stain. Such a preparation should reveal bacteria obtained from the laboratory that will perform the testing.
within neutrophils and macrophages if they are patho- Glucocorticoids should not be administered for at least
genic, rather than contaminant bacteria that will be extra- three weeks before testing to avoid false-negative results
cellular and clumped in colonies. Gram-positive branching (Scott 1988). Diffuse intercellular deposition of immuno-
filaments are typical of dermatophilosis. globulin is found in caprine pemphigus.
Fungal Culture
When ringworm is suspected, hairs should be plucked Etiologic Diagnoses
from the periphery of an active lesion after swabbing the
area gently with 70% alcohol solution to discourage the Readers who desire a more exhaustive reference list for any
growth of bacteria and saprophytic fungal contaminants. of the conditions described below should consult
Sabouraud’s dextrose agar (Sab Duet®, Bacti Labs, Mountain D.W. Scott’s Large Animal Dermatology textbook (1988).
View, CA, USA) is routinely used. Most strains of Several review papers also discuss dermatologic diseases of
Trichophyton verrucosum require thiamine for growth; this goats (Smith 1981, 1983; Mullowney and Baldwin 1984;
can be supplied by adding 1–2 mL of injectable B-complex Scott et al. 1984a, b; Manning et al. 1985; Jackson 1986;
vitamins to the culture plate, but products containing alco- Corke and Matthews 2018) and many are illustrated in a
hol should be avoided. The cultures are incubated at 86 °F recent text (Scott 2018).
(30 °C), with a pan of water in the incubator to maintain
adequate humidity. Cultures should be checked every day
for 30 days. Standard texts should be consulted for identifi- Viral Diseases
cation of fungal isolates (Scott 1988).
Contagious ecthyma and capripox viruses cause prominent
Biopsy for Histology skin lesions in goats. Virus infections involving other body
A biopsy should be performed if a skin disease appears to systems also may have cutaneous manifestations. Warts
be unusual or severe, and especially if there has been no (cutaneous papillomas) in goats have not been conclusively
response after three weeks of initial therapy. proven to be of viral origin and are discussed under neo-
Several areas are selected as having typical or primary plastic conditions.
lesions and marked by drawing a circle with a felt-tipped
pen. The skin is prepared by clipping hair and injecting
Contagious Ecthyma
lidocaine subcutaneously at each chosen location. The skin
must never be scrubbed. In very small kids, dilution of the Contagious ecthyma is a contagious, zoonotic disease of
lidocaine to 1% or 0.5% may be advisable. A 6 mm biopsy goats and sheep (and camelids) that has several alternative
punch is used to cut out a full-thickness skin sample, which names, including orf, soremouth, scabby mouth, and con-
should be blotted flat, dermis side down, onto a small piece tagious pustular dermatitis. It has worldwide distribution.
30 Goat Medicine
Etiology and Epidemiology

The cause is an epitheliotropic parapoxvirus that enters the
goat through skin abrasions (Mayr and Büttner 1990). The
virus replicates in proliferating keratinocytes in the dam-
aged epidermis (McKeever et al. 1988) and then causes a
primary viremia to lymph nodes, bone marrow, and liver.
In some cases, the virus then becomes generalized, with a
second viremic phase, and spreads to the head, extremities,
udder, genitals, lungs, and liver (Mayr and Büttner 1990).
The morbidity in young kids often approaches 100%, while
mortality from starvation and secondary infections may be
as high as 20% (Van Tonder 1975), but is usually much
lower. In one outbreak that followed introduction of kids
from an infected herd to a naïve herd without quarantine,
93% of 38 suckling kids died because of feeding difficulties
(Mazur and Machado 1989).
Scabs that fall to the ground during resolution of
lesions have long been incriminated as the source of Figure 2.4 Healing crusts from contagious ecthyma on the
infection to other animals months or even years later muzzle of a mature doe. One large scab has fallen off, leaving
(McKeever and Reid 1986), and this is indeed possible if healthy skin beneath. Source: Courtesy of Dr. M.C. Smith.
the environment remains dry. More recently, persistently
infected carrier sheep, some of which are asymptomatic,
have been demonstrated to be an important source of
contagion (Lewis 1996). Presumably carrier goats also
occur, and infection can be activated by stress (Mayr and
Büttner 1990).
Clinical Signs
The incubation period is three to eight days (Mayr and
Büttner 1990). Papules progress rapidly to vesicles, pus-
tules, and scabs. Crusty, proliferative lesions typically form
on the lips, but can also affect the face, ears, coronary band,
scrotum, teats, or vulva. In one outbreak, where exposure
presumably occurred in contaminated pens at a show, in
seven goats lesions occurred on the neck, chest, and flanks
rather than on the lips or teats (Coates and Hoff 1990). In
another case report, lesions were most common on haired
skin of adult goats and the first crusty scabs noticed were
on the caudal aspect of the hind legs (Moriello and Figure 2.5 Severe contagious ecthyma lesions on the gums of
a Boer kid. Source: Courtesy of Dr. M.C. Smith.
Cooley 2001). The scabs frequently harbor secondary bac-
teria (such as staphylococci) or even screwworm maggots
(Boughton and Hardy 1934). Sometimes large masses of Severe generalized and persistent proliferative lesions
granulation tissue develop under the scabs. Lesions regress have been seen in Boer goats and their crosses in the United
in three or four weeks. States (Figure 2.5). Draining lymph nodes are markedly
Most adult goats with lesions on the lips (Figure 2.4) con- enlarged in these animals, and thymic atrophy is often pre-
tinue to eat and milk well. Occasional goats, especially sent. Preliminary research has not proven whether this
young kids exposed to other diseases or management defi- variation represents a viral strain difference or a difference
ciencies, will develop generalized lesions or severe second- in immune response of the affected Boer goats (de la
ary bacterial infections. Lesions on the teats of milking Concha-Bermejillo et al. 2003; Guo et al. 2003; Avra
animals may compromise the health of the sphincter and et al. 2018). Close examination of many sheep and goats
predispose to bacterial mastitis. Associated pain may cause with a more typical presentation of contagious ecthyma
the doe to reject nursing efforts by its kid. often reveals a mild lymphadenopathy.
2 Skin 31
Diagnosis with anecdotal reports of faster healing. However, these

