I tested all of my goats for CAE and got the results the other day. The main reason why I tested is because I was worried about our little nigi buckling (8 months old) since december he has been looking very stiff in the hind quarters, with it very slowly getting more obvious. His little bouts seem to be caused by increased stress or excitement, the other day when I was bringing hay he took afew steps and then all of a sudden flopped on the ground with his legs straight out. It looks just like a fainter goat when he does this. Most of the time its not as extreme as that. Anyway, the results for him were 15% inhibition, he is also housed with another buck that he has been around since Nov. that is 2% inhibition. If he had CAE wouldn't his buck buddy be more than 2%? I don't know what to think because I'm pretty new to goats and I'm not sure what the time frame would be for the cae test to show a higher inhibition %. :? The tests were done by biotracking.
what breed of goat is this buckling? it really sounds like he has the myotonic gene. CAE isnt passed from goat to goat except through the colostrum from mom to kid or blood to blood contact.
Thankyou for the reply! He is a reg. Nigerian. That is very relieving, I thought I saw somewhere that it could be transmitted by sneezing on another goat, but I was too worried about housing them alone because of stress issues. About the gene, is it like a recessive in goats or something? Thanks again!
i agree with stacey, sounds like myotonia... which if it is you don't want to breed it into the nigerians
Sounds like myotonia.... he can be wethered at 8 months of age. Another thought might be deer worm though.... does he seem to lose the ability to hold his back legs up (like weakness).... or do they stiffen and then he tips over?
myfainters has a good point also I have heard of a selenium deficiency that can cause this kind of stiffening
His back legs are not always weak, he walks around with a stiff gait when he gets his hay, when he is head butted or if I have to catch him (he's not very friendly)Sometimes when I need to catch him it seems like his legs just give out--they seem to go stiff. But most the time he can run around without any complications. If it were worms or selenium would it be selective like that? Is the gene like a fluke thing with nigerians? Or is it something that is quite common? Would his sibling have it also? He is from really good lines, so now I'm a bit apprehensive about getting more into nigerians..
