Mortality and morbidity pattern in goats under organized farm conditions of Kerala

A study was undertaken to find out the morbidity and mortality pattern in the goat population of Kerala. Factors such as cause, age, sex, breed, season and year were included in the study. Data were collected from 3925 goats maintained at The Goat and Sheep Farm, KVASU, Mannuthy for six years from 2011 to 2017 to assess the effect of different factors. Data pertaining to 2649 goats from 2013 to 2017 were analysed to find out the morbidity pattern among goats. The overall mortality rate was 11.76 per cent. Among the various causes of mortality, the results of this study indicated that mortality due to enteritis was the highest (40.60 %) followed by that due to pneumonia (22.88%) and acidosis (10.40%). The effect of age, season, sex and year on goat mortality were significant (p<0.05). Mortality was the highest in the age group of 0.-3 months followed by 3-6 months. The incidence of mortality rates were 4.67, 5.09 5.27 and 5.26 per cent in pre-monsoon, south-west monsoon, post-monsoon and winter respectively. Mortality was more in females (64.11%) than males. Mortality was highest in cross bred goats followed by Malabari and Attappady black, but not significant. The proportional morbidity due to foot rot was the highest (35.28%) followed by enteritis (16.03%) and orf (7.65%). Highest morbidity was observed during south west monsoon (45.55%) followed by post monsoon (21.98%) and pre monsoon (18.14%). The results of this study suggest that proper management during first three months of age especially during south west monsoon was critical to minimise mortality among goats.