# Bowed legs



## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

My yearling doe that just freshened has bowed rear legs. It is bowed at the joint where the dew claws are. I am figuring it is a couple things that caused this. 1) she was carrying kids, 2) she and her buddy kept knocking the mineral feeder off the wall, so she didn't always have minerals like I want them to, and 3) I was having some hoof trimming issues..and a lot of people I asked said don't trim the heel..they said that was my problem...turns out...the heel was too long! And I was afraid to cut the heel because I thought it would worsen my problems. :sigh: So, I am working on her feet now...but her leg is bowed. Does she need more calcium?? She is getting 12 tums a day...I don't really know if this helps, but I've read it does. What else could I give her that might be more effective. She does have minerals in front of her now..for probably about the last month(finally got the feeder to stay on the wall! Yay!). I feel bad, because this is my fault...any ideas on how to fix it? Ever had this problem before? Thanks!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Can you get any pics? side and rear?
It is hard to decide what to recommend....if I can't see it... :wink: :greengrin:


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

yeah pictures might help.
sorry she's giving you this trouble!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

sounds like possible selenium -- a BoSe shot should help. I know RunAround had issues with her buck Bambi and she had to give him selenium shots to correct his leg problems.


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Yep, sounds like a selenium issue to me. It may be too late to straighten her legs out, but you can at least prevent them from bowing anymore. Does she have weak pasterns?

12 tums a day? That's too much. It could be that she has too much calcium too. A picture would help a lot.


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## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

RunAround...I just started giving her that many tums...up until Friday she hasn't gotten any.

Here are some pics:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

OH my, I have never seen legs that bad before. Please let us know if the BoSe does work. I would love to see after pictures after the BoSe shots.


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## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

She has had Bo-Se, though. Two weeks before she kidded.

I feel awful...like I have failed my goaties...


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

:hug: AWWW don't feel that way, sometimes there are things that are out of our control. Now I have only given BoSe once so I can not say a lot about it, can you give it again? I know that is something that can be over dosed. ( I think, at least if that is what I remember)


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

wow....they are bad.  I have never seen it like that before..  ...maybe take her to the vet...get a vets opinion have him/her check and see if she is deficient on anything.......and maybe put braces on her legs for support...her tendons are getting stretched out of whack.. and possibly bracing them for a while might help..... if the test results say she is deficient on something... and with being braced ....may snap her back.... :hug: ray:

With the way her feet are trimmed in the 2nd photo....the trimming apparently ..looks good to me..


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

You havnt failed jaque. It very well could be genetics, even though both of her parents look to have good pasturns the combination in the lines just didnt work there. I havea friend who bred a really nice buck to e a decent doe. neither parent has pasturn issues. You should see the resulting kids. Worst pasturns i have EVER seen. the bucks are so bad that his front legs fall in at an angle. he basically walks on the inside toe. His sister isnt as bad. But i would of gotten rid of of both of them. The buck would of been meat, but they continue to use him as a breeding sire. 
Im not at all saying your problem is genetic. If she is still growing it could be a growth issue, there are four bones in the pasturn. It almost looks like the outside set is growing faster then the inside. to me her feet dont look bad at all. The coronet band is level with the soul of her foot. 
as for the calcium, there is so little calcium in tums it would be hard to overdose. I have given as much as three hundred cc's of calcium in a matter of three hours before to a doe who was calcium defficiant. (this is what the vet reccomended) 
How much selenium did you gie her? and when? It could also be a mineral thing. But dont feel bad as your goats were knocking their feed pan down. They tend to know when they need the minerals and would be eating rathing then destroying if they needed it. What kind of grain and minerals are you feeding?
beth


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## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

Thanks everyone...I just feel bad. I don't think it is genetic..she wasn't like this last year. We just switched the feed, it's similar to what we had...we added barely. It's a 16-18% feed...can't remember I'll ask Mom. And we have SweetLix minerals now(I still have a doe that won't touch them :hair: ). I want to say she got 3-4 cc's of Bo-Se two weeks before she kidded..so about 3 weeks ago now. Her feet do look a lot better...you should have seen them before I trimmed them. They were awful...and if I wouldn't be so chicken to trim feet when they are pregnant..they might not have gotten that bad. I finally got the courage to trim them about a month before she was due. I'd give her the calcium paste we have, but apparently it burns their mouth(had a doe get milk fever and then she couldn't eat after we gave her the paste!). Oh and when we finally got the mineral feeder to stay on the wall...she just went to town! Over the course of about 5-6 days her and her buddy(but mostly her) ate 2 cups of minerals. Could she really get braces?

Thanks everyone. :hug:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> she just went to town! Over the course of about 5-6 days her and her buddy(but mostly her) ate 2 cups of minerals. Could she really get braces?


 sounds like her body is craving some kind of mineral.....she may very well be deficient...

As for the braces... if you can put braces on her for a while ...have her checked for deficiencies ...and give her what she is deficient in ...there may be a chance to correct her.....if she hasn't been that bad in her ankles for very long.....It may help her tendons to snap back...so they can get strong again... :hug:


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Yep, I have a goat who looks like that because he was BoSe deficient. If it were me I would give her more BoSe now, but your best bet is to take her to a vet and get her selenium levels checked. I would stop giving that many tums because over calcium can cause bowed legs too.


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## HummelHill (Aug 8, 2008)

I believe a copper deficiency can cause bowed legs as well.....

http://www.saanendoah.com/copper1.html


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## Coraxfeather (Oct 9, 2008)

that looks like my tasha's back legs. WE have been splinting them for a couple hours everyday. Tumms?? Give her tums??


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