Mortalidade perinatal de cabritos no Semi-Árido da Paraíba.

Abstract

The causes of perinatal kid mortality were studied from May 2002 to August 2004 in the semiarid of Paraíba. In 118 kids necropsied the frequency of the different causes of death was: neonatal infections (50%), distocia (12.71%), hypothermia/starvation (11.86%), malformations (7.62%), floppy kid (6.77%) and abortions (1.69%). In relation to the time of death, 1.69% of the kids died before parturition, 16.94% during the parturition and 81.34 % after birth. The high occurrence of neonatal infections, dystocias, and hypothermia/starvation is probably to due to factors related with error in the sanitary, reproductive and nutritional management. Arthrogryposis of the forelimbs was the main malformation observed. This defect is endemic in goats flocks in the semi-arid of Brazil. Most deaths occurred after birth (25.42%) and from the fourth and twentieth-eighth day of life (38.98%) suggesting that the care with the kids during the first 28 days of life is important to improve the rates of survival.