Help with goat leg problem please.

zukgod · #1 02/20/15, 08:12 PM

We have a La mancha female goat with a rear leg issue. She is around 9-10 years old, and she is having trouble with one of her rear legs. We had a Vet look at her and say she didn't know what was wrong, other than the muscle would not relax in her leg. She doesn't use the leg much at all, and won't put really any pressure on the leg. We don't know what happened, she is now our only goat, and only large animal. We had 3 goats, but they have passed on as they got older.
We just cannot figure out what's going on, and feel horrible we have not been able to help her. It's been going on for about 2 months. I have checked everything, her hooves are in good shape, I don't feel any heat coming from any joint. Like I said the vet only said that the muscle is not relaxing. We have an appointment Monday to take her into the vet for X ray's, but would like some other opinions, as this vet has had 2 put our other 2 goats down due to problems that were not able to be fixed. Thank you for taking the time.

zukgod · #2 02/21/15, 08:02 PM

Does anyone have anything they might be able to help me with? I would greatly appreciate any questions or idea's.

mekasmom · #3 02/21/15, 08:13 PM

Could she have tetanus? I know people think more of "lock jaw" for the disease, but it does affect leg muscles like that. It might be something else, but that would be a possibility.

mekasmom · #4 02/21/15, 08:17 PM

I just wanted to add links about tetanus. I use to help at a vet's office, and this was one of the symptoms of the disease. It wasn't super common, but I did see them treating it in goats.

https://www.google.com/search?q=goat...etanus&spell=1

Alice In TX/MO · #5 02/21/15, 08:31 PM

Just to cover all the bases, but I think the time frame is WAAYYY too long, treat her for meningeal worm. Won't hurt anything.

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/ar...ngealworm.html

zukgod · #6 02/21/15, 10:22 PM

Thank you both, we really appreciate the idea's and will look into them both. We will try anything at this point. We just looked into our records, and she is older than I though at 12 years old. She is getting up in age, both of her siblings have already passed on. Thank you again, if anyone else thinks of anything please keep em coming.

Alice In TX/MO · #7 02/21/15, 10:27 PM

She may just be old and have arthritis.

zukgod · #8 02/22/15, 12:29 AM

She definitely has arthritis, but her right rear leg muscle will not release at all. It's like it's in a continuous cramp, which has to be terribly painful. But she does not act like she is in pain. When it's cold and damp she does not want to move around much though. She also is having a problem holding herself up when going to the bathroom, due to only one leg working right. I feel horrible for her. Thanks everyone.

motdaugrnds · #9 02/22/15, 07:35 AM

If she were mine, I'd simply keep her warm and add a little "Supra-Flex" (I believe that is what it is called. It is a ligament supplement for horses.) When my herd buck...up in years...was walking with back legs rather stiff, I would pour a little of this over his grain each day and I could tell it did help with flexibility....

Pony · #10 02/22/15, 03:09 PM

My thoughts are meningeal worm and arthritis.

Of course, since we've recently had meningeal here, it's on my mind. Did your gal have any strange lesions on her skin? Is she showing any other neuro signs?

Still, as Alice said, it's not going to hurt to treat for MW - and it may help.

Treating for arthritis, considering her age, is a good idea, too.

I'm sorry she's doing poorly, and look forward to updates on her progress.

zukgod · #11 02/22/15, 08:43 PM

Thank you everyone, we will keep you in the loop. We plan to treat her for the MW and for the Arthritis, and check into the tetanus. She is my wife's baby and we really want to make her as comfortable as possible. Does anyone know what the average life expectancy of a medium sized goat might be?