[citygoat]

i went to look at a nanny goat today and the first thing that i noticed was that he joints sounded like bubble wrap when she walked. she moved fine. her legs and joints did not feel swollen and moved freely. what could this be?
Another question is how do you tell how old a goat is? the guy wasn't sure about her age he got her from the auction.

 

[enjoytheride]

Hi- my does have popping joints sometime too.
But I have to mention that getting a goat from an auction, even second hand, is risky- a lot of goats end there becasue they have something wrong. Many are OK but still...............

Teeth can help age a goat- there are lots of websites with this info- I think Fias Co Farms has a section on this.

 

[liz]

My Nigi/pygmy doe who turns 8 years in 5 days started " joint crunching/popping" when she turned 6 years...I simply attributed it to the extra weight she had been carrying with each pregnancy, she's healthy otherwise. As far as age goes, if she is horned SOMETIMES you can tell by the size and length of the horns, most times you go by the bottom front teeth...there would be 8 teeth in the front bottom of the mouth if they are long, stained or worn looking the goat is over 4 years old, if you see that the middle six look different than the outer 2 then the goat is around 3 years...if there are not 8 teeth and they look worn and longish..the goat is older than 8 years. Really good if you have a goat and know exactly how old it is to do a comparison...baby teeth erupt from birth to a year of age then with each birthday up to 4 years old they get their permanent teeth.( this includes the molars...top and bottom)

I know that sometimes it's really hard to pass up "auction barn rescues" but most of the time the goats that are passed thru there are the goats that didn't do well with kidding or are culled from their herd for other reasons, this is entirely up to you if you want to bring a possibly diseased goat to your property and possibly infect the area and make it bad for healthy goats, sometimes sale barns are great and other times it's best to purchase from a reputable breeder.

 

[citygoat]

she is weaning two kids right now so i guess she kids alright. she does have an ear tag but i guess that wont tell me anything. i did look at her teeth but did not count them. they did look a little yellow though. her horns are pretty long. he said that he is going to keep her until she weans the kids so i was thinking of having her vaccinated while she was there. she is a freebie. he bought them all as a lot b/c his grandson wanted to raise the kids. he heard that i was looking for a nanny and said that i could have her. he wants to keep the "pretty" one. she is all white with very little light brown and he likes color.

 

[sparks879]

I have several does who "pop" even ones that are only yearlings. I had a very experienced breeder tell me its from the tendon in their knees sliding over the joint. its nothing to worry about.
beth