Diagnosis is usually based on clinical signs alone, although products have been used with minimal consideration of
electron microscopy or immunologic techniques to dem- meat and milk residues. These include kerosene mixed
onstrate antigen in scabs or serology could be used for con- with lard, penetrating oil spray (WD-40®, WD-40 Company,
firmation or to rule out capripox infection (Robinson and San Diego, CA, USA), and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-
Balassu 1981). More recently, polymerase chain reaction Bismol®, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, USA).
(PCR) tests have been developed to identify the virus Parapoxviruses are said to be sensitive to ether (Avra
(Mondal et al. 2006; Nandi et al. 2011). In lambs experienc- et al. 2018). Systemic antibiotics are indicated if secondary
ing contagious ecthyma, serum antibodies often do not bacterial infections are severe. An udder salve is indicated
appear until after reexposure (Mayr and Büttner 1990). to keep scabs on the teats pliable. If painful, proliferative
Similarly, rural physicians usually make the diagnosis in lesions within a kid’s mouth cause feeding to decrease, the
their human patients on clinical signs alone, but urban kid could be anesthetized and subjected to debridement
dermatologists lacking experience with the disease may (electrocautery after spray cryotherapy). This approach has
insist on biopsy for histologic or electron microscopic been used in lambs, with good results (Meynink et al. 1987).
examination (Gill et al. 1990; Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention 2006). Skin biopsies of ruminants reveal Vaccination
ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes and eosinophilic Commercially available vaccines often are unattenuated
intracytoplasmic inclusions (Robinson and Balassu 1981; live virus preparations (basically ground-up scabs) or tissue
Scott 2018), although the inclusions are not always detect- culture strains, although the level of protection afforded by
able (Housawi et al. 1993). The crusts consist of multiple the latter appears to vary with the strain (Pye 1990). In one
layers of necrotic cellular debris and neutrophils. study (Musser et al. 2008), a vaccine prepared from goat
Histopathology helps to distinguish contagious ecthyma strains of the virus seemed to protect the goats better from
from the convalescent stages of peste des petits ruminants wild-type virus than did commercial sheep-strain vaccines.
(PPR). Capripox, foot and mouth disease (FMD), dermat- Caution is advised, however, before introducing a particu-
ophilosis, and staphylococcal dermatitis are other differen- larly virulent vaccine strain to a farm experiencing mild
tials to consider (Nandi et al. 2011). Diagnostic tests for disease. An autogenous vaccine can be made by crushing,
contagious ecthyma, including differentiation from other in saline, a few grams of scabs between two spoons or with
diseases, have been reviewed by Spyrou and Valiakos (2015). a mortar and pestle. The suspension is filtered through
cheesecloth and a few drops of antibiotic solution such as
Therapy penicillin/streptomycin are added to control bacteria (Bath
The possible beneficial effects of treatment must be et al. 2005). The skin in a hairless, protected area is lightly
weighed against the danger of zoonotic infection scarified and the virus suspension is rubbed in. Sites for
(Figure 2.6). Any person handling an affected goat should vaccination include the inside of the ear pinna, the under-
wear gloves. Numerous products have been used topically, side of the tail, or the axilla. Avoid the medial aspect of the
thigh, because the infection can be spread to the lips by
chewing and to the udder and teats by direct contact
(Lewis 1996). Scabs appearing at the vaccination site in one
to three days indicate a “take.” Monitoring this reaction as
evidence of continued vaccine viability permits owners to
economize by freezing leftover vaccine for later use. If
some animals in the herd develop vaccination scabs but
others do not, a preexisting immunity is probably responsi-
ble for absence of a take.
Where a newer, parenteral vaccine is available, subcuta-
neous vaccination with a live cell culture vaccine avoids
postvaccinal disease or excretion of the virus. Use of this
vaccine every 6–12 months has been recommended in non-
infected herds, and in the face of an outbreak (Mayr and
Büttner 1990).
In countries where capripox virus exists, vaccinating
Figure 2.6 Orf (contagious ecthyma) lesion on the author’s goats for capripox sometimes provides solid immunity
wrist. Source: Courtesy of Dr. M.C. Smith. against contagious ecthyma, whereas vaccination or
32 Goat Medicine
natural infection with the contagious ecthyma virus pro- Etiology and Pathogenesis
vides no protection against capripox (Sharma and Capripoxviruses are distinct from parapoxviruses. They are
Bhatia 1958). acid labile and sensitive to lipid solvents. Malignant sheep
There are several controversies associated with vaccina- and goat pox infections occur in the Middle East, Turkey
tion. The first is whether to recommend vaccination in a and Greece, Far East, and Africa north of the equator
herd that is not endemically infected. The vaccine, because (Davies 1981; Babiuk et al. 2008). A benign form of goat
it is unattenuated, will introduce the disease to such a herd. pox has been reported from California (Renshaw and
In herds in which buying or showing of goats occurs regu- Dodd 1978) and Scandinavia (Bakos and Brag 1957), but
larly, vaccination prevents the occurrence of an outbreak the agents involved were not confirmed to be capripox
during the show season or in milking animals. It is impor- viruses (Committee on Foreign and Emerging
tant to vaccinate at least six weeks before the show season Diseases 2008). Skin lesions and scabs are major sources of
so that vaccine scabs will be gone before the first show. virus. The virus resists desiccation and may survive in
(Presumably this procedure would increase the prevalence scabs for at least three months. Transmission is often
of subclinical carriers at shows and thereby increase the through skin abrasions or by inhalation, with an incuba-
risk to unvaccinated animals in attendance.) When sore- tion period of three to eight days. Viremia occurs, and the
mouth has appeared on the premises, it may be desirable to virus is carried to other sites in the skin, regional nodes,
vaccinate all as yet unaffected goats to limit the duration of spleen, kidney, and lungs. The virus is excreted from skin
the outbreak. A program of vaccination for all young kids, lesions and in nasal and ocular exudates and milk. Night
often in conjunction with annual revaccination of late herding (congregating herds at night for protection) and
pregnant adults, is then established. Disinfection of the stabling favor spread of the disease. Wild ungulates are not
pens after all lesions have cleared is recommended if the thought to serve as reservoirs.
owner chooses not to follow a routine vaccination program.
Suitable disinfectants include 5% creolin solution, forma- Clinical Signs
lin, detergents, and commercially available virucidal disin- The severity of signs varies with the strain of capripox.
fectants (Mayr and Büttner 1990). Young animals are most severely affected. Early signs
The occurrence of colostral immunity in kids from vac- include rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and pyrexia 104–107.6 °F
cinated animals is disputed (Robinson and Balassu 1981). (40–42 °C). The animals stand with arched back and are
French enterprises that assemble kids from many sources, anorectic. Cutaneous lesions (reddish macules and pap-
however, have found it advisable to pay a premium for kids ules, 0.5–1.5 cm diameter, Figure 2.7) and lesions on the
from vaccinated dams. This is because vaccination of the external nares and lips and within the mouth appear one or
dam seems to be more effective than vaccination of kids at two days later. Skin lesions persist for four to six weeks. In
birth in preventing adverse effects of the disease on the some outbreaks, vesicular lesions of the skin coalesce. Oral
quality of kid skins (Faure 1988). In an experimental study lesions on the tongue and gums tend to ulcerate. Regional
in Mexico, kids born to dams vaccinated (virulent vaccine)
in late pregnancy were challenged by skin scarification
with virulent virus. Kids younger than 45 days old resisted
challenge, whereas kids older than 45 days developed char-
acteristic lesions (Tortora Perez 1989).
Work with sheep has suggested that vaccinating at the
time of drying off is preferable to vaccinating later in preg-
nancy when lambs are to be raised by the ewes. Lymphocytes
migrating to the udder at the end of lactation produce anti-
bodies in the milk that may protect the lips and mouth of
nursing lambs (Le Jan et al. 1978).
Capripox
The malignant pox diseases of sheep, goats, and cattle are
not host specific, although they show host preferences.
Strains can be distinguished by restriction endonucleases,
Figure 2.7 Early macules of capripox infection on the skin of
but not by several serologic tests (Black 1986). Currently all an experimentally infected sheep. Source: Courtesy of National
strains are included in the Capripox genus of poxvirus. Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, IA, USA.
2 Skin 33
lymph nodes may be enlarged up to eight times their nor- this disease to non-infected regions. Quarantine and
mal size (Committee on Foreign and Emerging slaughter of diseased and contact animals would be recom-
Diseases 2008). Animals that die frequently have lesions in mended if introduction occurred (Babiuk et al. 2008). A
the lungs and alimentary tract. carrier state has not been documented to occur.
The hair is erect over skin lesions, the skin is thickened, In endemic countries, vaccination is the only effective
and crusts of exuded serum form on the surface. Healing method of disease prevention (Bhanuprakash et al. 2011).
may leave an ulcer and then a permanent scar after the full Prophylactic vaccination reduces morbidity in these (often
skin thickness sloughs. Damage to hides causes important nomadic pastoral) regions. Most trials have shown excel-
economic losses. lent cross-protection with various strains of sheep and goat
When the disease first enters a susceptible flock, morbid- pox (Davies 1981). Live, attenuated vaccines (using a mild
ity may be more than 75%, and 50% of affected animals die. strain) are preferred, but difficult to distribute
Mortality may increase to 100% in kids or when superim- (Kitching 1986). An experimental subunit vaccine reduced
posed on other virus infections such as PPR. The morbidity the severity of signs without risking introduction of the
rate is lower in endemic flocks. Some animals convert sero- disease (Carn et al. 1994). A recombinant capripoxvirus
logically without development of clinical signs. Imported vaccine has been produced that protects goats against PPR
breeds, notably European breeds, are generally more as well as against capripox (Romero et al. 1995). Use of
severely affected than indigenous breeds in endemic areas autogenous vaccines may increase the incidence of disease
(Karim 1983; Kitching 1986). Animals that recover from (Das et al. 1978). Contagious ecthyma vaccines do not pro-
the disease are immune for life (Babiuk et al. 2008). tect against goat pox.
There is also a nodular form (“stonepox”) in sheep and
goats that resembles lumpy skin disease of cattle (also
Miscellaneous Virus Infections
caused by a capripox; Patnaik 1986). Vesicles and pustules
are absent and there is no cross-immunity with more typi- As already discussed under the heading of pruritus, goats
cal strains of goat pox or with contagious ecthyma. The with rabies or pseudorabies may show skin lesions that
virus is present in blood and skin throughout the course of result from severe pruritus. These conditions are discussed
the disease, which is often fatal (Haddow and Idnani 1948). in Chapter 5. Scrapie in goats (also discussed under neuro-
This viral goat dermatitis, apparently restricted to the logic diseases in Chapter 5) may be pruritic, as demon-
Indian subcontinent, reappeared briefly in Pakistan in strated by biting and rubbing at the legs, flanks, lumbar
2004 (Muhammad et al. 2008). region, and neck, and by alopecia in these areas (usually
In the benign goat pox form, vesicles and pustules without scab formation). The clinical course of scrapie may
develop from papules on the lips and udder (and some- last three to four months (Hadlow 1961; Brotherston
times on the perineum and inside of the thigh). Pock et al. 1968; Harcourt and Anderson 1974).
lesions heal in five to eight weeks, leaving behind perma-
nent scars. Peste des Petits Ruminants
Goat pox, like contagious ecthyma, has been considered PPR is a morbillivirus infection that causes serious losses
to be a zoonotic disease (Bakos and Brag 1957; Sawhney in sheep and goats throughout its range (Committee on
et al. 1972), but more recent authors dispute this Foreign and Emerging Diseases 2008). The major clinical
(Committee on Foreign and Emerging Diseases 2008). signs of stomatitis, enteritis, and pneumonia are described
in the appropriate chapters. During early stages of the dis-
Diagnosis ease, the lips are edematous and brown scabs cover eroded
Capripox is most likely to be confused with contagious and ulcerated epithelium. Goats that survive the acute
ecthyma because lesions may be limited to the lips, oral phase of the disease may develop labial scabs that persist
mucous membranes, or udder. Electron microscopy (Hajer for up to 14 days; histologically, acanthosis and hyperkera-
et al. 1988) and serologic tests (such as immunodiffusion and tosis are evident. Necrotic epithelium is infiltrated with
serum neutralization) readily differentiate capripox from the degenerating neutrophils. There is no papilliform prolifer-
parapoxvirus of contagious ecthyma. Histopathology reveals ation or ballooning degeneration typical of contagious
large eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions, vasculitis, ecthyma, although lesions are grossly similar (Whitney
thrombosis, and necrosis (Davies 1981). et al. 1967; Abraham et al. 2005). Syncytial multinucleated
giant cells and eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions may be
Control seen in the epithelium (Cam et al. 2005). Goats that are
Import restrictions covering animals and animal products vaccinated with inactivated vaccine (Nduaka and
from endemic areas are required to avoid introduction of Ihemelandu 1975) or that are reexposed to PPR after
34 Goat Medicine
recovery from the virus also develop labial scabs that heal goats; vesicles or bleeding ulcers may be found in the inter-
in about 10 days (Ihemelandu et al. 1985). In these animals, digital space or at the coronary band (McVicar and
histology reveals proliferation of macrophages and lym- Sutmoller 1968; Mishra and Ghei 1983). Goats are rou-
phocytes, suggesting an immune response. tinely vaccinated in endemic regions (Mansoor et al. 2018).
The disease is discussed in detail in Chapter 4.
Bluetongue
Bluetongue is a disease of sheep and cattle caused by an Vesicular Stomatitis
orbivirus that has at least 27 serotypes and is spread by Vesicular stomatitis is a rhabdovirus disease primarily
Culicoides insects. Signs in sheep include fever, stomatitis, affecting horses, cattle, and swine, and limited to the
coronitis, and birth of lambs with congenital brain anoma- Western Hemisphere. Typical signs in these species are oral
lies. Goats are susceptible to bluetongue in that viremia vesicles and ulcers, salivation, coronitis, and teat lesions.
and fever occur and antibodies develop (Luedke and Regulatory officials should be notified so that the disease
Anakwenze 1972; Backx et al. 2007), but overt clinical may be differentiated from FMD. The epidemiology is
signs are rarely seen or described in goats in the United poorly understood, but may include insect vectors such as
States. During an outbreak in cattle in Israel, two Saanen sand flies (Lutzomyia), midges (Culicoides), and black flies
goats were found with swollen lips and marked salivation (Simulidae) (Committee on Foreign and Emerging
(Komarov and Goldsmit 1951). During the recent outbreak Diseases 2008). Goats are considered to be resistant, but,
of bluetongue in northwestern Europe, a small number of according to unpublished reports, vesicular stomatitis in
goats developed edema of the lips and head, small scabs on goats has been accompanied by vesicles at the commis-
the nose and lips suggestive of mild contagious ecthyma, sures of the lips, which must be differentiated from early
and erythema of the udder skin (Dercksen et al. 2007). lesions of contagious ecthyma.
Goats may serve as a natural reservoir for the bluetongue
virus (Erasmus 1975). Virus isolation and serology help to Malignant Catarrhal Fever
distinguish bluetongue from FMD and PPR, and histori- Infection of goats with the gammaherpesvirus ovine her-
cally from rinderpest, which was globally eradicated in pesvirus-2, the causative agent of sheep-associated malig-
2011. Bluetongue is discussed in detail in Chapter 10. nant catarrhal fever in cattle, has rarely been reported to
cause cutaneous lesions in goats. Erythematous papules on
Caprine Herpesvirus the distal limbs progressed to generalized erythema, scal-
Experimental inoculation of kids with a herpesvirus isolate ing, and alopecia without pruritus (Foster et al. 2010). The
has produced vesicles, ulcers, and crusts on the muzzle and skin was infiltrated with macrophages and multinucleated
feet (Waldvogel et al. 1981). Ulcers also occurred in the giant cells; diagnosis was by PCR testing for the sheep
mouth, esophagus, rumen, and intestines. In one naturally virus. Contact with sheep, which commonly carry the virus
occurring outbreak, numerous foci of necrosis and hemor- subclinically, is the most likely source.
rhage were found in the skin of a single kid (Mettler
et al. 1979). Any histologic finding of acidophilic intranu-
clear inclusion bodies in epithelial cells suggests the possi- Bacterial Diseases
bility of herpesvirus infection. The disease is discussed in
Chapters 12 and 13. Secondary bacteria, especially staphylococci, commonly
invade almost any skin lesion on a goat. Thus, other etiolo-
Foot and Mouth Disease gies should be ruled out before assuming that bacteria iso-
The picornavirus that causes FMD is a very important and lated from the surface of a lesion are causative. Other
exceedingly contagious disease of cattle in South America, organisms, such as Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
Europe, Africa, and Asia, but is currently absent from the and Dermatophilus congolensis, are usually significant if
United States, Canada, and Australia. Signs in cattle present. Foot rot, an interdigital dermatitis caused by
include fever, stomatitis with vesicles and bullae, anorexia, Dichelobacter and Fusobacterium spp., is discussed in
agalactia, and a very prolonged convalescence. The disease Chapter 4.
in sheep and goats is usually mild, and only important in
that these animals and meat from them may transmit the
Staphylococcal Dermatitis
disease to cattle. However, during outbreaks of FMD, other
(often idiopathic) oral lesions can cause great concern to Staphylococcal skin infections are common in goats and
regulatory authorities, at least in sheep (Watson 2004). may be primary or secondary. The bacteria are also normal
Lameness is often the most pronounced clinical sign in skin flora. In one Spanish study, 346 strains of
2 Skin 35
staphylococci were isolated from axillary skin or udder of should be milked last. Single-service paper towels and
133 healthy goats, and 21% of these isolates were coagulase attention to hand washing by the milker decrease the risk of
positive (S. aureus and Staphylococcus hyicus; Valle spread to other does. Rubber gloves protect against trans-
et al. 1991). mission of infection to humans and goats. Similar treat-
ment of lesions around the tail is possible, but these seem to
Etiology be less important and frequently heal spontaneously.
Impetigo is a superficial pustular dermatitis that does not If a generalized infection is suspected, culture of the
involve hair follicles. Staphylococcal folliculitis is an infec- organism and determination of antibiotic sensitivity are
tion and inflammation of hair follicles (Scott 1988). The recommended. Systemic antibiotic treatment (one to two
species involved often has not been reported. Staphylococcal weeks of therapy) may start with penicillin (20 000 IU/kg/d
species isolated from goats with skin disease include intramuscularly), pending results of sensitivity testing. As
S. intermedius, S. aureus, S. chromogenes, and S. hyicus the concern over methicillin-resistant staphylococci
(Scott 1988; Andrews and Lamport 1997; Mahanta increases in both veterinary and human medicine, it is very
et al. 1997). Species identification is not a good predictor of important for the practitioner to remember that many of
antibiotic sensitivity (Biberstein et al. 1984). the antibiotics used to control these infections in other spe-
cies are forbidden by law in all sheep and goats in the
Clinical Signs and Diagnosis United States, because of their status as food animals.
The primary lesion is a non-follicular or follicular papule Thus, no matter what the laboratory reports for a sensitiv-
that develops into a pustule. Lesions may enlarge or coa- ity pattern, chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolones such as
lesce, discharge purulent or serosanguinous exudate, and enrofloxacin, and glycopeptides such as vancomycin are
become encrusted (furunculosis; Scott 2018). Alopecia and absolutely forbidden in all goats.
scaling are prominent in the chronic or healing stage. Autogenous bacterins may be tried for control of chronic
Multiple small pustules of impetigo frequently appear on or epizootic infections (Scott et al. 1984a), but bacterins
the teats and udder (see Figure 14.5) or perineum and have not received scientific evaluation in caprine
underside of the tail. Because these pustules may be pre- dermatology.
ceded by vesicles and followed by scabs, they may be con-
fused with lesions of contagious ecthyma (Smith 1981).
Dermatophilosis
Direct smears show degenerate neutrophils with phagocy-
tosed cocci (Scott 2018). When lesions remain localized Dermatophilosis, also known as streptothricosis, is a com-
they are relatively benign and self-limiting, except that mon skin infection in goats worldwide. Cattle, sheep,
lesions on the teats predispose to staphylococcal mastitis. horses, various wildlife species, and humans are also
Fly bites on the udder (fly worry) are said to resemble a affected (Stewart 1972; Hyslop 1980).
staphylococcal infection, but to be more pruritic
(Matthews 2016). Etiology
In some goats the infection becomes general, involving Dermatophilus congolensis is a Gram-positive, pleomor-
the skin of the abdomen, inner thighs, and even the neck phic, facultative anaerobic actinomycete. It produces
and back. Other distributions are possible, especially if the motile zoospores that invade the skin.
staphylococci are secondary to another condition, such as
chorioptic mange. Periocular alopecia and crusts comprise Pathogenesis
yet another possible manifestation (Scott 1988). Confusion D. congolensis may survive in soil or in dust on an animal’s
with mycotic infections or nutritional deficiencies is hair coat during dry weather. It is introduced into the epi-
possible. dermis following injuries of any sort, including those
A presumptive diagnosis is often based on inspection caused by tick bites and thorny vegetation. Its life cycle is
alone. Gram stains and cultures document the presence of activated by moisture (Bida and Dennis 1976). Outbreaks
staphylococci, while evaluation of skin biopsy specimens often occur during periods of heavy rain or high humidity
should help to rule out other diseases that might have been (Mémery and Thiéry 1960; Yeruham et al. 2003).
primary and still require therapy.
Clinical Signs
Treatment and Prevention Several localizations of the disease have been reported.
Localized lesions on the udder may be washed with an iodo- Ears are commonly involved, especially in young kids
phor or chlorhexidine shampoo, dried, and then coated (Larsen 1987). Tiny wart-like scabs first appear on the
with an antiseptic or antibiotic ointment. Affected does inner hairless surface of the ear pinna. They are easily
36 Goat Medicine
rubbed off, exposing dry, circular, light-colored areas lead to pruritus or pain. Sometimes the entire dorsum of
beneath. Raised scabs with matted hairs form on the exter- the goat is involved, with lesions clinically resembling rain
nal portions of the ears and are more tightly attached scald in horses; continuous exposure to wet weather pre-
(Figure 2.8). The lesions are non-pruritic and benign and sumably is an important etiologic factor (Bida and
last two to three months in kids if not treated (Munro 1978). Dennis 1976; Scott et al. 1984a). Damage to hides can be
Other affected areas of the body include the nose, muz- extensive. Suppurative lymphadenitis has been reported in
zle, feet, scrotum, and underside of the tail (Mémery 1960; Beetal goats from which D. congolensis was demonstrated
Yeruham et al. 2003; Loria et al. 2005; Dalis et al. 2009: by smear and culture (Singh and Murty 1978).
Scott 2018; Blick et al. 2019). These areas of skin frequently
are exposed to moisture or mild abrasion from vegetation. Diagnosis
Thick proliferative crusts may be mistaken for lesions of The diagnosis can be confirmed in several ways. When
contagious ecthyma (sore mouth; Tiddy and Hemi 1986). lesions are moist, an impression smear of the underside
In fact, the simultaneous presence of both diseases has of a scab reveals Gram-positive branching filaments,
been reported in splenectomized kids (Munz 1969, 1976); either unsegmented or in railroad track arrangements of
in Yaez goats, a cross between domestic goats and wild ibex two to eight parallel rows of cocci (Scott 2018). Giemsa or
(Yeruham et al. 1991); and in a herd outbreak in Boer goats Diff Quik stain may also be used. The organisms in
(Blick et al. 2019). The dry crusts, scaling, and alopecia of smears also fluoresce under ultraviolet light after stain-
healing or chronic lesions resemble ringworm. Secondary ing with acridine orange (Mathieson 1991). Fluorescent
bacterial infections (e.g., staphylococci, corynebacteria, antibody techniques have been used for rapid identifica-
Fusobacterium necrophorum) are to be expected and may tion of the organism in smears of exudate (Pier
et al. 1964). In dry lesions, skin biopsy is necessary to
demonstrate the organism. In addition to superficial exu-
date, there is hyperkeratosis and infiltration of the epi-
dermis and hair follicles with neutrophils. Bacterial
filaments in the biopsy sample are periodic acid–Schiff
(PAS) positive (Loria et al. 2005).
Culture of the organism by a diagnostic laboratory will
also confirm the diagnosis, but this is best done under
microaerophilic conditions with increased carbon dioxide
(Scott 1988). Scabs are ground up in saline and cultured at
once and also after 24 hours at room temperature. A
medium that selects for Gram-positive organisms (such as
colistin-nalidixic acid medium) is helpful. Tiny gray adher-
ent colonies composed of branched mycelia may be visible
after 48 hours and should then be subcultured; it is com-
mon for the original plate to be rapidly overgrown by
contaminants.
Several serologic tests have been used to identify anti-
bodies against D. congolensis. The purpose was to poten-
tially monitor the prevalence of exposed animals. The tests
have included passive hemagglutination (which showed
23% of slaughtered goats in a Nigerian study to be seroposi-
tive; Oyejide et al. 1984) and radial immunodiffusion
(Makinde 1980). Where available, a PCR test can be used to
confirm presence of the organism (Chitra et al. 2017).
Therapy and Prevention

