Something is Wrong with my Wether

Yesterday, my son noticed my wether wasn't acting "right".  He seemed sleepy and didn't want to walk.  Well, that evening, my other son was walking him back to the barn and he just stopped in the doorway and sat down and didn't want to get up.  I went over there and when we finally got him to get up, he was very shaky.  His back legs seemed kinda stiff.  But wobbly at the same time.  They didn't seem to want to hold him up.  He also was breathing heavy.  His appetite is fine.  According to my google search, it sounded like selenium deficiency, so I gave him some of that last night.  Today we just left him in the barn so as not to make him walk far.  He isn't as shaky and isn't breathing heavy, but is definitely unstable on his feet.  Is that what it could be?  Could it be something else?  If he was deficient in selenium, how long till he starts getting better?  Is there anything else I can do for him?  I gave him nutridrench just because I figured it couldn't hurt.  I have also made sure he has access to weeds, grass, hay, water, baking soda, and minerals.  I wanted to cover all the bases!

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  • The only thing I can think of was that it was selenium deficiency or white muscle disease I think it's called.  He is doing just fine now.  So, who knows....  I'm just glad he's better.  :-)
  • Anna, let us know if you solve the mystery and how the little wether is doing.
  • My goats have stripped the lower parts of my mulberry trees, so I doubt it's your problem. This is really odd.

    Anna Cummings said:

    He is in the same pen as my buck and he has been fine.  I had moved the pen about 3 weeks ago.  So there wouldn't have been anything new.   ?????  Are mulberries bad for them?  We have several mulberry trees ripe now.  

    We haven't been having very good luck here, though.  One cat died in Feb to a parasite and another cat died recently to what they believed was a bone marrow problem.  Both cats were under 2.  :-(  

  • He is in the same pen as my buck and he has been fine.  I had moved the pen about 3 weeks ago.  So there wouldn't have been anything new.   ?????  Are mulberries bad for them?  We have several mulberry trees ripe now.  

    We haven't been having very good luck here, though.  One cat died in Feb to a parasite and another cat died recently to what they believed was a bone marrow problem.  Both cats were under 2.  :-(  

  • They definitely need selenium daily, but if you have a good mineral available, it probably has enough. It should definitely have enough for a wether. Although I give my does and bucks BoSe shots annually, I've never given one to my wethers, and they've been fine. Wethers are very easy keepers because of the lack of hormones. That is what has me really perplexed about this situation. If there were anything nutritional going on, your does or bucks should have been hit hardest. Is there any chance that he ate something that disagreed with him?

    Anna Cummings said:

    He's looking really good today.  Running and jumping like a normal goat!  Phew!  I guess the selenium helped?  

    Is selenium something that should be given on a regular basis?  If so, how regular?  

  • He's looking really good today.  Running and jumping like a normal goat!  Phew!  I guess the selenium helped?  

    Is selenium something that should be given on a regular basis?  If so, how regular?  

  • Well, my son saw him pee.  And he said he peed just fine.  And I "felt him up" and he didn't show any signs of pain.  So I guess we are back to square one.  Although, my son said he also walked fine over to his pen today and put up a fight because he didn't want to go in.  So maybe we are getting better.
  • I know it is very hard to sort through info when getting started! Of the first three goats I bought, I wound up selling two of then within a couple years because they were not good milkers. One thing I try to stress with new people who call me is that if you want milkers, you don't need to buy from a show line. There is often little connection between good milkers and good show goats. It's nice when you can find one that excels in both the show ring and the milk pail, but it doesn't happen as often as some people claim. In fact, one of my finished champions actually has the worst teats in my herd -- teats are only worth 4 or 5 points (depending on registry) out of 100 on the scorecard. So, if someone is interested in milking, I don't recommend a kid out of her. My best milker who throws the best kids -- four does who have already earned their milk stars -- actually did the worst when showing.

    Janel Rickey said:

    I don't know how many babies he has had, but the difference between him and most of you guys is that all the babies are taken and bottle fed.  I did read some articles on the over consumption of milk and connection to floppy kid also.  We had only had him for 3 days, before he became drunk acting.  Unfortunately the baby was sick when we got him and he could have had floppy kid syndrome, but we can't really know.  There is just so much information on the web, and being brand new to goats, its hard to siphon through what's good advice and what's bad.  I'm glad I found this forum.. Even though everyone has their own thoughts on things we can debate the information and come up with the best ideas on treating and simple care of goats.  I will read those article, because I am fore sure interested in learning about everything we may run into with raising goats.  We have found a good vet clinic now that treats goats, so feeling better about using them for a resource when things come up along with all of you guys!!

    After reading a lot of your posts I don't feel that bottle feeding is the way...  The main reason for bottle feeding, I got from both the breeders we got our kids from was friendliness.  Being brand new to goats we didn't know, we were just excited about getting some goats finaly.  The breeder does a lot of shows all over the United States, and his goats score really good so we knew at least they would be good milk producers with good teets and registered.  When we breed our girls next summer sometime we have decided to dam raise our babies.  Thanks for the material to read...

  • I think you only have to worry about dam-raised kids not being friendly if you have lots of goats. Otherwise, they can be very friendly, if you work with them from a young age. I find bottle kids a little too friendly--they are always looking for a handout. However, it seems that invariably I end up with a few every year (just the abandoned one this year).

    In terms of knowing what is true and what is not, and trying to find the information in time--that is why I wrote Goat Health Care and then Raising Goats for Dummies. I still refer to GHC all the time, even keeping one in my barn. I can never remember dosages of meds, and also seems like problems vary from year to year so it's hard to keep track.

  • I don't know how many babies he has had, but the difference between him and most of you guys is that all the babies are taken and bottle fed.  I did read some articles on the over consumption of milk and connection to floppy kid also.  We had only had him for 3 days, before he became drunk acting.  Unfortunately the baby was sick when we got him and he could have had floppy kid syndrome, but we can't really know.  There is just so much information on the web, and being brand new to goats, its hard to siphon through what's good advice and what's bad.  I'm glad I found this forum.. Even though everyone has their own thoughts on things we can debate the information and come up with the best ideas on treating and simple care of goats.  I will read those article, because I am fore sure interested in learning about everything we may run into with raising goats.  We have found a good vet clinic now that treats goats, so feeling better about using them for a resource when things come up along with all of you guys!!

    After reading a lot of your posts I don't feel that bottle feeding is the way...  The main reason for bottle feeding, I got from both the breeders we got our kids from was friendliness.  Being brand new to goats we didn't know, we were just excited about getting some goats finaly.  The breeder does a lot of shows all over the United States, and his goats score really good so we knew at least they would be good milk producers with good teets and registered.  When we breed our girls next summer sometime we have decided to dam raise our babies.  Thanks for the material to read...

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