Goat's rear end trembling?

[Fainting goats]

This morning when I went out to feed, I noticed my buck's back end shaking. It wasn't shaking violently, but it was definitely trembling and seemed to get worse when he stepped. His front end is just fine, and he is eating fine, too. He is a myotonic goat, but I do not think this has anything to do with myotonia, as he has never stiffened in his life. All the other goats seem fine. The does aren't in heat, so it wasn't that he was getting excited about that. And it's in the mid-forties right now, so he shouldn't be shaking from cold. Any ideas??

 

[Queen Mum]

Selenium, copper, minerals? Check gums and eyelids for anemia. Check his temperature to see if he is running a fever. Start him on a drench. What does his tail look like?

 

[elevan]

Just throwing this out there...for those who have experience with it...Could this be the beginning of a Meningeal worm infection?

Definitely do the checks that Queen Mum suggested and let us know what his temp is and how his eyelids look.

Is he scouring (diarrhea)?

What are you feeding?

Are there loose minerals available?

Is he on pasture or dry lotted?

We definitely need a little bit more information to try to help.

 

[doxiemoxie]

As Queen mum said. Also, check for rumen activity: at least a good roll every 30 seconds (someone correct me if you know better than I on the frequency). And, if he'll let you, run your hands along his back, belly, and down each leg and around his scrotum to see if he reacts painfully or if you feel any inflammation. Check his hooves for cracks, rot or a stone or sticker causing problems. It's possible the shaking is a pain reaction.

That he's still happy to eat is a good sign, but goats can turn very quickly. Keep us posted on how he's doing.

 

[Fainting goats]

I just checked in on him- he was not shaking when I went out. His tail was down at first, and he was either gritting his teeth or chewing cud. I was waiting to see if he would swallow and bring up more cud, when he decided to pee on his face, so I still don't know if it was cud or not. He pooped twice, they were both normal. At this point, his tail came back up. His upper lip was a little purple, but he yawned and the inside of his mouth was light pink. His lower eyelid was a pinkish-red, too. I have yet to get out there with a thermometer. I'll check his hooves too- he's been in rut so I've tried not to touch him much, so I haven't trimmed his hooves for a few months. Now that I already smell wonderful to all does in the area, I'll do buck care today.
I feed bermuda grass hay, a little alfalfa chaffhaye, and some chicken scratch grains (the last bag of goat grain had cottonseed meal in it, which will make a buck infertile, so I cannot feed it to him). He has a mineral block that he has free access to, but I have not seen him lick it recently - he likes to use it as a climbing structure instead. Elevan- what is pasture and dry lotted? We keep him in a small pen with his whether friend (who he usually shoves away from his feeder at dinner time, but has been more relaxed about sharing his food for the past few days), and we let the two out to run around the yard every so often, if that is what you mean. Thank you!

 

[elevan]

Dry lotted = no grass, weeds, browse. Just a dirt pen and you provide all feed sources. They cannot find any on their own.

Pasture = grass, weeds, browse. They can find some food on their own even if you provide the majority.

 

[Fainting goats]

Yes, we are dry lotted. There isn't any browse to be found on the property anyway, we didn't get our monsoons this year.

 

[cmjust0]

Here's a crazy thought...was he cold?

 

[elevan]

Here's a crazy thought...was he cold?

In mid 40* temps? I suppose so but my goats don't shiver until we hit the teens.

 

[ksalvagno]

I have had cold shaking goats on cold rainy days that are shivering so I would think that it could be possible.