I have a nubian doe that I have had for 4 years this spring that was suposed to have been "around 6" when I got her.Her kidding record with me has been a live doe each of the first 2 years and then a buck that I had to have put down because of ruptured navel last spring. She weighs 165 lbs and gets almost no exercise..put out in her yard she hollers untill I let her back in her stall(10ft by8ft). She gets all the good hay(not alfalfa) she will eat and about a quart of commercial goat feed a day...bread and apples as treats and not every day...browse in season as I cut it;everything from roses to fruit tree prunings,oak tree tops and even the occasional hunk of pine. I noticed tha about a month ago she started to kneel to eat her grain and moved with difficulty. I trimmed all 4 feet and checked for foot rot first thing. There was none and her back legs do not seem to bother her. Appatite is fine, droppings normal and today she is bouncing around like she does as she goes into heat(she is not bred as I could not find a buck and after she developed the problem decided not to breed in case it would be too hard on her)...I need opinions on what her problem is..could it be gout?,artheritis?,lack of something in her diet?age and stiffness from lack of exercise? She is now my only goat, Vicki from texas, may remember all the troubles I had last spring;lost 3 kids and had to put down my other doe and this doe had a cancer removed from her eye.Was thinking about more goats but need to resolve heath issues first, any help appreciated!

-- Bee White (bee@hereintown.net), February 09, 2002

Answers

She is getting old. YOu could try DMSO and other stuff, but the fact is that we all get old and stiff if we live long enough. If the discomfort becomes such that she is in pain more often than not, you should have her put down. I know this is hard, but we need to keep in mind that they will just suffer along day after day otherwise. The bright side of this is that spring is coming, and with the warm weather, she should perk up and get to feeling better. This may be why she seems worse on some days.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 09, 2002.

Hi Bee, My oldest doe was 8 when she went down in her rear pasterns. When she was having problems with her rear feet, she would walk very little, and actually acted much older at 8 than she does now at 12 next month. I had used Glucosomine and chondroiton on our CAE positive does years back, so started her on the same thing with added MSM to it. I buy the product in jeffersequine.com it is a poweder that I sprinkle on her feed, though this last week I just got in the bio-flex that is a liquid I sprinkle on her feed. It has made all the difference in her, though she is down on her dewclaws, she is still herd boss, keeps in really good weight for her age, and still is able to kid eaisly each year. She follows the herd out ot eat in the woods everyday, except if the ground is soggy. We live in the National Forest and the ground under the pinestraw probably gives as she walks. Your doe is way to old to worry about anything like CAE etc. Just keep her feet trimmed monthly, put her on a supplement, and be kind if she starts to fail further. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 09, 2002.