Penicillin–streptomycin was commonly recommended for
dermatophilosis in individual animals in the past, but this
product is no longer available in the United States.
Tetracycline is also effective at a dose of 20 mg/kg subcutane-
Figure 2.8 Dry scabs typical of dermatophilosis on the external ously or intramuscularly once. Where feasible, shelter from
surface and margin of the ear. Source: Courtesy of Dr. M.C. Smith. the rain and bathing (iodophors, 2–5% lime sulfur) and
2 Skin 37
grooming to remove crusts should be recommended. Langhans-type multinucleated cells has been reported on
Improved nutrition and control of external parasites (espe- the teats and udder skin of goats in France. A mycobacte-
cially ticks) are also desirable for treatment and prevention. rial pathogen closely related to Mycobacterium leprae was
Cleansing thick crusts with hydrogen peroxide will help to identified by PCR techniques (Chartier et al. 2016).
control secondary anaerobic infections. Brushes should be A case of pyogranulomatous dermatitis around the
disinfected before being used on other animals. Goat han- nares caused by a Prototheca sp. has been reported from a
dlers should also be warned that people are occasionally mature goat in Brazil (Macedo et al. 2008). Ulcerated
infected with this organism. Carrier animals appear to be the nodules contributed to inspiratory dyspnea and weight
reservoir for the agent, but the organism can also survive for loss. Oval to spherical, non-budded, walled sporangia
many months in the environment. Vaccination against der- typical of this algal-like organism that lacks chlorophyll
matophilosis has not been successful (Bida and Dennis 1976), were demonstrated in histologic section. A similar case
and recovery does not appear to provide immunity. of Prototheca wickerhamii infection involving the nostrils
and skin of the face of an immunocompetent adult goat
in Brazil was treated unsuccessfully with long-term flu-
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
conazole (Camboim et al. 2011). Various antifungal
C. pseudotuberculosis is usually associated with lymph agents are used to treat human and canine cutaneous
node enlargement (caseous lymphadenitis) and is dis- protothecosis, but euthanasia is recommended for
cussed in detail in Chapter 3. However, small nodules and affected goats.
draining tracts in the skin sometimes occur in goats
(Scott 2018) and may be a source of infection to others.
Diagnosis is made by culture and by skin biopsy, which Fungal Diseases
reveals a tuberculoid granulomatous reaction (Scott 1988).
Affected animals should be isolated or culled. Ringworm and other fungal infections usually occur when
nutrition or environmental conditions are inadequate.
Crusting, alopecic skin disease should not be assumed to
Actinobacillosis, Actinomycosis,
be of fungal origin without laboratory confirmation.
Mycobacteriosis, and Protothecosis
Actinobacillosis, a suppurative to granulomatous disease
Ringworm
of sheep caused by Actinobacillus lignieresii, has not been
well documented in goats, but the organism is occasion- Etiology
ally isolated from abscesses of the face and mouth of goats A variety of dermatophytes have been cultured from ring-
(Matthews 2016). Diagnosis is based on demonstration of worm in goats. These include Microsporum canis and
cheese-like granules less than 1 mm in diameter in pus or Microsporum gypseum; Trichophyton mentagrophytes,
by aerobic or anaerobic culture of the organism. In direct Trichophyton schoenleinii, and Trichophyton verrucosum;
smears, club-like bodies radiate from the center of the and Epidermophyton floccosum (Philpot et al. 1984;
granules and crushing reveals small Gram-negative Scott 1988; Eljack et al. 2011).
bacilli. Rinsing and culturing the granules, rather than
simply swabbing a fistulous tract, are recommended to Clinical Signs and Diagnosis
avoid overgrowth with secondary bacteria (Scott 1988). Lesions in goats consist of alopecia, scaling, erythema, and
Treatment, at least for sheep, typically involves sodium crusts. They typically involve the face, external ears, neck,
iodide (20 mg/kg of sodium iodide as a 10% solution intra- or limbs, and may be annular in shape (Scott 2018). Pruritus
venously or subcutaneously) weekly for four to five weeks is not usual, but has been reported (Chineme et al. 1981).
and streptomycin (20 mg/kg/day) for five to seven days. Microscopic examination of hairs and keratin from the
A case of pyogranulomatous dermatitis has been reported periphery of an active lesion (as described above) may
on the udder of an aged dairy goat. A diagnosis of reveal ectothrix invasion of hair shafts. Species identifica-
Actinomyces sp. was based on the appearance of the organ- tion requires culture and examination of both colony and
ism in Gram-stained smears and the presence of sulfur microscopic morphology.
granules. Raised knot-like lesions were yellowish brown or
reddish black, and abscesses extended into the parenchyma Treatment and Prevention
of the udder. Udder amputation was the proposed therapy, Young animals (Pandey and Mahin 1980) or those living in
but the goat died first (Hotter and Buchner 1995). a dark, damp, dirty environment, or those with debilitating
A tuberculoid granulomatous dermatitis with dark nutritional or infectious diseases, are most at risk for devel-
crusted nodular lesions and ulceration as well as oping ringworm. Management changes, then, may be
38 Goat Medicine
required to control an outbreak in goats. Most cases of der- hyphae were abundant in the stratum corneum in skin
matophytosis in large animals regress spontaneously in biopsies.
one to four months. Thus, although oral griseofulvin has Several fungal species can produce mycetomas (granu-
been reported to be effective in treating ringworm in goats lomatous subcutaneous lesions with draining sinuses and
at 25 mg/kg/day for three weeks (Chineme et al. 1981), this granular fungal elements) in goats (Gumaa et al. 1978;
expensive therapy is usually not justified (Scott 1988). Gumaa and Abu-Samra 1981). Proliferation of the perios-
Topical treatment does reduce contamination of the teum of underlying bone may be marked. Pythium insidio-
environment and the risk of spread to other animals or sum has been reported to produce ulcerative skin lesions in
man. People handling infected goats should take precau- a goat in Brazil (do Carmo et al. 2015, 2021). Zoospores in
tions to avoid contracting the infection themselves. Lime water are thought to penetrate hair follicles or damaged
sulfur (2–5%), iodophors, and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite as skin. Diagnosis will be by histology (with fungal hyphae
total body sprays daily for five days and then weekly are staining with Grocott’s methenamine silver stain), immu-
recommended for ringworm (Scott 1988). Benzalkonium nohistochemistry, culture, or molecular-based methods.
chloride is also recommended as an antifungal. Captan Cryptococcus neoformans, a rare cause of pneumonia and
(3%) is effective (Scott 1988), but not approved in the mastitis in goats, has also caused ulcerated granulomas in
United States for food-producing animals. Topical iodine the skin of the head of one goat and in the nasal passage of
ointments or products for athlete’s foot (tinea pedis) can be another goat in Australia (Chapman et al. 1990). The diag-
used on small lesions. All in-contact animals should also nosis was made by demonstrating the oval or budding
be treated, and the environment disinfected with 0.5% encapsulated organisms in smears, histopathology sam-
sodium hypochlorite in hot water if possible. Pens that ples, or culture. Cryptococcus gattii was diagnosed as the
have previously housed young cattle with ringworm should cause of granulomas in the non-healing incision from a
be thoroughly disinfected before goats are introduced. Cesarean section (Villarroel and Maggiulli 2012). The goat
was treated with surgical debridement and six months of
Yeast Infections oral fluconazole at 5 mg/kg per day. Although no informa-
tion was available on bioavailability of the drug from the
Budding yeasts are occasionally present in large numbers in
rumen, clinical response was favorable.
skin impression smears or biopsy samples taken from goats
with alopecia, scaling, and crusting (Scott 1988). In most
instances they probably represent secondary opportunists
Parasitic Diseases
(Reuter et al. 1987). The hair coat is often greasy, but neither
painful nor pruritic (Scott 2018), although mild pruritus has
Many external parasites, including lice, ticks, and mange
been reported by others (Eguchi-Coe et al. 2011). The der-
mites, infest goats. Each is discussed separately, but there is
matitis can be either localized or generalized (Eguchi-Coe
an extensive overlap in the realm of therapy. For the con-
et al. 2011). A Malassezia (Pityrosporum) species was sus-
venience of the reader, some of the chemicals effective
pected in milking goats with annular lesion on the teats and
against external parasites are listed in Table 2.1 (Scott 1988;
udder, based on PAS-positive organisms seen in the epider-
Bowman 2014).
mis (Bliss 1984). A Malassezia species, possibly M. pachyder-
matis, was isolated from an adult goat with chronic greasy,
seborrheic lesions over the trunk but sparing the extremities Lice (Pediculosis)
(Pin 2004). The animal responded rapidly to weekly
All species of goat lice complete their life cycle on the host
chlorhexidine-containing shampoo and topical enilcona-
and are quite host specific. Eggs (nits) are attached to hairs
zole. In a third reported case, Malassezia slooffiae in hyphal
and hatch in 5–18 days. The nymphal stages look like tiny
and yeast forms was identified in the skin of an adult Pygmy
adults; young lice mature 14–21 days after hatching.
goat with a one-month history of weight loss and extensive
Bovicola (Damalinia) ovis, the sheep louse, can become
alopecia and crusting of the body and limbs (Uzal et al. 2007).
established on goats, and thus goats may be a source for
Goats with yeast infections should be evaluated for chronic
reinfesting sheep during louse control programs
wasting diseases, with special attention given to possible
(Hallam 1985).
nutritional deficiencies (e.g., protein, trace minerals).
Clinical Signs and Diagnosis
Miscellaneous Fungal Infections
Bloodsucking lice (order Anoplura) have relatively narrow
Peyronellaea glomerata, ordinarily a saprophyte on decay- heads with piercing mouth parts. Two species have been
ing vegetation, has been isolated from hyperkeratotic ear reported from goats in the United States: Linognathus
lesions on goats (Dawson and Lepper 1970). Brown septate stenopsis (females 2.75 mm long, males 2.2 mm) and
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in Persia; and we shall not be wrong if we see in them the same curiosity
that moves all the sages. They would stand for the same human ideal if their
names had really been Confucius or Pythagoras or Plato. They were those
who sought not tales but the truth of things; and since their thirst for truth
was itself a thirst for God, they also have had their reward. But even in
order to understand that reward, we must understand that for philosophy as
much as mythology, that reward was the completion of the incomplete.
Such learned men would doubtless have come, as these learned men did
come, to find themselves confirmed in much that was true in their own
traditions and right in their own reasoning. Confucius would have found a
new foundation for the family in the very reversal of the Holy Family;
Buddha would have looked upon a new renunciation, of stars rather than
jewels and divinity than royalty. These learned men would still have the
right to say, or rather a new right to say, that there was truth in their old
teaching. But, after all, these learned men would have come to learn. They
would have come to complete their conceptions with something they had
not yet conceived; even to balance their imperfect universe with something
they might once have contradicted. Buddha would have come from his
impersonal paradise to worship a person. Confucius would have come from
his temples of ancestor-worship to worship a child.
We must grasp from the first this character in the new cosmos: that it
was larger than the old cosmos. In that sense Christendom is larger than
creation; as creation had been before Christ. It included things that had not
been there; it also included the things that had been there. The point
happens to be well illustrated in this example of Chinese piety, but it would
be true of other pagan virtues or pagan beliefs. Nobody can doubt that a
reasonable respect for parents is part of a gospel in which God himself was
subject in childhood to earthly parents. But the other sense in which the
parents were subject to him does introduce an idea that is not Confucian.
The infant Christ is not like the infant Confucius; our mysticism conceives
him in an immortal infancy. I do not know what Confucius would have
done with the Bambino, had it come to life in his arms as it did in the arms
of St. Francis. But this is true in relation to all the other religions and
philosophies; it is the challenge of the Church. The Church contains what
the world does not contain. Life itself does not provide as she does for all
sides of life. That every other single system is narrow and insufficient
compared to this one; that is not a rhetorical boast; it is a real fact and a real
dilemma. Where is the Holy Child amid the Stoics and the ancestor-
worshippers? Where is Our Lady of the Moslems, a woman made for no
man and set above all angels? Where is St. Michael of the monks of
Buddha, rider and master of the trumpets, guarding for every soldier the
honour of the sword? What could St. Thomas Aquinas do with the
mythology of Brahminism, he who set forth all the science and rationality
and even rationalism of Christianity? Yet even if we compare Aquinas with
Aristotle, at the other extreme of reason, we shall find the same sense of
something added. Aquinas could understand the most logical parts of
Aristotle; it is doubtful if Aristotle could have understood the most mystical
parts of Aquinas. Even where we can hardly call the Christian greater, we
are forced to call him larger. But it is so to whatever philosophy or heresy or
modern movement we may turn. How would Francis the Troubadour have
fared among the Calvinists, or for that matter among the Utilitarians of the
Manchester School? Yet men like Bossuet and Pascal could be as stern and
logical as any Calvinist or Utilitarian. How would St. Joan of Arc, a woman
waving on men to war with the sword, have fared among the Quakers or the
Doukhabors or the Tolstoyan sect of pacifists? Yet any number of Catholic
saints have spent their lives in preaching peace and preventing wars. It is
the same with all the modern attempts at Syncretism. They are never able to
make something larger than the Creed without leaving something out. I do
not mean leaving out something divine but something human; the flag or
the inn or the boy’s tale of battle or the hedge at the end of the field. The
Theosophists build a pantheon; but it is only a pantheon for pantheists.
They call a Parliament of Religions as a reunion of all the peoples; but it is
only a reunion of all the prigs. Yet exactly such a pantheon had been set up
two thousand years before by the shores of the Mediterranean; and
Christians were invited to set up the image of Jesus side by side with the
image of Jupiter, of Mithras, of Osiris, of Atys, or of Ammon. It was the
refusal of the Christians that was the turning-point of history. If the
Christians had accepted, they and the whole world would have certainly, in
a grotesque but exact metaphor, gone to pot. They would all have been
boiled down to one lukewarm liquid in that great pot of cosmopolitan
corruption in which all the other myths and mysteries were already melting.
