When a coccidiosis outbreak begins, only good sanitation and isolation of sick animals will prevent its spread through the herd. It is this damage, the destruction of cells lining the intestines and damage to tissues, which give rise to the signs of coccidiosis. Sick, young and stressed goats (weaning is extremely stressful on kids) are more susceptible and in these cases the coccidia may proliferate. Then the sporocysts invade the intestinal cells and undergo several changes. ![]() Upon ingestion by other goats, these infective forms (sporocysts) pass through the stomach and into the intestines. In the presence of appropriate temperature, moisture and oxygen, coccidia eggs (oocysts) passed in the feces "hatch" (technically referred to as sporulation) and become infective in two to several days and can readily contaminate feed and water. In general, if the animals do not show any clinical signs (diarrhea, etc.), the infection is probably not significant. Feces may, for example, contain a high number of nonpathogenic coccidia eggs, or a low number of more pathogenic coccidia eggs. There are many different species of coccidia, some being non-pathogenic, and others being either mildly, moderately, or severely pathogenic. Therefore, the number of coccidia that invade the intestines will determine the severity of the infection. When present in small numbers, coccidia normally are not a problem. The very small eggs or oocysts passed in the feces of adult goats hatch in the environment and goats pick up the infective stages of the coccidian either directly from the manure or in contaminated feed and water. Nearly all (or most) adult goats carry coccidia in their intestines. Coccidiosis commonly strikes young goats shortly after weaning because of the stress of being suddenly separated from their dam. This is especially true when goats are housed in confinement. ![]() This may cause diarrhea and other signs of the disease coccidiosis.Ĭoccidiosis is the most common cause of diarrhea in goats between 3 weeks and 5 months of age. In the process of growth and multiplication in the goat intestinal epithelial cells, the coccidia may destroy many intestinal cells. In the process, they produce large numbers of eggs (technically called oocysts) that are passed in the feces. Coccidia go through a complex "life cycle" in the intestinal cells of goats. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.What Is Coccidiosis? Skip to What Is Coccidiosis?Ĭoccidiosis is caused by microscopic protozoan parasites called coccidian (Eimeria spp.). This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. And after about two weeks, they called us up and said, come and get him.īLOCK: You can hear other sound clips, and learn how you can submit yours at our Web page, NPR.org.Ĭopyright © 2006 NPR. KOHART: One time, he was driving me crazy to the point where I talked my neighbor into taking it. KOHART: Destroyed the cart, and that was the end of it. But we got the - finally got him trained and hooked up the cart to him, and he took one look at it and took around the barnyard and crashed it into the oak tree. He's a Nubian, and Nubian goats - that's a typical sound that the make - they're kind of crybabies. KOHART: Rutherford pushes 200 pounds - he's a big goat. KOHART: We're always half scared that the neighbors think that we're torturing someone down here, because he carries on and bellows until somebody finally feeds him. ![]() Rutherford is - you can hear, it makes a rather unique sound. We're owners of a hobby farm here, where we live. GEORGIA KOHART (Sound Clip Sender): I'm Georgia Kohart. TIM KOHART (Sound Clip Sender): I'm Tim Kohart Here is one that might be considered part of the later category as part of our Sound Clip Series. We've been asking our listeners to send us the sounds they hear in their lives, be they beautiful, or not so beautiful.
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