Sadly, one of my wethers has injured what looks like his left hind. He is often T-boned by his brother and has been on meloxicam 3x this year already for going down hard on his knees and lameness on the front end. His brother hit him again yesterday and he has not been able to lay down since, he tries and is able to go down on his knees but he cannot do the final "plop" of his hind end. He has been standing, walking, shifting weight etc for over 24 hours now. He got a dose of meloxicam this AM and will cont for another 6 days. So far he is eating, drinking, urinating and pooping normal. Temp 102. Walking very stiff and sore but is putting weight on all 4 legs, able to balance and scratch face with hind feet, etc. He has very thick chaps so it is hard to palpate his hind end and he generally not thrilled with this on a good day, but no obvious breaks or dislocations.
Vet is "on call" if he not better after a few days but wanted to know if anyone else has encountered this and if I need to rig something up to help him rest? If I am out in the barnyard he will not lay down so trying to leave him be. We have cameras and can see he did not lay down at all today and is not laying down now (10pm EST) with his brothers. I cannot find any information online about how long goats can go without laying down and what other problems might arise as a result. Any info or experience with this? Thank you
Vet is "on call" if he not better after a few days but wanted to know if anyone else has encountered this and if I need to rig something up to help him rest? If I am out in the barnyard he will not lay down so trying to leave him be. We have cameras and can see he did not lay down at all today and is not laying down now (10pm EST) with his brothers. I cannot find any information online about how long goats can go without laying down and what other problems might arise as a result. Any info or experience with this? Thank you