It was an awful and an appalling escape. Nobody understands the nature of
the Church, or the ringing note of the creed descending from antiquity, who
does not realise that the whole world once very nearly died of
broadmindedness and the brotherhood of all religions.
Here it is the important point that the Magi, who stand for mysticism and
philosophy, are truly conceived as seeking something new and even as
finding something unexpected. That tense sense of crisis which still tingles
in the Christmas story, and even in every Christmas celebration, accentuates
the idea of a search and a discovery. The discovery is, in this case, truly a
scientific discovery. For the other mystical figures in the miracle play, for
the angel and the mother, the shepherds and the soldiers of Herod, there
may be aspects both simpler and more supernatural, more elemental or
more emotional. But the Wise Men must be seeking wisdom; and for them
there must be a light also in the intellect. And this is the light: that the
Catholic creed is catholic and that nothing else is catholic. The philosophy
of the Church is universal. The philosophy of the philosophers was not
universal. Had Plato and Pythagoras and Aristotle stood for an instant in the
light that came out of that little cave, they would have known that their own
light was not universal. It is far from certain, indeed, that they did not know
it already. Philosophy also, like mythology, had very much the air of a
search. It is the realisation of this truth that gives its traditional majesty and
mystery to the figures of the Three Kings; the discovery that religion is
broader than philosophy and that this is the broadest of religions, contained
within this narrow space. The Magicians were gazing at the strange pentacle
with the human triangle reversed; and they have never come to the end of
their calculations about it. For it is the paradox of that group in the cave,
that while our emotions about it are of childish simplicity, our thoughts
about it can branch with a never-ending complexity. And we can never
reach the end even of our own ideas about the child who was a father and
the mother who was a child.
We might well be content to say that mythology had come with the
shepherds and philosophy with the philosophers; and that it only remained
for them to combine in the recognisation of religion. But there was a third
element that must not be ignored and one which that religion for ever
refuses to ignore, in any revel or reconciliation. There was present in the
primary scenes of the drama that Enemy that had rotted the legends with
lust and frozen the theories into atheism, but which answered the direct
challenge with something of that more direct method which we have seen in
the conscious cult of the demons. In the description of that demon-worship,
of the devouring detestation of innocence shown in the works of its
witchcraft and the most inhuman of its human sacrifice, I have said less of
its indirect and secret penetration of the saner paganism; the soaking of
mythological imagination with sex; the rise of imperial pride into insanity.
But both the indirect and the direct influence make themselves felt in the
drama of Bethlehem. A ruler under the Roman suzerainty, probably
equipped and surrounded with the Roman ornament and order though
himself of eastern blood, seems in that hour to have felt stirring within him
the spirit of strange things. We all know the story of how Herod, alarmed at
some rumour of a mysterious rival, remembered the wild gesture of the
capricious despots of Asia and ordered a massacre of suspects of the new
generation of the populace. Every one knows the story; but not every one
has perhaps noted its place in the story of the strange religions of men. Not
everybody has seen the significance even of its very contrast with the
Corinthian columns and Roman pavement of that conquered and
superficially civilised world. Only, as the purpose in his dark spirit began to
show and shine in the eyes of the Idumean, a seer might perhaps have seen
something like a great grey ghost that looked over his shoulder; have seen
behind him, filling the dome of night and hovering for the last time over
history, that vast and fearful face that was Moloch of the Carthaginians;
awaiting his last tribute from a ruler of the races of Shem. The demons also,
in that first festival of Christmas, feasted after their own fashion.
Unless we understand the presence of that Enemy, we shall not only miss
the point of Christianity, but even miss the point of Christmas. Christmas
for us in Christendom has become one thing, and in one sense even a simple
thing. But, like all the truths of that tradition, it is in another sense a very
complex thing. Its unique note is the simultaneous striking of many notes;
of humility, of gaiety, of gratitude, of mystical fear, but also of vigilance
and of drama. It is not only an occasion for the peacemakers any more than
for the merrymakers; it is not only a Hindu peace conference any more than
it is only a Scandinavian winter feast. There is something defiant in it also;
something that makes the abrupt bells at midnight sound like the great guns
of a battle that has just been won. All this indescribable thing that we call
the Christmas atmosphere only hangs in the air as something like a
lingering fragrance or fading vapour from the exultant explosion of that one
hour in the Judean hills nearly two thousand years ago. But the savour is
still unmistakable, and it is something too subtle or too solitary to be
covered by our use of the word peace. By the very nature of the story the
rejoicings in the cavern were rejoicings in a fortress or an outlaw’s den;
properly understood it is not unduly flippant to say they were rejoicings in a
dug-out. It is not only true that such a subterranean chamber was a hiding-
place from enemies; and that the enemies were already scouring the stony
plain that lay above it like a sky. It is not only that the very horse-hoofs of
Herod might in that sense have passed like thunder over the sunken head of
Christ. It is also that there is in that image a true idea of an outpost, of a
piercing through the rock and an entrance into an enemy territory. There is
in this buried divinity an idea of undermining the world; of shaking the
towers and palaces from below; even as Herod the great king felt that
earthquake under him and swayed with his swaying palace.
That is perhaps the mightiest of the mysteries of the cave. It is already
apparent that though men are said to have looked for hell under the earth, in
this case it is rather heaven that is under the earth. And there follows in this
strange story the idea of an upheaval of heaven. That is the paradox of the
whole position; that henceforth the highest thing can only work from below.
Royalty can only return to its own by a sort of rebellion. Indeed the Church
from its beginnings, and perhaps especially in its beginnings, was not so
much a principality as a revolution against the prince of the world. This
sense that the world had been conquered by the great usurper, and was in
his possession, has been much deplored or derided by those optimists who
identify enlightenment with ease. But it was responsible for all that thrill of
defiance and a beautiful danger that made the good news seem to be really
both good and new. It was in truth against a huge unconscious usurpation
that it raised a revolt, and originally so obscure a revolt. Olympus still
occupied the sky like a motionless cloud moulded into many mighty forms;
philosophy still sat in the high places and even on the thrones of the kings,
when Christ was born in the cave and Christianity in the catacombs.
In both cases we may remark the same paradox of revolution; the sense
of something despised and of something feared. The cave in one aspect is
only a hole or corner into which the outcasts are swept like rubbish; yet in
the other aspect it is a hiding-place of something valuable which the tyrants
are seeking like treasure. In one sense they are there because the innkeeper
would not even remember them, and in another because the king can never
forget them. We have already noted that this paradox appeared also in the
treatment of the early Church. It was important while it was still
insignificant, and certainly while it was still impotent. It was important
solely because it was intolerable; and in that sense it is true to say that it
was intolerable because it was intolerant. It was resented, because, in its
own still and almost secret way, it had declared war. It had risen out of the
ground to wreck the heaven and earth of heathenism. It did not try to
destroy all that creation of gold and marble; but it contemplated a world
without it. It dared to look right through it as though the gold and marble
had been glass. Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome
with firebrands were slanderers; but they were at least far nearer to the
nature of Christianity than those among the moderns who tell us that the
Christians were a sort of ethical society, being martyred in a languid fashion
for telling men they had a duty to their neighbours, and only mildly disliked
because they were meek and mild.
Herod had his place, therefore, in the miracle play of Bethlehem because
he is the menace to the Church Militant and shows it from the first as under
persecution and fighting for its life. For those who think this a discord, it is
a discord that sounds simultaneously with the Christmas bells. For those
who think the idea of the Crusade is one that spoils the idea of the Cross,
we can only say that for them the idea of the Cross is spoiled; the idea of
the Cross is spoiled quite literally in the Cradle. It is not here to the purpose
to argue with them on the abstract ethics of fighting; the purpose in this
place is merely to sum up the combination of ideas that make up the
Christian and Catholic idea, and to note that all of them are already
crystallised in the first Christmas story. They are three distinct and
commonly contrasted things which are nevertheless one thing; but this is
the only thing which can make them one. The first is the human instinct for
a heaven that shall be as literal and almost as local as a home. It is the idea
pursued by all poets and pagans making myths; that a particular place must
be the shrine of the god or the abode of the blest; that fairyland is a land; or
that the return of the ghost must be the resurrection of the body. I do not
here reason about the refusal of rationalism to satisfy this need. I only say
that if the rationalists refuse to satisfy it, the pagans will not be satisfied.
This is present in the story of Bethlehem and Jerusalem as it is present in
the story of Delos and Delphi; and as it is not present in the whole universe
of Lucretius or the whole universe of Herbert Spencer. The second element
is a philosophy larger than other philosophies; larger than that of Lucretius
and infinitely larger than that of Herbert Spencer. It looks at the world
through a hundred windows where the ancient stoic or the modern agnostic
only looks through one. It sees life with thousands of eyes belonging to
thousands of different sorts of people, where the other is only the individual
standpoint of a stoic or an agnostic. It has something for all moods of man,
it finds work for all kinds of men, it understands secrets of psychology, it is
aware of depths of evil, it is able to distinguish between real and unreal
marvels and miraculous exceptions, it trains itself in tact about hard cases,
all with a multiplicity and subtlety and imagination about the varieties of
life which is far beyond the bald or breezy platitudes of most ancient or
modern moral philosophy. In a word, there is more in it; it finds more in
existence to think about; it gets more out of life. Masses of this material
about our many-sided life have been added since the time of St. Thomas
Aquinas. But St. Thomas Aquinas alone would have found himself limited
in the world of Confucius or of Comte. And the third point is this: that
while it is local enough for poetry and larger than any other philosophy, it is
also a challenge and a fight. While it is deliberately broadened to embrace
every aspect of truth, it is still stiffly embattled against every mode of error.
It gets every kind of man to fight for it, it gets every kind of weapon to fight
with, it widens its knowledge of the things that are fought for and against
with every art of curiosity or sympathy; but it never forgets that it is
fighting. It proclaims peace on earth and never forgets why there was war in
heaven.
This is the trinity of truths symbolised here by the three types in the old
Christmas story: the shepherds and the kings and that other king who
warred upon the children. It is simply not true to say that other religions and
philosophies are in this respect its rivals. It is not true to say that any one of
them combines these characters; it is not true to say that any one of them
pretends to combine them. Buddhism may profess to be equally mystical; it
does not even profess to be equally military. Islam may profess to be
equally military; it does not even profess to be equally metaphysical and
subtle. Confucianism may profess to satisfy the need of the philosophers for
order and reason; it does not even profess to satisfy the need of the mystics
for miracle and sacrament and the consecration of concrete things. There
are many evidences of this presence of a spirit at once universal and unique.
One will serve here which is the symbol of the subject of this chapter; that
no other story, no pagan legend or philosophical anecdote or historical
event, does in fact affect any of us with that peculiar and even poignant
impression produced on us by the word Bethlehem. No other birth of a god
or childhood of a sage seems to us to be Christmas or anything like
Christmas. It is either too cold or too frivolous, or too formal and classical,
or too simple and savage, or too occult and complicated. Not one of us,
whatever his opinions, would ever go to such a scene with the sense that he
was going home. He might admire it because it was poetical, or because it
was philosophical, or any number of other things in separation; but not
because it was itself. The truth is that there is a quite peculiar and individual
character about the hold of this story on human nature; it is not in its
psychological substance at all like a mere legend or the life of a great man.
It does not exactly in the ordinary sense turn our minds to greatness; to
those extensions and exaggerations of humanity which are turned into gods
and heroes, even by the healthiest sort of hero-worship. It does not exactly
work outwards, adventurously, to the wonders to be found at the ends of the
earth. It is rather something that surprises us from behind, from the hidden
and personal part of our being; like that which can sometimes take us off
our guard in the pathos of small objects or the blind pieties of the poor. It is
rather as if a man had found an inner room in the very heart of his own
house which he had never suspected; and seen a light from within. It is as if
he found something at the back of his own heart that betrayed him into
good. It is not made of what the world would call strong materials; or rather
it is made of materials whose strength is in that winged levity with which
they brush us and pass. It is all that is in us but a brief tenderness that is
there made eternal; all that means no more than a momentary softening that
is in some strange fashion become a strengthening and a repose; it is the
broken speech and the lost word that are made positive and suspended
unbroken; as the strange kings fade into a far country and the mountains
resound no more with the feet of the shepherds; and only the night and the
cavern lie in fold upon fold over something more human than humanity.
CHAPTER II
THE RIDDLES OF THE GOSPEL
To understand the nature of this chapter, it is necessary to recur to the

