Goat breathing heavy and clumsy

[Birdsong 82]

This evening I noticed My oldest goat Lucy breathing extremely heavy and not wanting to eat any grass or brush or anything and standing off by herself. (9 yrs old boer.) When she squat down to P she fell. And she’s walking with her back legs wide open but just kind of wants to stand by herself . But she’s breathing extremely heavy which is worrying
It’s almost like she’s struggling to stand at times. Any thoughts? I’m really worried. She seemed fine earlier today

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Sorry I can't help you with this. You'll most likely get more and better help here: BackYardHerds.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Congestive heart failure? My last goat who was 12 years old seemed fine then suddenly fell, couldn't hold himself upright with is back legs, and was breathing very heavily. The vet thinks he had congestive heart failure and we put him down.

 

[Birdsong 82]

of course she hast to start feeling this way Saturday night on an holiday weekend. But that’s how that works right? I’m hoping that’s not the case but she is getting older and I knew one day I was going to face something serious with her. But her babies which are no longer babies are still glued to her and she’s very special to my daughter. It’s hard enough to get a vet during the week so I really don’t know about this weekend.

Congestive heart failure? My last goat who was 12 years old seemed fine then suddenly fell, couldn't hold himself upright with is back legs, and was breathing very heavily. The vet thinks he had congestive heart failure and we put him down.

 

[JewelBirds]

The first two things that come to mind for me when it comes to goats and illnesses are internal parasites and pneumonia. First, I would check her FAMACHA score and take her temperature. If she looks anemic, I would definitely deworm her. Has she been coughing or have any discharge from the nose? Generally, for any sick goat you can start out with electrolytes/Nutridrench and B vitamin complex. I would also be worried about some other type of infection going on, or possible thiamin deficiency with trouble walking, but she could also be weak from any number of conditions. Did her pee look normal in color? No blood? No lumps in the throat? I would also be concerned about her possible eating something toxic to her. No introduction to new feeds?

 

[Birdsong 82]

Yes. She is trying to walk around but keeping herself distant. Just staring off. And just fell down again

 

[Birdsong 82]

She did have a piece of some kind of weed sticking out of her mouth when I noticed everything. I tried to pull it out and she doesn’t seem to be struggling to get something out of her throat. It wasn’t my usual time to deworm them but I went ahead and dewormed her when I noticed everything and put something on her for the flies because they have been bad this time of year. No new feed. Just the regular a little bit of grain and their normal hay. It’s like she walks for a minute and spreads her legs out and just kind of falls. It’s like something with her back legs. It’s very strange. But she’s also very stubborn so she’s trying her darndest to stay up and with the others

The first two things that come to mind for me when it comes to goats and illnesses are internal parasites and pneumonia. First, I would check her FAMACHA score and take her temperature. If she looks anemic, I would definitely deworm her. Has she been coughing or have any discharge from the nose? Generally, for any sick goat you can start out with electrolytes/Nutridrench and B vitamin complex. I would also be worried about some other type of infection going on, or possible thiamin deficiency with trouble walking, but she could also be weak from any number of conditions. Did her pee look normal in color? No blood? No lumps in the throat? I would also be concerned about her possible eating something toxic to her. No introduction to new feeds?

 

[Birdsong 82]

She just Peed again. And that looks normal. No clumps and normal color. But she’s making like a weird groaning noise occasionally as she tries to walk around. And she won’t actually eat any grass or brush with the others just make sure she’s within eyesight of them of course She seems to walk short distances fine but if she stands there too long it’s like her back legs give out.

 

[Birdsong 82]

At first I thought she was having a hard time chewing and swallowing what she was eating. Because a couple of weeks ago when I threw some extra vegetables out to them from the garden she ate a cucumber spear and I guess since her teeth are old she had a hard time chewing it and was gagging for about 20 minutes until she hacked it up and was good to go after that. This seems different.

 

[JewelBirds]

She did have a piece of some kind of weed sticking out of her mouth when I noticed everything. I tried to pull it out and she doesn’t seem to be struggling to get something out of her throat. It wasn’t my usual time to deworm them but I went ahead and dewormed her when I noticed everything and put something on her for the flies because they have been bad this time of year. No new feed. Just the regular a little bit of grain and their normal hair. It’s like she walks for a minute and spreads her legs out and just kind of falls. It’s like something with her back legs. It’s very strange. But she’s also very stubborn so she’s trying her darndest to stay up and with the others

You could give activated charcoal as a precaution in case she got into anything. I would be worried about thiamin deficiency with those symptoms (leg weakness, staring off). If you can get some vitamin B1, that could be a start. Listeria is similar in symptoms as well. Copper or selenium deficiencies could also cause leg weakness. Has she had her CD/T shot?