The Prevalence of goat diseases at Bindura University goat farm

Author

Marara, Shiellah

Title

The Prevalence of goat diseases at Bindura University goat farm

Abstract

A stratified single-visit multiple-subject, formal survey was carried out to establish the prevalence of goat diseases at the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) goat farm. A survey was conducted at the goat farm covering January to June 2022 to gather data. This study found that out of a population of 233 goats, infection rate was as follows: Goat pox (31 goats), GID (16 goats), heart water (14 goats), pneumonia (9 goats), coccidiosis (3 goats) and bloat (1 goat). This translated to mean that 31% of the total goats at one point during the period under study got infected by a disease. The results also found that cross breeds had the greatest infection rates across species at the university farm. Nevertheless, their occurrence in this location was heavily influenced by predisposing factors such as humid circumstances and a huge production system. Other small ruminant diseases are widespread but not as prevalent as those mentioned above. The study recommends that farmers should provide a steady supply of food to prevent nutritional stress, and help animals that are more vulnerable to disease by feeding them a diet high in protein. Also there is need for farmers to be educated on the need for recordkeeping to collect data on production and the prevalence of diseases as most communal farmers reported disease symptoms but not the diseases themselves due to a lack of access to veterinary extension from the government. Likewise, the quality of cross-goat breeds needs to be improved by instituting genetic pool control to develop a more robust breed that is more resistant to diseases.

Date

June 2024

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Small ruminant diseases

Animal health management

Goat production

Supervisor

Dr P. Chatikobo