Respiratory Disease in Dairy Goats

[@erikmartin3238]

Would it work to listen to the lungs with a stethoscope like it does with cattle?

[@ISUExtensionDairy]

Reply from Dr. Krueder: Yes, you can absolutely listen to the lungs in goats just like you can in cattle. The challenge is that the data suggests we (vets included) aren’t very good at using this tool to accurately identify clinical acute respiratory disease. As a general rule, if you hear abnormal lung sounds (anything other than normal breath sounds on inspiration which is the active phase, and a quite expiration phase, which is passive), that would indicate the potential for disease; a lack of sounds on inspiration is also abnormal. Used in combination with attitude scoring, scoring for other respiratory signs, and an abnormal body temperature, abnormal lung sounds would be another indication for treatment. However, if you do not hear abnormal lungs sounds but all of the other indicators are present, I would not use that as a reason to avoid treatment - the data shows we miss animals that would have benefited from treatment otherwise. Because of the complexities of this, for producers we often do not include lung auscultation in our scoring systems.