nature of this book. The argument which is meant to be the backbone of the
book is of the kind called the reductio ad absurdum. It suggests that the
results of assuming the rationalist thesis are more irrational than ours; but to
prove it we must assume that thesis. Thus in the first section I often treated
man as merely an animal, to show that the effect was more impossible than
if he were treated as an angel. In the sense in which it was necessary to treat
man merely as an animal, it is necessary to treat Christ merely as a man. I
have to suspend my own beliefs, which are much more positive; and
assume this limitation even in order to remove it. I must try to imagine what
would happen to a man who did really read the story of Christ as the story
of a man; and even of a man of whom he had never heard before. And I
wish to point out that a really impartial reading of that kind would lead, if
not immediately to belief, at least to a bewilderment of which there is really
no solution except in belief. In this chapter, for this reason, I shall bring in
nothing of the spirit of my own creed; I shall exclude the very style of
diction, and even of lettering, which I should think fitting in speaking in my
own person. I am speaking as an imaginary heathen human being, honestly
staring at the Gospel story for the first time.
Now it is not at all easy to regard the New Testament as a New
Testament. It is not at all easy to realise the good news as new. Both for
good and evil familiarity fills us with assumptions and associations; and no
man of our civilisation, whatever he thinks of our religion, can really read
the thing as if he had never heard of it before. Of course it is in any case
utterly unhistorical to talk as if the New Testament were a neatly bound
book that had fallen from heaven. It is simply the selection made by the
authority of the Church from a mass of early Christian literature. But apart
from any such question, there is a psychological difficulty in feeling the
New Testament as new. There is a psychological difficulty in seeing those
well-known words simply as they stand and without going beyond what
they intrinsically stand for. And this difficulty must indeed be very great;
for the result of it is very curious. The result of it is that most modern critics
and most current criticism, even popular criticism, makes a comment that is
the exact reverse of the truth. It is so completely the reverse of the truth that
one could almost suspect that they had never read the New Testament at all.
We have all heard people say a hundred times over, for they seem never
to tire of saying it, that the Jesus of the New Testament is indeed a most
merciful and humane lover of humanity, but that the Church has hidden this
human character in repellent dogmas and stiffened it with ecclesiastical
terrors till it has taken on an inhuman character. This is, I venture to repeat,
very nearly the reverse of the truth. The truth is that it is the image of Christ
in the churches that is almost entirely mild and merciful. It is the image of
Christ in the Gospels that is a good many other things as well. The figure in
the Gospels does indeed utter in words of almost heart-breaking beauty his
pity for our broken hearts. But they are very far from being the only sort of
words that he utters. Nevertheless they are almost the only kind of words
that the Church in its popular imagery ever represents him as uttering. That
popular imagery is inspired by a perfectly sound popular instinct. The mass
of the poor are broken, and the mass of the people are poor, and for the
mass of mankind the main thing is to carry the conviction of the incredible
compassion of God. But nobody with his eyes open can doubt that it is
chiefly this idea of compassion that the popular machinery of the Church
does seek to carry. The popular imagery carries a great deal to excess the
sentiment of ‘Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.’ It is the first thing that the
outsider feels and criticises in a Pietà or a shrine of the Sacred Heart. As I
say, while the art may be insufficient, I am not sure that the instinct is
unsound. In any case there is something appalling, something that makes
the blood run cold, in the idea of having a statue of Christ in wrath. There is
something insupportable even to the imagination in the idea of turning the
corner of a street or coming out into the spaces of a market-place to meet
the petrifying petrifaction of that figure as it turned upon a generation of
vipers, or that face as it looked at the face of a hypocrite. The Church can
reasonably be justified therefore if she turns the most merciful face or
aspect towards men; but it is certainly the most merciful aspect that she
does turn. And the point is here that it is very much more specially and
exclusively merciful than any impression that could be formed by a man
merely reading the New Testament for the first time. A man simply taking
the words of the story as they stand would form quite another impression;
an impression full of mystery and possibly of inconsistency; but certainly
not merely an impression of mildness. It would be intensely interesting; but
part of the interest would consist in its leaving a good deal to be guessed at
or explained. It is full of sudden gestures evidently significant except that
we hardly know what they signify; of enigmatic silences; of ironical replies.
The outbreaks of wrath, like storms above our atmosphere, do not seem to
break out exactly where we should expect them, but to follow some higher
weather-chart of their own. The Peter whom popular Church teaching
presents is very rightly the Peter to whom Christ said in forgiveness, ‘Feed
my lambs.’ He is not the Peter upon whom Christ turned as if he were the
devil, crying in that obscure wrath, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan.’ Christ
lamented with nothing but love and pity over Jerusalem which was to
murder him. We do not know what strange spiritual atmosphere or spiritual
insight led him to sink Bethsaida lower in the pit than Sodom. I am putting
aside for the moment all questions of doctrinal inferences or expositions,
orthodox or otherwise; I am simply imagining the effect on a man’s mind if
he did really do what these critics are always talking about doing; if he did
really read the New Testament without reference to orthodoxy and even
without reference to doctrine. He would find a number of things which fit in
far less with the current unorthodoxy than they do with the current
orthodoxy. He would find, for instance, that if there are any descriptions
that deserved to be called realistic, they are precisely the descriptions of the
supernatural. If there is one aspect of the New Testament Jesus in which he
may be said to present himself eminently as a practical person, it is in the
aspect of an exorcist. There is nothing meek and mild, there is nothing even
in the ordinary sense mystical, about the tone of the voice that says ‘Hold
thy peace and come out of him.’ It is much more like the tone of a very
business-like lion-tamer or a strong-minded doctor dealing with a homicidal
maniac. But this is only a side issue for the sake of illustration; I am not
now raising these controversies; but considering the case of the imaginary
man from the moon to whom the New Testament is new.
Now the first thing to note is that if we take it merely as a human story, it
is in some ways a very strange story. I do not refer here to its tremendous
and tragic culmination or to any implications involving triumph in that
tragedy. I do not refer to what is commonly called the miraculous element;
for on that point philosophies vary and modern philosophies very decidedly
waver. Indeed the educated Englishman of to-day may be said to have
passed from an old fashion, in which he would not believe in any miracles
unless they were ancient, and adopted a new fashion in which he will not
believe in any miracles unless they are modern. He used to hold that
miraculous cures stopped with the first Christians and is now inclined to
suspect that they began with the first Christian Scientists. But I refer here
rather specially to unmiraculous and even to unnoticed and inconspicuous
parts of the story. There are a great many things about it which nobody
would have invented, for they are things that nobody has ever made any
particular use of; things which if they were remarked at all have remained
rather as puzzles. For instance, there is that long stretch of silence in the life
of Christ up to the age of thirty. It is of all silences the most immense and
imaginatively impressive. But it is not the sort of thing that anybody is
particularly likely to invent in order to prove something; and nobody so far
as I know has ever tried to prove anything in particular from it. It is
impressive, but it is only impressive as a fact; there is nothing particularly
popular or obvious about it as a fable. The ordinary trend of hero-worship
and myth-making is much more likely to say the precise opposite. It is
much more likely to say (as I believe some of the gospels rejected by the
Church do say) that Jesus displayed a divine precocity and began his
mission at a miraculously early age. And there is indeed something strange
in the thought that he who of all humanity needed least preparation seems to
have had most. Whether it was some mode of the divine humility, or some
truth of which we see the shadow in the longer domestic tutelage of the
higher creatures of the earth, I do not propose to speculate; I mention it
simply as an example of the sort of thing that does in any case give rise to
speculations, quite apart from recognised religious speculations. Now the
whole story is full of these things. It is not by any means, as baldly
presented in print, a story that it is easy to get to the bottom of. It is
anything but what these people talk of as a simple Gospel. Relatively
speaking, it is the Gospel that has the mysticism and the Church that has the
rationalism. As I should put it, of course, it is the Gospel that is the riddle
and the Church that is the answer. But whatever be the answer, the Gospel
as it stands is almost a book of riddles.
First, a man reading the Gospel sayings would not find platitudes. If he
had read even in the most respectful spirit the majority of ancient
philosophers and of modern moralists, he would appreciate the unique
importance of saying that he did not find platitudes. It is more than can be
said even of Plato. It is much more than can be said of Epictetus or Seneca
or Marcus Aurelius or Apollonius of Tyana. And it is immeasurably more
than can be said of most of the agnostic moralists and the preachers of the
ethical societies; with their songs of service and their religion of
brotherhood. The morality of most moralists, ancient and modern, has been
one solid and polished cataract of platitudes flowing for ever and ever. That
would certainly not be the impression of the imaginary independent
outsider studying the New Testament. He would be conscious of nothing so
commonplace and in a sense of nothing so continuous as that stream. He
would find a number of strange claims that might sound like the claim to be
the brother of the sun and moon; a number of very startling pieces of
advice; a number of stunning rebukes; a number of strangely beautiful
stories. He would see some very gigantesque figures of speech about the
impossibility of threading a needle with a camel or the possibility of
throwing a mountain into the sea. He would see a number of very daring
simplifications of the difficulties of life; like the advice to shine upon
everybody indifferently as does the sunshine or not to worry about the
future any more than the birds. He would find on the other hand some
passages of almost impenetrable darkness, so far as he is concerned, such as
the moral of the parable of the Unjust Steward. Some of these things might
strike him as fables and some as truths; but none as truisms. For instance,
he would not find the ordinary platitudes in favour of peace. He would find
several paradoxes in favour of peace. He would find several ideals of non-
resistance, which taken as they stand would be rather too pacific for any
pacifist. He would be told in one passage to treat a robber not with passive
resistance, but rather with positive and enthusiastic encouragement, if the
terms be taken literally; heaping up gifts upon the man who had stolen
goods. But he would not find a word of all that obvious rhetoric against war
which has filled countless books and odes and orations; not a word about
the wickedness of war, the wastefulness of war, the appalling scale of the
slaughter in war and all the rest of the familiar frenzy; indeed not a word
about war at all. There is nothing that throws any particular light on Christ’s
attitude towards organised warfare, except that he seems to have been rather
fond of Roman soldiers. Indeed it is another perplexity, speaking from the
same external and human standpoint, that he seems to have got on much
better with Romans than he did with Jews. But the question here is a certain
tone to be appreciated by merely reading a certain text; and we might give
any number of instances of it.
The statement that the meek shall inherit the earth is very far from being
a meek statement. I mean it is not meek in the ordinary sense of mild and
moderate and inoffensive. To justify it, it would be necessary to go very
deep into history and anticipate things undreamed of then and by many
unrealised even now; such as the way in which the mystical monks
reclaimed the lands which the practical kings had lost. If it was a truth at all,
it was because it was a prophecy. But certainly it was not a truth in the
sense of a truism. The blessing upon the meek would seem to be a very
violent statement; in the sense of doing violence to reason and probability.
And with this we come to another important stage in the speculation. As a
prophecy it really was fulfilled; but it was only fulfilled long afterwards.
The monasteries were the most practical and prosperous estates and
experiments in reconstruction after the barbaric deluge; the meek did really
inherit the earth. But nobody could have known anything of the sort at the
time—unless indeed there was one who knew. Something of the same thing
may be said about the incident of Martha and Mary; which has been
interpreted in retrospect and from the inside by the mystics of the Christian
contemplative life. But it was not at all an obvious view of it; and most
moralists, ancient and modern, could be trusted to make a rush for the
obvious. What torrents of effortless eloquence would have flowed from
them to swell any slight superiority on the part of Martha; what splendid
sermons about the Joy of Service and the Gospel of Work and the World
Left Better Than We Found It, and generally all the ten thousand platitudes
that can be uttered in favour of taking trouble—by people who need take no
trouble to utter them. If in Mary the mystic and child of love Christ was
guarding the seed of something more subtle, who was likely to understand it
at the time? Nobody else could have seen Clare and Catherine and Teresa
shining above the little roof at Bethany. It is so in another way with that
magnificent menace about bringing into the world a sword to sunder and
divide. Nobody could have guessed then either how it could be fulfilled or
how it could be justified. Indeed some freethinkers are still so simple as to
fall into the trap and be shocked at a phrase so deliberately defiant. They
actually complain of the paradox for not being a platitude.
But the point here is that if we could read the Gospel reports as things as
new as newspaper reports, they would puzzle us and perhaps terrify us
much more than the same things as developed by historical Christianity. For
instance; Christ after a clear allusion to the eunuchs of eastern courts, said
there would be eunuchs of the kingdom of heaven. If this does not mean the
voluntary enthusiasm of virginity, it could only be made to mean something
much more unnatural or uncouth. It is the historical religion that humanises
it for us by experience of Franciscans or of Sisters of Mercy. The mere
statement standing by itself might very well suggest a rather dehumanised
atmosphere; the sinister and inhuman silence of the Asiatic harem and
divan. This is but one instance out of scores; but the moral is that the Christ
of the Gospel might actually seem more strange and terrible than the Christ
of the Church.
I am dwelling on the dark or dazzling or defiant or mysterious side of the
Gospel words, not because they had not obviously a more obvious and
popular side, but because this is the answer to a common criticism on a vital
point. The freethinker frequently says that Jesus of Nazareth was a man of
his time, even if he was in advance of his time; and that we cannot accept
his ethics as final for humanity. The freethinker then goes on to criticise his
ethics, saying plausibly enough that men cannot turn the other cheek, or that
they must take thought for the morrow, or that the self-denial is too ascetic
or the monogamy too severe. But the Zealots and the Legionaries did not
turn the other cheek any more than we do, if so much. The Jewish traders
and Roman tax-gatherers took thought for the morrow as much as we, if not
more. We cannot pretend to be abandoning the morality of the past for one
more suited to the present. It is certainly not the morality of another age, but
it might be of another world.
In short, we can say that these ideals are impossible in themselves.
Exactly what we cannot say is that they are impossible for us. They are
rather notably marked by a mysticism which, if it be a sort of madness,
would always have struck the same sort of people as mad. Take, for
instance, the case of marriage and the relations of the sexes. It might very
well have been true that a Galilean teacher taught things natural to a
Galilean environment; but it is not. It might rationally be expected that a
man in the time of Tiberius would have advanced a view conditioned by the
time of Tiberius; but he did not. What he advanced was something quite
different; something very difficult; but something no more difficult now
than it was then. When, for instance, Mahomet made his polygamous
compromise we may reasonably say that it was conditioned by a
polygamous society. When he allowed a man four wives he was really
doing something suited to the circumstances, which might have been less
suited to other circumstances. Nobody will pretend that the four wives were
like the four winds, something seemingly a part of the order of nature;
nobody will say that the figure four was written for ever in stars upon the
sky. But neither will any one say that the figure four is an inconceivable
ideal; that it is beyond the power of the mind of man to count up to four; or
to count the number of his wives and see whether it amounts to four. It is a
practical compromise carrying with it the character of a particular society. If
Mahomet had been born in Acton in the nineteenth century, we may well
doubt whether he would instantly have filled that suburb with harems of
four wives apiece. As he was born in Arabia in the sixth century, he did in
his conjugal arrangements suggest the conditions of Arabia in the sixth
century. But Christ in his view of marriage does not in the least suggest the
conditions of Palestine in the first century. He does not suggest anything at
all, except the sacramental view of marriage as developed long afterwards
by the Catholic Church. It was quite as difficult for people then as for
people now. It was much more puzzling to people then than to people now.
Jews and Romans and Greeks did not believe, and did not even understand
enough to disbelieve, the mystical idea that the man and the woman had
become one sacramental substance. We may think it an incredible or
impossible ideal; but we cannot think it any more incredible or impossible
than they would have thought it. In other words, whatever else is true, it is
not true that the controversy has been altered by time. Whatever else is true,
it is emphatically not true that the ideas of Jesus of Nazareth were suitable
to his time, but are no longer suitable to our time. Exactly how suitable they
were to his time is perhaps suggested in the end of his story.
The same truth might be stated in another way by saying that if the story
be regarded as merely human and historical, it is extraordinary how very
little there is in the recorded words of Christ that ties him at all to his own
time. I do not mean the details of a period, which even a man of the period
knows to be passing. I mean the fundamentals which even the wisest man
often vaguely assumes to be eternal. For instance, Aristotle was perhaps the
wisest and most wide-minded man who ever lived. He founded himself
entirely upon fundamentals, which have been generally found to remain
rational and solid through all social and historical changes. Still, he lived in
a world in which it was thought as natural to have slaves as to have
children. And therefore he did permit himself a serious recognition of a
difference between slaves and free men. Christ as much as Aristotle lived in
a world that took slavery for granted. He did not particularly denounce
slavery. He started a movement that could exist in a world with slavery. But
he started a movement that could exist in a world without slavery. He never
used a phrase that made his philosophy depend even upon the very
existence of the social order in which he lived. He spoke as one conscious
that everything was ephemeral, including the things that Aristotle thought
eternal. By that time the Roman Empire had come to be merely the orbis
terrarum, another name for the world. But he never made his morality
dependent on the existence of the Roman Empire or even on the existence
of the world. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not
pass away.’
The truth is that when critics have spoken of the local limitations of the
Galilean, it has always been a case of the local limitations of the critics. He
did undoubtedly believe in certain things that one particular modern sect of
materialists do not believe. But they were not things particularly peculiar to
his time. It would be nearer the truth to say that the denial of them is quite
peculiar to our time. Doubtless it would be nearer still to the truth to say
merely that a certain solemn social importance, in the minority disbelieving
them, is peculiar to our time. He believed, for instance, in evil spirits or in
the psychic healing of bodily ills; but not because he was a Galilean born
under Augustus. It is absurd to say that a man believed things because he
was a Galilean under Augustus when he might have believed the same
things if he had been an Egyptian under Tuten-kamen or an Indian under
Gengis Khan. But with this general question of the philosophy of diabolism
or of divine miracles I deal elsewhere. It is enough to say that the
materialists have to prove the impossibility of miracles against the
testimony of all mankind, not against the prejudices of provincials in North
Palestine under the first Roman Emperors. What they have to prove, for the
present argument, is the presence in the Gospels of those particular
prejudices of those particular provincials. And, humanly speaking, it is
astonishing how little they can produce even to make a beginning of
proving it.
So it is in this case of the sacrament of marriage. We may not believe in
sacraments, as we may not believe in spirits, but it is quite clear that Christ
believed in this sacrament in his own way and not in any current or
contemporary way. He certainly did not get his argument against divorce
from the Mosaic law or the Roman law or the habits of the Palestinian
people. It would appear to his critics then exactly what it appears to his
critics now; an arbitrary and transcendental dogma coming from nowhere
save in the sense that it came from him. I am not at all concerned here to
defend that dogma; the point here is that it is just as easy to defend it now as
it was to defend it then. It is an ideal altogether outside time; difficult at any
period; impossible at no period. In other words, if any one says it is what
might be expected of a man walking about in that place at that period, we
can quite fairly answer that it is much more like what might be the
mysterious utterance of a being beyond man, if he walked alive among
men.
I maintain therefore that a man reading the New Testament frankly and
freshly would not get the impression of what is now often meant by a
human Christ. The merely human Christ is a made-up figure, a piece of
artificial selection, like the merely evolutionary man. Moreover there have
been too many of these human Christs found in the same story, just as there
have been too many keys to mythology found in the same stories. Three or
four separate schools of rationalism have worked over the ground and
produced three or four equally rational explanations of his life. The first
rational explanation of his life was that he never lived. And this in turn gave
an opportunity for three or four different explanations; as that he was a sun-
myth or a corn-myth, or any other kind of myth that is also a monomania.
Then the idea that he was a divine being who did not exist gave place to the
idea that he was a human being who did exist. In my youth it was the
fashion to say that he was merely an ethical teacher in the manner of the
Essenes, who had apparently nothing very much to say that Hillel or a
hundred other Jews might not have said; as that it is a kindly thing to be
kind and an assistance to purification to be pure. Then somebody said he
was a madman with a Messianic delusion. Then others said he was indeed
an original teacher because he cared about nothing but Socialism; or (as
others said) about nothing but Pacifism. Then a more grimly scientific
character appeared who said that Jesus would never have been heard of at
all except for his prophecies of the end of the world. He was important
merely as a Millennarian like Dr. Cumming; and created a provincial scare
by announcing the exact date of the crack of doom. Among other variants
on the same theme was the theory that he was a spiritual healer and nothing
else; a view implied by Christian Science, which has really to expound a
Christianity without the Crucifixion in order to explain the curing of Peter’s
wife’s mother or the daughter of a centurion. There is another theory that
concentrates entirely on the business of diabolism and what it would call
the contemporary superstition about demoniacs; as if Christ, like a young
deacon taking his first orders, had got as far as exorcism and never got any
further. Now each of these explanations in itself seems to me singularly
inadequate; but taken together they do suggest something of the very
mystery which they miss. There must surely have been something not only
mysterious but many-sided about Christ if so many smaller Christs can be
carved out of him. If the Christian Scientist is satisfied with him as a
spiritual healer and the Christian Socialist is satisfied with him as a social
reformer, so satisfied that they do not even expect him to be anything else,
it looks as if he really covered rather more ground than they could be
expected to expect. And it does seem to suggest that there might be more
than they fancy in these other mysterious attributes of casting out devils or
prophesying doom.
Above all, would not such a new reader of the New Testament stumble
over something that would startle him much more than it startles us? I have
here more than once attempted the rather impossible task of reversing time
and the historic method; and in fancy looking forward to the facts, instead
of backward through the memories. So I have imagined the monster that
man might have seemed at first to the mere nature around him. We should
have a worse shock if we really imagined the nature of Christ named for the
first time. What should we feel at the first whisper of a certain suggestion
about a certain man? Certainly it is not for us to blame anybody who should
find that first wild whisper merely impious and insane. On the contrary,
stumbling on that rock of scandal is the first step. Stark staring incredulity
is a far more loyal tribute to that truth than a modernist metaphysic that
would make it out merely a matter of degree. It were better to rend our
robes with a great cry against blasphemy, like Caiaphas in the judgment, or
to lay hold of the man as a maniac possessed of devils like the kinsmen and
the crowd, rather than to stand stupidly debating fine shades of pantheism in
the presence of so catastrophic a claim. There is more of the wisdom that is
one with surprise in any simple person, full of the sensitiveness of
simplicity, who should expect the grass to wither and the birds to drop dead
out of the air, when a strolling carpenter’s apprentice said calmly and
almost carelessly, like one looking over his shoulder: ‘Before Abraham was,
I am.’
CHAPTER III
THE STRANGEST STORY IN THE WORLD
In the last chapter I have deliberately stressed what seems to be nowadays

