# my goats back legs are very weak



## farmerbyblood (Oct 10, 2016)

My goat has had weak back legs for over a month now, before this i had him in a place out in a patch of woods a field away from us (there are deer out there). i am worried about meningeal worms, How long do you have to treat them?. He is able to get up on his own, walk around, and he eats and drinks just fine. As i said before, this has been going on for over a month. he has gotten progressively worse. i do not know of any injury's he had, but he was in a pen with other goats (one of them he kept butting heads with) so maybe he got bunted. 
i haven't brought him to a vet there are not many around. 
Any ideas on what is wrong? Any thing i could do to help diagnosis an issue?


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## jdavenport (Jul 19, 2012)

Here's a link to an article with good info. It does sound like your goat has meningeal worm. Testing the spinal fluid is more expensive than just treating. The article says to use safeguard or panacur at 10 times the label dose once a day for 5 days straight. Then wait a month to see if symptoms improve. Any damage that is already been done might be permanent. Hope this helps.


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## jdavenport (Jul 19, 2012)

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/meningealworm.html


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## farmerbyblood (Oct 10, 2016)

i am worried, cause of how tough meningeal worms are to remove and the fact that not very many goats make it back to full health. i was just reading and Do you think it is possible for it just to be a mineral deficiency? i know copper deficiency can cause weakness in the legs. and, i moved him out of his old pen (the one that has his friends) into a shed, and now he gets a high copper mineral. Now it could just be that he doesn't have to walk much but he seems to be looking better. ( he doesn't get stuck on his side anymore ) 
So is it safe to give him the medication for M-worm if he just might have mineral deficiency?


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## jdavenport (Jul 19, 2012)

Yes, I would still give him the recommended wormer, since you know he has been in a damp, wooded environment, with deer. I have never seen weakness caused from lack of copper, other symptoms would occur first, like hair loss and intestinal worm overload. Also check his eyelid color, to see if he has other worm issues, they can happen at the same time.


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## punchiepal (Aug 4, 2010)

The benefits of treatment far outweigh any "risks" here. The longer treatment is delayed, the higher the risk of permenant damage.


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