Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: elderly goat arthiritis  (Read 2511 times)

messyhoose

  • Joined Nov 2017
elderly goat arthiritis
« on: January 10, 2020, 05:54:24 pm »
hello folks, so if anyone with a brill memory will know i lost my GG aged 9, 3 years ago after a battle with arthritis and then stomach ulcers due to meds. So her sister (now 12) is suffering arthritis now. I do not care about CAE (i am not breeding/ mixing animals) but in the past week i managed to make it a billion times worse by milking her. Despite not having a kid for 8 years she still gets a full udder that will not dissipate (i wait for over a month for the "resorbsion"- instead she is just mighty uncomfortable with a couple of kilos dangling between her legs). So i milk her when it looks uncomfortable. The last time was Monday (i waited til after the festivities not that it really matters as there is no vet on island). She HATES being milked and tried to evade it (as always). Only this time it seems to have taken it out of her- she is sore on all her legs (but one front leg is visibly swollen). I have been injecting metacam (or rather loxicom which the vet has now changed to as cheaper) before this incident. Vet was on island yesterday so i got him to come look at her, all he could recommend was daily oral dog loxicom (as opposed to the every 72 hrs injectable horse one i had been using). 24 hrs later She is still no more comfortable, and im at a loss. Has anyone dealt with inflamed joints and how have they treated it? Ive got ice spray coming in the post (she wont let me put an ice pack on the bigger knee joint) Vet inspected so im sure its not broken and is just sprain. I feel so guilty- she hasnt laid down in 3 days (i just tried to get her to lie on me- she always used to even a few years ago- nearly breaks my ribs at this size! but she woudnt stay down). She is nearly falling down with fatigue- what else can i try to hide the pain of her knee so she can lie and rest a while? Anyone had any animal (dog/ horse) theyve dealt with this? Bute? Sedatives? I know she is old but this is injury not age related so i gotta try to help her. Please- any advice,i cant lose her now.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2020, 10:05:25 am »
Are you sure she is not short of calcium - by milking her you have taken a lot out of her. I would inject (under the skin over the ribcage) some Calciject, same procedure you would for milk fever/hypocalcaemia.

As long as her udder is soft, I would not milk her and only feed hay at the moment, no concentrates whatsoever.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2020, 10:07:59 am »
Oh, and if you are sure she isn't going to enter the food chain, I know other people have used Bute (as in horse painkiller, but I do not know what the goat dose would be). Oh and you cannot drink the milk if she is on that (same for Loxicom, but I do not know the milk withdrawal for that off the top of my head)

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2020, 12:41:45 pm »
The recent upset may have caused some lameness but the arthritis is the underlying cause.  If the sheep is anything like me the weather will not be on her side.

messyhoose

  • Joined Nov 2017
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2020, 05:09:24 pm »
thank you guys, i knew this day would come, i just think i have brought it on sooner by doing the needless milking task. I will try the calcium Anke, thanks- but as i said she is not collapsed- my prob is she just will NOT lie down. Last night i managed to pull her down onto me and she did eventually relax and have a sleep- watching her standing and obviously trying to stop her back legs buckling from exhaustion is awful.
I will ask for BUTE- i had it for a pet pig years ago- again to prolong life after arthiritis symptoms- you really do have to pester vets dont you- he knows she is not a meat or milk animal, and the metacam is already off licence so i dont know why he wouldnt give me that, but i will call monday and say- come on! the best pain killer you have my man, and no quibbles!

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2020, 05:45:51 pm »
Lack of calcium can also make the incredibly stiff, I had a goat just before her kidding date that wouldn't lie down all night - and it took two IV injections of calcium (vet job) to get her to lie down.

messyhoose

  • Joined Nov 2017
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2020, 12:51:13 pm »
well i have most of that in my cupboard so guess no harm in giving it a go. she does get glucosamine & chondroitin tablets but think it may be too late to be effective- she is creaking now :(  vet wouldnt give me bute (risk of stomach ulcers- same as the metacam issue) but said giver her pracetamol twice a day so i started her on that this morn too. Kicking myself, i really am.

messyhoose

  • Joined Nov 2017
Re: UPDATE elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2020, 04:57:29 pm »
Hi all i wanted to just give you an update after asking advice here- so after a week of pretty much sitting all nights with her and pulling her down in order to sleep (legs all straight out) Cardula finally bent her knees and laid down by herself on Friday night and has been doing so ever since (albeit a bit gingerly). She is on a "whatever the hell you want to eat (within reason) diet" and i can only assume the knees were injured when i milked her and have been given time to recover with the anitinflammatories/ pain killers and spray on heat/ cold treatments. She has gluscosamine tablets and vit c, will get cod liver oil once it arrives- but from last week thinking  i was going to have to call my neighbour with the stun gun, to now thinking she might actually get to enjoy a last summer i am over the moon! thanks all for advice!

Polyanya

  • Joined Mar 2015
  • Shetland
    • The Creative Croft
    • Facebook
Re: elderly goat arthiritis
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2020, 12:08:04 pm »
Bit late to this but when my middle-aged GG had a hot, tender joint the vet said laminitis. He thought because she hadn't seen the billy in autumn 2018 but still lactated the following spring and was getting fat because I only milked her when she became uncomfortable that was making the laminitis worse. I get confused with all the different information around - hope your goaty girl recovers. Mine is doing ok but I'm not giving her any hard feed.
In the depths of winter, I found there was in me an invincible summer - Camus

www.thecreativecroft.co.uk

 

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