a neglected side of the New Testament story, but nobody will suppose, I
imagine, that it is meant to obscure that side that may truly be called
human. That Christ was and is the most merciful of judges and the most
sympathetic of friends is a fact of considerably more importance in our own
private lives than in anybody’s historical speculations. But the purpose of
this book is to point out that something unique has been swamped in cheap
generalisations; and for that purpose it is relevant to insist that even what
was most universal was also most original. For instance, we might take a
topic which really is sympathetic to the modern mood, as the ascetic
vocations recently referred to are not. The exaltation of childhood is
something which we do really understand; but it was by no means a thing
that was then in that sense understood. If we wanted an example of the
originality of the Gospel, we could hardly take a stronger or more startling
one. Nearly two thousand years afterwards we happen to find ourselves in a
mood that does really feel the mystical charm of the child; we express it in
romances and regrets about childhood, in Peter Pan or The Child’s Garden
of Verses. And we can say of the words of Christ with so angry an anti-
Christian as Swinburne:—
‘No sign that ever was given
To faithful or faithless eyes
Showed ever beyond clouds riven
So clear a paradise.
Earth’s creeds may be seventy times seven

And blood have defiled each creed,
But if such be the kingdom of heaven
It must be heaven indeed.’
But that paradise was not clear until Christianity had gradually cleared it.
The pagan world, as such, would not have understood any such thing as a
serious suggestion that a child is higher or holier than a man. It would have
seemed like the suggestion that a tadpole is higher or holier than a frog. To
the merely rationalistic mind, it would sound like saying that a bud must be
more beautiful than a flower or that an unripe apple must be better than a
ripe one. In other words, this modern feeling is an entirely mystical feeling.
It is quite as mystical as the cult of virginity; in fact it is the cult of virginity.
But pagan antiquity had much more idea of the holiness of the virgin than
of the holiness of the child. For various reasons we have come nowadays to
venerate children; perhaps partly because we envy children for still doing
what men used to do; such as play simple games and enjoy fairy-tales. Over
and above this, however, there is a great deal of real and subtle psychology
in our appreciation of childhood; but if we turn it into a modern discovery,
we must once more admit that the historical Jesus of Nazareth had already
discovered it two thousand years too soon. There was certainly nothing in
the world around him to help him to the discovery. Here Christ was indeed
human; but more human than a human being was then likely to be. Peter
Pan does not belong to the world of Pan but the world of Peter.
Even in the matter of mere literary style, if we suppose ourselves thus
sufficiently detached to look at it in that light, there is a curious quality to
which no critic seems to have done justice. It had among other things a
singular air of piling tower upon tower by the use of the a fortiori; making a
pagoda of degrees like the seven heavens. I have already noted that almost
inverted imaginative vision which pictured the impossible penance of the
Cities of the Plain. There is perhaps nothing so perfect in all language or
literature as the use of these three degrees in the parable of the lilies of the
field; in which he seems first to take one small flower in his hand and note
its simplicity and even its impotence; then suddenly expands it in
flamboyant colours into all the palaces and pavilions full of a great name in
national legend and national glory; and then, by yet a third overturn,
shrivels it to nothing once more with a gesture as if flinging it away ’... and
if God so clothes the grass that to-day is and to-morrow is cast into the oven
—how much more....’ It is like the building of a good Babel tower by white
magic in a moment and in the movement of a hand; a tower heaved
suddenly up to heaven on the top of which can be seen afar off, higher than
we had fancied possible, the figure of man; lifted by three infinities above
all other things, on a starry ladder of light logic and swift imagination.
Merely in a literary sense it would be more of a masterpiece than most of
the masterpieces in the libraries; yet it seems to have been uttered almost at
random while a man might pull a flower. But merely in a literary sense also,
this use of the comparative in several degrees has about it a quality which
seems to me to hint of much higher things than the modern suggestion of
the simple teaching of pastoral or communal ethics. There is nothing that
really indicates a subtle and in the true sense a superior mind so much as
this power of comparing a lower thing with a higher and yet that higher
with a higher still; of thinking on three planes at once. There is nothing that
wants the rarest sort of wisdom so much as to see, let us say, that the citizen
is higher than the slave and yet that the soul is infinitely higher than the
citizen or the city. It is not by any means a faculty that commonly belongs
to these simplifiers of the Gospel; those who insist on what they call a
simple morality and others call a sentimental morality. It is not at all
covered by those who are content to tell everybody to remain at peace. On
the contrary, there is a very striking example of it in the apparent
inconsistency between Christ’s sayings about peace and about a sword. It is
precisely this power which perceives that while a good peace is better than
a good war, even a good war is better than a bad peace. These far-flung
comparisons are nowhere so common as in the Gospels; and to me they
suggest something very vast. So a thing solitary and solid, with the added
dimension of depth or height, might tower over the flat creatures living only
on a plane.
This quality of something that can only be called subtle and superior,
something that is capable of long views and even of double meanings, is not
noted here merely as a counterblast to the commonplace exaggerations of
amiability and mild idealism. It is also to be noted in connection with the
more tremendous truth touched upon at the end of the last chapter. For this
is the very last character that commonly goes with mere megalomania;
especially such steep and staggering megalomania as might be involved in
that claim. This quality that can only be called intellectual distinction is not,
of course, an evidence of divinity. But it is an evidence of a probable
distaste for vulgar and vainglorious claims to divinity. A man of that sort, if
he were only a man, would be the last man in the world to suffer from that
intoxication by one notion from nowhere in particular, which is the mark of
the self-deluding sensationalist in religion. Nor is it even avoided by
denying that Christ did make this claim. Of no such man as that, of no other
prophet or philosopher of the same intellectual order, would it be even
possible to pretend that he had made it. Even if the Church had mistaken his
meaning, it would still be true that no other historical tradition except the
Church had ever even made the same mistake. Mahomedans did not
misunderstand Mahomet and suppose he was Allah. Jews did not
misinterpret Moses and identify him with Jehovah. Why was this claim
alone exaggerated unless this alone was made? Even if Christianity was one
vast universal blunder, it is still a blunder as solitary as the Incarnation.
The purpose of these pages is to fix the falsity of certain vague and
vulgar assumptions; and we have here one of the most false. There is a sort
of notion in the air everywhere that all the religions are equal because all
the religious founders were rivals; that they are all fighting for the same
starry crown. It is quite false. The claim to that crown, or anything like that
crown, is really so rare as to be unique. Mahomet did not make it any more
than Micah or Malachi. Confucius did not make it any more than Plato or
Marcus Aurelius. Buddha never said he was Bramah. Zoroaster no more
claimed to be Ormuz than to be Ahriman. The truth is that, in the common
run of cases, it is just as we should expect it to be, in common sense and
certainly in Christian philosophy. It is exactly the other way. Normally
speaking, the greater a man is, the less likely he is to make the very greatest
claim. Outside the unique case we are considering, the only kind of man
who ever does make that kind of claim is a very small man; a secretive or
self-centred monomaniac. Nobody can imagine Aristotle claiming to be the
father of gods and men, come down from the sky; though we might imagine
some insane Roman Emperor like Caligula claiming it for him, or more
probably for himself. Nobody can imagine Shakespeare talking as if he
were literally divine; though we might imagine some crazy American crank
finding it as a cryptogram in Shakespeare’s works, or preferably in his own
works. It is possible to find here and there human beings who make this
supremely superhuman claim. It is possible to find them in lunatic asylums;
in padded cells; possibly in strait waistcoats. But what is much more
important than their mere materialistic fate in our very materialistic society,
under very crude and clumsy laws about lunacy, the type we know as tinged
with this, or tending towards it, is a diseased and disproportionate type;
narrow yet swollen and morbid to monstrosity. It is by rather an unlucky
metaphor that we talk of a madman as cracked; for in a sense he is not
cracked enough. He is cramped rather than cracked; there are not enough
holes in his head to ventilate it. This impossibility of letting in daylight on a
delusion does sometimes cover and conceal a delusion of divinity. It can be
found, not among prophets and sages and founders of religions, but only
among a low set of lunatics. But this is exactly where the argument
becomes intensely interesting; because the argument proves too much. For
nobody supposes that Jesus of Nazareth was that sort of person. No modern
critic in his five wits thinks that the preacher of the Sermon on the Mount
was a horrible half-witted imbecile that might be scrawling stars on the
walls of a cell. No atheist or blasphemer believes that the author of the
Parable of the Prodigal Son was a monster with one mad idea like a cyclops
with one eye. Upon any possible historical criticism he must be put higher
in the scale of human beings than that. Yet by all analogy we have really to
put him there or else in the highest place of all.
In fact, those who can really take it (as I here hypothetically take it) in a
quite dry and detached spirit, have here a most curious and interesting
human problem. It is so intensely interesting, considered as a human
problem, that it is in a spirit quite disinterested, so to speak, that I wish
some of them had turned that intricate human problem into something like
an intelligible human portrait. If Christ was simply a human character, he
really was a highly complex and contradictory human character. For he
combined exactly the two things that lie at the two extremes of human
variation. He was exactly what the man with a delusion never is: he was
wise; he was a good judge. What he said was always unexpected; but it was
always unexpectedly magnanimous and often unexpectedly moderate. Take
a thing like the point of the parable of the tares and the wheat. It has the
quality that unites sanity and subtlety. It has not the simplicity of a madman.
It has not even the simplicity of a fanatic. It might be uttered by a
philosopher a hundred years old, at the end of a century of Utopias. Nothing
could be less like this quality of seeing beyond and all round obvious
things, than the condition of the egomaniac with the one sensitive spot on
his brain. I really do not see how these two characters could be
convincingly combined, except in the astonishing way in which the creed
combines them. For until we reach the full acceptance of the fact as a fact,
however marvellous, all mere approximations to it are actually further and
further away from it. Divinity is great enough to be divine; it is great
enough to call itself divine. But as humanity grows greater, it grows less
and less likely to do so. God is God, as the Moslems say; but a great man
knows he is not God, and the greater he is the better he knows it. That is the
paradox; everything that is merely approaching to that point is merely
receding from it. Socrates, the wisest man, knows that he knows nothing. A
lunatic may think he is omniscience, and a fool may talk as if he were
omniscient. But Christ is in another sense omniscient if he not only knows,
but knows that he knows.
Even on the purely human and sympathetic side, therefore, the Jesus of
the New Testament seems to me to have in a great many ways the note of
something superhuman; that is, of something human and more than human.
But there is another quality running through all his teachings which seems
to me neglected in most modern talk about them as teachings; and that is
the persistent suggestion that he has not really come to teach. If there is one
incident in the record which affects me personally as grandly and gloriously
human, it is the incident of giving wine for the wedding-feast. That is really
human in the sense in which a whole crowd of prigs, having the appearance
of human beings, can hardly be described as human. It rises superior to all
superior persons. It is as human as Herrick and as democratic as Dickens.
But even in that story there is something else that has that note of things not
fully explained; and in a way here very relevant. I mean the first hesitation,
not on any ground touching the nature of the miracle, but on that of the
propriety of working any miracles at all, at least at that stage; ‘My time is
not yet come.’ What did that mean? At least it certainly meant a general
plan or purpose in the mind, with which certain things did or did not fit in.
And if we leave out that solitary strategic plan, we not only leave out the
point of the story, but the story.
We often hear of Jesus of Nazareth as a wandering teacher; and there is a
vital truth in that view in so far as it emphasises an attitude towards luxury
and convention which most respectable people would still regard as that of
a vagabond. It is expressed in his own great saying about the holes of the
foxes and the nests of the birds, and, like many of his great sayings, it is felt
as less powerful than it is, through lack of appreciation of that great paradox
by which he spoke of his own humanity as in some way collectively and
representatively human; calling himself simply the Son of Man; that is, in
effect, calling himself simply Man. It is fitting that the New Man or the
Second Adam should repeat in so ringing a voice and with so arresting a
gesture the great fact which came first in the original story: that man differs
from the brutes by everything, even by deficiency; that he is in a sense less
normal and even less native; a stranger upon the earth. It is well to speak of
his wanderings in this sense and in the sense that he shared the drifting life
of the most homeless and hopeless of the poor. It is assuredly well to
remember that he would quite certainly have been moved on by the police,
and almost certainly arrested by the police, for having no visible means of
subsistence. For our law has in it a turn of humour or touch of fancy which
Nero and Herod never happened to think of; that of actually punishing
homeless people for not sleeping at home.
But in another sense the word ‘wandering’ as applied to his life is a little
misleading. As a matter of fact, a great many of the pagan sages and not a
few of the pagan sophists might truly be described as wandering teachers.
In some of them their rambling journeys were not altogether without a
parallel in their rambling remarks. Apollonius of Tyana, who figured in
some fashionable cults as a sort of ideal philosopher, is represented as
rambling as far as the Ganges and Ethiopia, more or less talking all the
time. There was actually a school of philosophers called the Peripatetics;
and most even of the great philosophers give us a vague impression of
having very little to do except to walk and talk. The great conversations
which give us our glimpses of the great minds of Socrates or Buddha or
even Confucius often seem to be parts of a never-ending picnic; and
especially, which is the important point, to have neither beginning nor end.
Socrates did indeed find the conversation interrupted by the incident of his
execution. But it is the whole point, and the whole particular merit, of the
position of Socrates that death was only an interruption and an incident. We
miss the real moral importance of the great philosopher if we miss that
point; that he stares at the executioner with an innocent surprise, and almost
an innocent annoyance, at finding any one so unreasonable as to cut short a
little conversation for the elucidation of truth. He is looking for truth and
not looking for death. Death is but a stone in the road which can trip him
up. His work in life is to wander on the roads of the world and talk about
truth for ever. Buddha, on the other hand, did arrest attention by one
gesture; it was the gesture of renunciation, and therefore in a sense of
denial. But by one dramatic negation he passed into a world of negation that
was not dramatic; which he would have been the first to insist was not
dramatic. Here again we miss the particular moral importance of the great
mystic if we do not see the distinction; that it was his whole point that he
had done with drama, which consists of desire and struggle and generally of
defeat and disappointment. He passes into peace and lives to instruct others
how to pass into it. Henceforth his life is that of the ideal philosopher;
certainly a far more really ideal philosopher than Apollonius of Tyana; but
still a philosopher in the sense that it is not his business to do anything but
rather to explain everything; in his case, we might almost say, mildly and
softly to explode everything. For the messages are basically different. Christ
said ‘Seek first the kingdom, and all these things shall be added unto you.’
Buddha said ‘Seek first the kingdom, and then you will need none of these
things.’
Now, compared to these wanderers the life of Jesus went as swift and
straight as a thunderbolt. It was above all things dramatic; it did above all
things consist in doing something that had to be done. It emphatically
would not have been done if Jesus had walked about the world for ever
doing nothing except tell the truth. And even the external movement of it
must not be described as a wandering in the sense of forgetting that it was a
journey. This is where it was a fulfilment of the myths rather than of the
philosophies; it is a journey with a goal and an object, like Jason going to
find the Golden Fleece, or Hercules the golden apples of the Hesperides.
The gold that he was seeking was death. The primary thing that he was
going to do was to die. He was going to do other things equally definite and
objective; we might almost say equally external and material. But from first
to last the most definite fact is that he is going to die. No two things could
possibly be more different than the death of Socrates and the death of
Christ. We are meant to feel that the death of Socrates was, from the point
of view of his friends at least, a stupid muddle and miscarriage of justice
interfering with the flow of a humane and lucid, I had almost said a light
philosophy. We are meant to feel that Death was the bride of Christ as
Poverty was the bride of St. Francis. We are meant to feel that his life was
in that sense a sort of love-affair with death, a romance of the pursuit of the
ultimate sacrifice. From the moment when the star goes up like a birthday
rocket to the moment when the sun is extinguished like a funeral torch, the
whole story moves on wings with the speed and direction of a drama,
ending in an act beyond words.
Therefore the story of Christ is the story of a journey, almost in the
manner of a military march; certainly in the manner of the quest of a hero
moving to his achievement or his doom. It is a story that begins in the
paradise of Galilee, a pastoral and peaceful land having really some hint of
Eden, and gradually climbs the rising country into the mountains that are
nearer to the storm-clouds and the stars, as to a Mountain of Purgatory. He
may be met as if straying in strange places, or stopped on the way for
discussion or dispute; but his face is set towards the mountain city. That is
the meaning of that great culmination when he crested the ridge and stood
at the turning of the road and suddenly cried aloud, lamenting over
Jerusalem. Some light touch of that lament is in every patriotic poem; or if
it is absent, the patriotism stinks with vulgarity. That is the meaning of the
stirring and startling incident at the gates of the Temple, when the tables
were hurled like lumber down the steps, and the rich merchants driven forth
with bodily blows; the incident that must be at least as much of a puzzle to
the pacifists as any paradox about non-resistance can be to any of the
militarists. I have compared the quest to the journey of Jason, but we must
never forget that in a deeper sense it is rather to be compared to the journey
of Ulysses. It was not only a romance of travel but a romance of return; and
of the end of a usurpation. No healthy boy reading the story regards the rout
of the Ithacan suitors as anything but a happy ending. But there are
doubtless some who regard the rout of the Jewish merchants and
moneychangers with that refined repugnance which never fails to move
them in the presence of violence, and especially of violence against the
well-to-do. The point here, however, is that all these incidents have in them
a character of mounting crisis. In other words, these incidents are not
incidental. When Apollonius the ideal philosopher is brought before the
judgment-seat of Domitian and vanishes by magic, the miracle is entirely
incidental. It might have occurred at any time in the wandering life of the
Tyanean; indeed, I believe it is doubtful in date as well as in substance. The
ideal philosopher merely vanished, and resumed his ideal existence
somewhere else for an indefinite period. It is characteristic of the contrast
perhaps that Apollonius was supposed to have lived to an almost miraculous
old age. Jesus of Nazareth was less prudent in his miracles. When Jesus was
brought before the judgment-seat of Pontius Pilate, he did not vanish. It was
the crisis and the goal; it was the hour and the power of darkness. It was the
supremely supernatural act, of all his miraculous life, that he did not vanish.
Every attempt to amplify that story has diminished it. The task has been
attempted by many men of real genius and eloquence as well as by only too
many vulgar sentimentalists and self-conscious rhetoricians. The tale has
been retold with patronising pathos by elegant sceptics and with fluent
enthusiasm by boisterous best-sellers. It will not be retold here. The
grinding power of the plain words of the Gospel story is like the power of
mill-stones; and those who can read them simply enough will feel as if
rocks had been rolled upon them. Criticism is only words about words; and
of what use are words about such words as these? What is the use of word-
painting about the dark garden filled suddenly with torchlight and furious
faces? ‘Are you come out with swords and staves as against a robber? All
day I sat in your temple teaching, and you took me not.’ Can anything be
added to the massive and gathered restraint of that irony; like a great wave
lifted to the sky and refusing to fall? ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for
me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.’ As the High Priest
asked what further need he had of witnesses, we might well ask what
further need we have of words. Peter in a panic repudiated him: ‘and
immediately the cock crew; and Jesus looked upon Peter, and Peter went
out and wept bitterly.’ Has any one any further remarks to offer? Just before
the murder he prayed for all the murderous race of men, saying, ‘They
know not what they do’; is there anything to say to that, except that we
know as little what we say? Is there any need to repeat and spin out the
story of how the tragedy trailed up the Via Dolorosa and how they threw
him in haphazard with two thieves in one of the ordinary batches of
execution; and how in all that horror and howling wilderness of desertion
one voice spoke in homage, a startling voice from the very last place where
it was looked for, the gibbet of the criminal; and he said to that nameless
ruffian, ‘This night shalt thou be with me in Paradise’? Is there anything to
put after that but a full-stop? Or is any one prepared to answer adequately
that farewell gesture to all flesh which created for his Mother a new Son?
It is more within my powers, and here more immediately to my purpose,
to point out that in that scene were symbolically gathered all the human
forces that have been vaguely sketched in this story. As kings and
philosophers and the popular element had been symbolically present at his
birth, so they were more practically concerned in his death; and with that
we come face to face with the essential fact to be realised. All the great
groups that stood about the Cross represent in one way or another the great
historical truth of the time; that the world could not save itself. Man could
do no more. Rome and Jerusalem and Athens and everything else were
going down like a sea turned into a slow cataract. Externally indeed the
ancient world was still at its strongest; it is always at that moment that the
inmost weakness begins. But in order to understand that weakness we must
repeat what has been said more than once: that it was not the weakness of a
thing originally weak. It was emphatically the strength of the world that was
turned to weakness, and the wisdom of the world that was turned to folly.
In this story of Good Friday it is the best things in the world that are at
their worst. That is what really shows us the world at its worst. It was, for
instance, the priests of a true monotheism and the soldiers of an
international civilisation. Rome, the legend, founded upon fallen Troy and
triumphant over fallen Carthage, had stood for a heroism which was the
nearest that any pagan ever came to chivalry. Rome had defended the
household gods and the human decencies against the ogres of Africa and the
hermaphrodite monstrosities of Greece. But in the lightning flash of this
incident, we see great Rome, the imperial republic, going downward under
her Lucretian doom. Scepticism has eaten away even the confident sanity of
the conquerors of the world. He who is enthroned to say what is justice can
only ask, ‘What is truth?’ So in that drama which decided the whole fate of
antiquity, one of the central figures is fixed in what seems the reverse of his
true rôle. Rome was almost another name for responsibility. Yet he stands
for ever as a sort of rocking statue of the irresponsible. Man could do no
more. Even the practical had become the impracticable. Standing between
the pillars of his own judgment-seat, a Roman had washed his hands of the
world.
There too were the priests of that pure and original truth that was behind
all the mythologies like the sky behind the clouds. It was the most
important truth in the world; and even that could not save the world.
Perhaps there is something overpowering in pure personal theism; like
seeing the sun and moon and sky come together to form one staring face.
Perhaps the truth is too tremendous when not broken by some
intermediaries, divine or human; perhaps it is merely too pure and far away.
Anyhow it could not save the world; it could not even convert the world.
There were philosophers who held it in its highest and noblest form; but
they not only could not convert the world, but they never tried. You could
no more fight the jungle of popular mythology with a private opinion than
you could clear away a forest with a pocket-knife. The Jewish priests had
guarded it jealously in the good and the bad sense. They had kept it as a
gigantic secret. As savage heroes might have kept the sun in a box, they
kept the Everlasting in the tabernacle. They were proud that they alone
could look upon the blinding sun of a single deity; and they did not know
that they had themselves gone blind. Since that day their representatives

