Joined
·
20 Posts
Hi, I do not raise goats, or any other animals. We just have 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats as our pets and we love them with all of our hearts. They have basic backyard they share with our dogs and everyone gets along great. We've had them since they were 1 month old and they are now 4 1/2 years old.
One of of goats, his name is Andy, was limping, and noticeably, not putting any pressure on his back leg. He likes to try and reach a specific tree's leaves in our yard and they've eaten up so much of it that it is now a challenge for them to reach! He has been known to stand on his tippy toes, like a ballerina, and even, literally, balance on a barrel that we have, in order to reach these leaves. So, I figured he was pulling one of these stunts and injured his leg. I watched him, he rested a lot, but progressively started putting pressure on his leg again, until he was once again walking normal. This all happened over the course of about 4 days - 4 days being when he seemed to be walking normal again.
Then, this morning, maybe today is like day 6 or so-ish, I broke off some of his favorite leaves from that tree and he tried to eat it, but he actually didn't open his mouth. This was super odd since him and our other goat usually fight over who gets it first. He put his lips on it, but he appeared to be unable to open his mouth to eat it? Then his eyes looked off ... they arent red or anything, but they almost look to be rolling back a little, but they go back to a more normal look. They don't continue rolling. I'm hearing some grinding from his teeth too. I can't get a good look at his hoof that was limping, because it's just me and he is STRONG and bucking his back legs really aggressively. I can't hold on. I saw him urinate today, once. I haven't been watching constantly, but while outside with him, he did pee. I have not seen him drink or eat today.
I should note that he's been eating and, therefore I'm assuming, drinking, fine over the last week, even with the injured leg while he was limping. What I am confused about is if he has a wound on his hoof, that caused the limping, that may have caused tetanus (?) or something -- thinking of lockjaw? -- then wouldn't he still be limping? This is why I thought he was fine because he was limping, but eating and drinking fine, then stopped limping and was eating and drinking fine (as far as I noticed) but now .. he seems to be walking fine, but not eating or drinking. He's definitely not himself. His breathing even looks shallow by the in and out motions of his belly.
I have him booked with our vet at 330 today.
Does anyone have any suggestions or input on this? The other goat had urinary calculi years ago and the vet wanted to put him down .. long story short, through the help of previous posters on this forum, I was able to gather all the medications they recommended and SAVE my goat. He's doing fantastic and that was years ago. I am terrified of a vet telling me to put down our pet when there may be a way to save him.
Thank you in advance .. Carre.
One of of goats, his name is Andy, was limping, and noticeably, not putting any pressure on his back leg. He likes to try and reach a specific tree's leaves in our yard and they've eaten up so much of it that it is now a challenge for them to reach! He has been known to stand on his tippy toes, like a ballerina, and even, literally, balance on a barrel that we have, in order to reach these leaves. So, I figured he was pulling one of these stunts and injured his leg. I watched him, he rested a lot, but progressively started putting pressure on his leg again, until he was once again walking normal. This all happened over the course of about 4 days - 4 days being when he seemed to be walking normal again.
Then, this morning, maybe today is like day 6 or so-ish, I broke off some of his favorite leaves from that tree and he tried to eat it, but he actually didn't open his mouth. This was super odd since him and our other goat usually fight over who gets it first. He put his lips on it, but he appeared to be unable to open his mouth to eat it? Then his eyes looked off ... they arent red or anything, but they almost look to be rolling back a little, but they go back to a more normal look. They don't continue rolling. I'm hearing some grinding from his teeth too. I can't get a good look at his hoof that was limping, because it's just me and he is STRONG and bucking his back legs really aggressively. I can't hold on. I saw him urinate today, once. I haven't been watching constantly, but while outside with him, he did pee. I have not seen him drink or eat today.
I should note that he's been eating and, therefore I'm assuming, drinking, fine over the last week, even with the injured leg while he was limping. What I am confused about is if he has a wound on his hoof, that caused the limping, that may have caused tetanus (?) or something -- thinking of lockjaw? -- then wouldn't he still be limping? This is why I thought he was fine because he was limping, but eating and drinking fine, then stopped limping and was eating and drinking fine (as far as I noticed) but now .. he seems to be walking fine, but not eating or drinking. He's definitely not himself. His breathing even looks shallow by the in and out motions of his belly.
I have him booked with our vet at 330 today.
Does anyone have any suggestions or input on this? The other goat had urinary calculi years ago and the vet wanted to put him down .. long story short, through the help of previous posters on this forum, I was able to gather all the medications they recommended and SAVE my goat. He's doing fantastic and that was years ago. I am terrified of a vet telling me to put down our pet when there may be a way to save him.
Thank you in advance .. Carre.
Hope Andy will feel secure there, among strangers. :hug:
