Raising livestock can be difficult, especially when something isn’t quite right. It can be overwhelming to deal with sick animals who don’t seem to be eating or can’t open their mouths at all. And when it comes to goats, there can be multiple reasons why they can’t move their mouths.
“Lockjaw” is a symptom in goats (and other animals) that prevents them from opening their mouths, and it is most commonly caused by tetanus. Lockjaw in goats can also be caused by facial paralysis, which can be caused by other diseases or from headbutting.
Unfortunately, goats are at constant risk of getting tetanus. Keep reading to see the causes, symptoms, and learn how to treat your goat if you notice them going around with lockjaw. If your pretty sure your goat doesn’t have tetanus, scroll to the bottom to see other causes of lockjaw.
How do goats get Tetanus?
Tetanus is caused by a toxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium tetani. This bacteria can be found in the dirt, dust, feces, and on the goat’s skin. Most people think that tetanus can only be transferred if someone is cut with a rusty nail, but that isn’t the case. Tetanus will enter the skin any way it can, whether it be from a cut by a rusty nail or from any other open wound. This means that goats can get tetanus for a bunch of different reasons.
Goats are active livestock, so they’ll likely encounter situations daily that can give them tetanus. It’s not great to think about, but it’s good to know beforehand how goats can get tetanus, so you know how to protect them from it.
Cuts will open the door for tetanus bacteria to slide right into the bloodstream. Cuts from anything, whether it be from hay, a loose wire, or another animal (maybe another goat or farm dog) are breeding grounds for this disease. Tetanus can also enter the bloodstream if a goat has been cut during surgical operations, castration, dehorning, strenuous kidding (giving birth), or even hoof trimming. A good way to avoid tetanus exposure during dehorning is to either avoid dehorning entirely or to disbud a baby goat early on using a burning iron. That way, you won’t have to dehorn them later.
Symptoms of Tetanus
It’s important to note the early symptoms of tetanus in goats, so you can catch it quickly and start treatment as soon as possible. Early signs of tetanus in goats include stiff limbs, ears, or stiffness in the body overall. Some call it the “sawhorse stance,” which, according to the School of Veterinary Medicine, is when an animal stands “with the front feet stretched out in front to alleviate pressure on the toes and the hind feet “camped out” or positioned farther back than normal to bear more weight.”
The later progressive symptoms are more serious, but that also means they’re easier to spot. At this point in the progression of the disease, the goat won’t be able to move (which includes eating or drinking), they’ll have a high pulse rate, they might collapse totally when startled, and it’s likely that they’ll start having seizures. They can also have lockjaw and they usually have saliva dripping due to their inability to move their mouth.
Main symptoms of tetanus include:
- stiffness
- immobility
- lack of coordination
- can’t eat or drink
- can’t open their mouth (lockjaw)
- prickled ears
- hyperresponsive to stimuli
- prolapsed third eyelid
- seizures or spasms
- high pulse rate
- leaky mouth (saliva)
Some of these symptoms are also common in the disease known as Listeriosis, which is discussed in greater detail below. Tetanus is a horrible, fast-acting disease, so try and keep a wary eye open if your goat is suddenly immobile or can’t open their mouth for seemingly no reason at all.
Treatment for Tetanus
Unfortunately, tetanus isn’t a very forgiving disease. The clear signs of the disease (stiffness, immobility, lockjaw) generally show up three weeks after the initial infection, and by the time the disease has shown itself, it’s usually too late. Once the disease has been around for long enough to show apparent signs, the goat will usually last a few more days (with progressively worse symptoms) before dying.
The best treatment for tetanus is to prevent it with tetanus shots. And yes, they definitely make tetanus shots for goats. These shots have a slight chance of giving the goats anaphylactic shock, which rarely is fatal, and usually, the shock wears off after a short while. It’s a small price to pay; either give the goat a few short moments of panic (which are rarely, if ever, fatal, and bad reactions to the shot are extremely rare in the first place) or take the risk that the tetanus bacteria lurking on their skin will find an easy way into their bloodstream.
But if the vaccine wasn’t given to the goat, and now they’re displaying extreme signs of the disease, not all hope is lost. Treatment is super expensive (and time-consuming) but it can be done. Call your vet and let them know that your goat is infected with tetanus before they arrive for the appointment, so they’ll have all the shots they need with them. The vet will probably inject the infected goat with large dosages of antibiotics, pain killers, and anti-toxins specific to tetanus.
Another thing you can do on your own to treat the disease is to try and locate the tetanus infection site yourself. If you can find it (or if you find any cuts on the goat in general), open it up and flush it out with antiseptics. Unfortunately, there’s no one-hundred percent guaranteed way to heal a goat who has tetanus. Just do what you can, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.
And although you can’t know for sure if one of your goats will be okay, you can move to protect the rest of the herd. Quarantining the sick goat will keep it from spreading the infection to others, and while you’re at it, you can make sure the rest of the herd is vaccinated. You can also start looking out for wounds on your other goats and treating them immediately with antibiotics to keep an infection from cultivating.
Other Causes of Lockjaw
Tetanus is really the main reason for lockjaw. No other diseases in goats cause this direct symptom, so the only other possible explanation is facial paralysis. If your goat is trying to move its face and eating somewhat, but acting like it hurts, there’s a high chance that their face is paralyzed.
Facial paralysis has two main causes. Either the goat has bruised and busted up their own face from having just a little too much fun head-butting their friends, or they have another bacterial infection known as Listeriosis. If it’s the first one, they’ll heal in a few days. But the second option isn’t great. It is a disease caused by the bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes, which is found in livestock fodder, soil, and feces.
A good way to protect your livestock from this disease is to make sure their food (either hay or silage) is fresh and tightly compact, so it will have less of a chance of rotting. Keeping the food stations cleaned regularly is also a good idea. Listeriosis usually only becomes a problem when the hay/fodder is spoiled or rotten, but it can infect livestock even in clean conditions since this bacteria is common in the soil.
Symptoms of Listeriosis include:
- full or partial facial paralysis
- depression
- loss of appetite
- circling
- high fever
- red tissue around the eyes
- leaking saliva
- lying down and fits (when near death)
To learn more about Listeriosis in your herd (and learn about possible treatments/quarantining), check out NC State’s website.
What to do if you can’t tell if your goat has Listeriosis or tetanus? Well, one of the main ways to tell the difference between the two is to take note of how clean their feeding stations are. Check to see if their feed is old or rotten. If the habitat and food dispenser for your goats is constantly cleaned, and the feed is kept tightly packed (so that no air is seeping in and rotting it quicker), then there’s a very low chance that the goats are sick with Listeriosis. But if their living space and food aren’t so clean…they probably were infected with Listeriosis. Keeping things clean isn’t just important for humans; it’s a good way to keep any and all living creatures from being infected with any number of invisible diseases.
If your goat has gotten cut recently that you can see, they probably have tetanus. Like we mentioned earlier, it doesn’t matter if the cut was caused by rusty metal; any scrape in the skin is an open door for Clostridium tetani. Also, tetanus gives goats lockjaw, while Listeriosis gives them partial facial paralysis. The difference is slight, but it’s there. Goats with partial facial paralysis will be able to eat somewhat, but goats with lockjaw can’t open their mouths at all.