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Goat 1st Edition Joy Hinson

Research in Medicine Planning a Project Writing a Thesis

Check Your English Vocabulary for Medicine 3rd Edition A &

Destroyer Leader H M S Faulknor 1935 1946 3rd Edition

Human Trafficking Interdisciplinary Perspectives Mary C.

Maternal Fetal Medicine 1st Edition Mary E. D’Alton

Global Banking 2nd Edition Roy C. Smith

Medicine 3rd Edition Irfan Masood

Mary C. Smith, DVM, Diplomate, ACT

David M. Sherman, DVM, MS, Diplomate, ACVIM

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cover Design: Wiley

Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by Straive, Pondicherry, India

Preface to the First Edition vi

1 Fundamentals of Goat Practice 1

Preface to the First Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the Third Edition

Fundamentals of Goat Practice

­Overview Use of Goats

Goat Medicine, Third Edition. Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman.

an odiferous compound identified as 6-­trans nonenal ­Handling Goats

Table 1.1 Goat diseases characterized by chronic infection or a carrier state.

Viral/prion Rickettsial Bacterial Protozoal Unknown

Special Considerations for Intensively Special Considerations for Organic

­Physical Examination unilateral facial paralysis, and blindness. Details on carry-

between a backbone condition score and changes in body-

Table 1.2 Some congenital and inherited abnormalities in goats.

Known inherited conditions Known acquired conditions Conditions of unclear status

Afibrinogenemia in Saanen goats Arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly Absence of hair

precautionary measure, particularly if the goat shows neu- Horns

Goat Medicine, Third Edition. Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman.

­ ormal Anatomy and Physiology

c­ ontrol. Fiber diameter increases with age and bodyweight.

Absence of Skin ●● Besnoitia dermatitis

●● Hyperpigmentation from exposure to sun

Etiology and Epidemiology

Diagnosis with anecdotal reports of faster healing. However, these

Therapy and Prevention

THE RIDDLES OF THE GOSPEL

To understand the nature of this chapter, it is necessary to recur to the

THE STRANGEST STORY IN THE WORLD

In the last chapter I have deliberately stressed what seems to be nowadays

Earth’s creeds may be seventy times seven

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Overview Use of Goats

an odiferous compound identified as 6-trans nonenal Handling Goats

Physical Examination unilateral facial paralysis, and blindness. Details on carry-

ormal Anatomy and Physiology

c ontrol. Fiber diameter increases with age and bodyweight.