# Limp in pygmy goat



## positronic (Jun 21, 2011)

Our 12 year old pygmy goat doesn't put a lot of pressure on his right front leg.  I've checked his hoofs and trimmed them but cannot see anything that may be bothering him.  It started with it being barely noticable to where over 6 months he now prefers to keep his leg up though will run on it if needed.  Could it be arthritis or some other joint type problem?   I've put pressure on his hoof in various places and he doesn't react so I'm thinking the pain is in the knee or hip.


----------



## doxiemoxie (Jun 21, 2011)

Given his age and that his hooves seem ok I would suspect arthritis.  You can try giving him Banamine or another anti-inflammatory and see if it helps.  He'll probably need to be on several days to see much improvement.  If there isn't improvement you should consider a vet consult.  A worst case scenario would be a bone cancer. 

Before you treat him though you should carefully examine the leg and shoulder.  Slowly feel around his pastern on the injured side and then compare to the other leg.  Then move up further on the leg, feeling for swelling, heat or tenderness.  Keep going back and forth between both legs to compare and work your way all the way to the spine.  If you identify any trouble spots you'll be able to keep a better eye on it.

Also, if he gets to feeling better on the medication he might overuse the leg.  Make sure he can't jump up/down on anything.

Keep us posted on him, please!


----------



## Roll farms (Jun 21, 2011)

I'd be leery of giving a goat who's lived to that ripe old age anything that can do liver / kidney damage if given long-term.

Point being...it'll only help while he's on it (most vets recommend 2-3 days tops when an animal's been injured / is ill).

I'd be more tempted to try some of the many glucosamine / chondroitin (sp?) products for horses that could help 'from the inside' instead of masking the pain.

I do agree it's probably more to do w/ his advanced age / arthritis.


----------



## elevan (Jun 21, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I'd be leery of giving a goat who's lived to that ripe old age anything that can do liver / kidney damage if given long-term.
> 
> Point being...it'll only help while he's on it (most vets recommend 2-3 days tops when an animal's been injured / is ill).
> 
> ...


x2


----------



## positronic (Jun 22, 2011)

Thanks for the replies.  Right now he's bloated pretty bad (I think from eating too many maple leaves that my son fed him the other day) and we're giving him some Peptal Bismol and keeping him off feed.  But he still eats leaves off the ground even though he has a hard time breathing.  He's been distended now for about 30 hours with no change for the better or worse.  He did drink a lot of water about 2am last night.  Not sure if that was good for him as I read somewhere that water may cause more bloating.


----------



## Roll farms (Jun 22, 2011)

Baking soda.  Now.


----------



## positronic (Jun 24, 2011)

How do you get your goat to take baking soda?  Also, how much would you give for a pygmy goat, a tablespoon every 4 hours?  I mixed some with yogart and molasses and he ate it the first time but now he won't.  He's still bloated but isn't getting any worse and perhaps only slightly less bloated.


----------



## elevan (Jun 24, 2011)

positronic said:
			
		

> How do you get your goat to take baking soda?  Also, how much would you give for a pygmy goat, a tablespoon every 4 hours?  I mixed some with yogart and molasses and he ate it the first time but now he won't.  He's still bloated but isn't getting any worse and perhaps only slightly less bloated.


DON'T GIVE ANY MORE PEPTO - it's not good for goats and can make things worse.

A tablespoon of baking soda every 4-6 hours while bloated for a pygmy is fine.

Easiest way to give is to mix with some molasses and water and drench it (give orally)  You should probably add some mineral oil to that to break up the bubbles too.

Also try massaging (firmly) the left side of his abdomen for at least 15 minutes every hour.


----------



## positronic (Jul 9, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> positronic said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's been a few weeks and Dylan the goat has a good appetite but he still seems bloated, i.e., very firm everywhere in his midsection and left side sticks out slightly.  You mention that you can get a CD&T vaccination at a feed store.  If Dylan already has some bacterial infection would the vaccine help?  If not, how do you treat for that?   I'll have to check with our vet to see if they are able to test goat poop.  Based on the goat showing no symptoms now other than a bloated appearance, would you suspect parasites or bacteria?  Note - on first onset he did have difficulty breathing and was listless.  We had kept him off food for 4 or 5 days (except for leaves he could find on the ground), gave him baking soda mix and peptal-bismol and tubed him (which didn't release much air that I noticed).  Otherwise for the last two weeks we haven't done anything different and let him graze and eat oats with no apparent change.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Jul 9, 2011)

At his age, I wouldn't be guessing on wormers, I would do a fecal. I can't imagine a vet not being able to do a fecal.  He is 12 years old.  I am not sure vaccinating at this point would be helpful. there is a medicine called C&D antitoxin, it is used when the vaccine fails to work, It is a good treatment for overeating disease and the bacteria that causes it.  This is something you could talk to a vet about.  But you do not need a perscription for it.  It can be a little hard to find.  



Wormers that you may wish to consider: 

A good gentle wormer is either safegaurd wormer, it is also known as panacur horse wormer, the active ingredience is fenbendezole. and whether you get the liguid safegaurd for sheep or the panacur horse paste wormer, you should give 3 x the label dosage.  

or

Another good gentle wormer would be an ivermectin wormer, There are horse womers that have 1.87 % ivermectin in them, this would be an okay wormer. and probably the best deal for just one goat, a tube should cost around 3 or 4 dollars.  I would give him 3x the amount for a horse, so if he weighs 50lbs give him the amount for a 150lb horse.


I don't see were worming him would hurt anything, goats get wormed all the time. 

What do you all think???? 

If I am following this thread properly, this is the same goat that is know limping???


----------



## positronic (Jul 12, 2011)

Thank you for the information on the wormer's, I'll call around and see if I can find one.  

Yes, this is the same limpy goat.  There isn't any obvsious differences between front legs so am assuming he has arthritis which has progressively gotten worse over the last year.   If he has to run or get somewhere quick he'll use it otherwise he'll barely put any pressure on it.


----------

