Goat with water on his knee - Should I buy him? MORE Pictures added

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SlickTxMaine

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Feb 11, 2009
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Looking at a show wether to purchase for my daughter to show this year.  He has a nice top and is well muscled.  The problem is he has water on one of his knees.  I'm not very familiar with goats and their issues.  The seller says it will go away.  I would never buy a steer with a swollen knee or hocks, but not sure if this is as serious in goats.  Anyone have any experience with this?  Would you take a chance on him, or go on down the road?? Any help is appreciated.  (previously posted on goat page, but no activity)
 

CAB

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Don't buy him. There are too many other goats available to take the chance. Even if the water does eventually go away the goat will be more vulnerable to arthritic issues.
 

BTDT

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In ANY species of animal, there are too many good ones to deal with ones with obvious health/structure issues.
CAB is correct, the goat will be more prone to arthritis, movement issues, and joint infection. 
 

rastus

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May 29, 2010
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I wouldn't have a problem buying him. The main cause of swollen or fluid filled knees in goats is that caused from nursing. As the kid grows it ends up having to kneel to nurse and with the rocky ground in west and central Texas they will naturally come down on the too hard a few times and develop some swelling or fluid. I have never personally had one with fluid/swelling that didn't go away after a few weeks.
 

Boot Jack Bulls

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I wouldn't do it myself, but if you intend to, I would get something in writing from the breeder with some sort of guarantee and a vet's opinion in writing prior to purchase. Make the breeder stand behind any claims they make and agree on a specific time table regarding improvement in the condition. Any breeder worth their salt should be willing to stand behind their stock and do right by a youth. I actually would have a problem doing any business with a breeder who was willing to sell a goat in  this condition as a youth project. If the breeder truly believes it won't be an issue in a month or so, he should be willing to hold the animal and take the risk himself until it is fit to market. JMPO!

I also agree with what others have said about the long-term affects of a fluid-filled joint. We had one of our very best young does come up  with a swollen knee a couple of months ago. The vet checked and could find no obvious cause. We used drawing agents on it for a couple of weeks to draw out an abscess if there was one, but one never presented. Then we tried pressure wraps and tried to sweat it out with minimal improvement. Bottom line, she still has a slightly fat knee and will never show again. And she now has signs of arthritis in that knee at 2 years old!

I would be hesitant to risk the time and money involved in a situation like this. I know how much we sell weathers for up here, and it is more than I would put on the line with that big of an issue in the mix!
 

SlickTxMaine

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Thanks for the comments.  I will probably not purchase this goat due to the knee.  I had thought about asking for a guarantee on the goat from the seller, but I have no experience with them and they live 2 hrs. away from me, so not sure if they would honor it, or if it would turn into a bigger hassle than it is worth.  I attached a pic of the knee that the buyer sent me.  I have not seen the goat in person due to the distance, but based on this pic, do not plan to make the drive.  Oh, he was born the end of April, so 4 mos. old at this time.
 

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Boot Jack Bulls

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Based on that picture I think you made the right choice! That looks like more than just a bit of fluid to me- its located off center and maybe even a bit low to be just fluid build- up on the joint from a bump, in my opinion. I don't know the breeder, but why would they  even try to sell one in this condition? Think how it would look for a cattle breeder tried to market an animal with a joint similarly affected- on a steer, that would look like basketball on their knee!
 

vc

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Boot Jack, I'd rather they try to sell it like that then drain it and make up some story for the slight limp.
 

Boot Jack Bulls

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vc said:
Boot Jack, I'd rather they try to sell it like that then drain it and make up some story for the slight limp.

VC, I agree with you there, but I guess I would rather see the breeder feed the goat out and ship it for kill themselves, ultimately. If the breeder does truly think the issue will fix itself, he or she should be the one to take that risk!
 

vc

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The kid I help out, asked me to go with him to look at steers a local breeder had for sale, the had a nice steer out of Carpedium, big butted, wide topped, and hairy, but as you studied him he was off on his left rear. They said that was the first time they noticed it, they were asking 2500 for him, but would drop it to 2000, we passed. They sold it to some other kid from the area for $2500, he toed out and was cowhocked as a fat. These are nice people, but seems like sometimes sellers are more optimistic then the buyer. If it were me I would have priced him for what he was worth, and for me he would have gone from 2500 to 1200-1500 in a hartbeat.
 

DLD

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I wouldn't buy that one either.  It could be alright - if it is, don't know about the rest of the goat, but he's nice boned.

I will say this.  I was with our ag teacher looking at kids at a fairly well known breeder's farm a couple of years ago.  There was a little wether there that was really stout and cool to look at, but if he'd have been a steer, I'd have said he was way too straight off both ends.  I told them that, too... Ag teacher bought him and his son ended up winning a major with him.

The moral of this story is that I have a theory from my observation of this one and several others over the past three or four years that we've been playing around with the goat deal.
A lot of things that look to me like they'll eventually be sure to be structural train wrecks aren't usually nearly as bad as I thought they'd be.  I've concluded that things that would crash a 1200# steer don't tend to affect a 120# goat anywhere near as badly.  They'll still get your butt beat in the doe show, though.
 

SlickTxMaine

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DLD- here are some additional pics.  Let me know what you think....my goat knowledge is very minimal.  I thought he looked really good for $500, until I saw the knee!
 

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Boot Jack Bulls

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Clear Lake, WI
In my opinion, his topline is pretty rough and he lacks natural width in his loin. Would also like to see more length in his twist. I do like the bone he has and other than that knee, he has pretty good legs. Maybe others from your region will chime in with some insight. I know there is quite a difference in how market goats are judged from north to south!
 
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