# When do you put them down?



## KidMandy (Jun 11, 2012)

We have a lovely Alpine/Saanan doeling who came to us with a broken back leg.  It was thought her mother sat on her around a week of age and it was a clean break.  The vet splinted it and I believe gave an antibiotic, but that was it at the time.

Since then, she has really not got any better.  After an x-ray we found it was not a clean break, but in fact a very bad shatter.  It has now calcified into a large lump on her leg.  She will not bear weight on it, her "good" back leg is twisting to accommodate, and she had a large abscess (for lack of a better word) on her affected hock joint.  The vet seemed to think this was normal, or at least wasn't concerned.  A week or so ago it burst, spewing out vanilla pudding-like puss.  My husband squeezed it out for quite some time, we called the vet and he was hopeful that this was "what she needed" to start walking on the leg again.

That was May 31st.  She's still not walking on it, the spot oozes every once in a while and occasionally I notice her chewing at it.

The vet said to give her to six months to see if she bears weight, and then make a decision.  A couple of farmers we know said to just put her down because she'll always have problems.  She's 12 wks (but not three months until June 19th) and eats well, plays, enjoys a good run around, even on three legs.  The issue, of course, is that we wanted goats for milk, not for pets.  If she never bears weight on the leg, she cannot have any kids.

What would you do?


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

What concerns me is her chewing at it.  Chewing at it usually means that there is pain.

An abscess is an infection and should be a cause for concern. She should be treated with antibiotics to prevent anymore infection from occurring and to stop the infection that has already set it.  I'm surprised that your vet is not more concerned about that abscess on a leg with broken bones, esp shattered bones.  A bone infection could easily set it, and would be very painful for her.

Putting her down is a decision that only you can make the call on.  I'll tell you what I would do, but please remember that what I would do may or may not be the right decision for you.

What I would do:

If this doe was one that I was very attached to and could afford the surgery, I would contact a knowledgeable vet goat and consider the option of amputating that leg.  I personally know a very sweet doe who had to have a hind leg amputated due to a dog attack that broke the leg in several places.  She gets along just fine on three legs, and have even been bred several times since losing her leg.  Her owner knew that she had the will and personality to live happily after amputation, so it was a good choice for THIS goat, may not be the best thing for other goats though.

If I could not afford the amputation or I thought this goat wouldn't do well on three legs for the rest of her life, then yes, I would probably put her down.

and Bless your heart for trying so hard with this little girl, no matter what your decision is.    It's a hard call to make, isnt it?


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## Catahoula (Jun 11, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Putting her down is a decision that only you can make the call on.  I'll tell you what I would do, but please remember that what I would do may or may not be the right decision for you.
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> What I would do:
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X2...just like any pets...you do whatever you can afford or you think is the best for the animal. Don't let guilt or others push you one way or another. 
Good Luck.


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## lilhill (Jun 11, 2012)

Catahoula said:
			
		

> redtailgal said:
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X3.


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## KidMandy (Jun 11, 2012)

Thanks guys   She's such a sweet girl.  And so cute.  She's my profile pic   We are attached to her -- she was our "first goat" as she was the first one born to my friend's doe and promised to us.  It's such a shame this has happened.  We don't have the money to amputate her leg.  It was the vet who said she couldn't kid if she didn't have use of both back legs.  Maybe in theory she could, but it wouldn't be the best situation.  We cleaned her leg again today with some soap and peroxide.  I don't know why the vet didn't give us antibiotics for her.  Maybe I'll call him and ask about it.  You'd think after 10 days it wouldn't be oozing anymore.


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Jun 13, 2012)

somad That is horriable that he not giving her medications for pain and infections so she can heal.....
She may have done much better with proper medications....

Bless your heart for trying to help her, and what a sweet little face....

what ever you do it will be hard..... to make that call.....


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## elevan (Jun 13, 2012)

lilhill said:
			
		

> Catahoula said:
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x4


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## redtailgal (Jun 13, 2012)

She is a pretty girl.  It's just hard to know when to put them down.  

and btw.....a three legged goat most certainly CAN deliver.  I watched..........the three legged doe laid down and pushed out twins with absolutely no help what so ever.


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## KidMandy (Jun 13, 2012)

And she had no trouble carrying the extra weight?  Do you think it mattered that the other leg had been amputated?  Our little girl gets along quite fine with her limp leg raised.  She can keep up with the other two kids without problem when their scooting around the yard.  I love this little doe and would love to breed her and keep her around.


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## redtailgal (Jun 13, 2012)

No, she does really well.  In fact, her hooves need less attention than the rest of the herd needs.    She has modified some of her behavior, for example, when she stand to be bred by the buck, she will rest her weight on her front knees, and will at times, more so in the evenings, go down on her front knees to graze.

She produces nice kids, and is an excellent mother and is often the "babysitter" of the other doe's kids when they venture further out to graze.

I think that one of the reasons she does so well is that she was a dominant goat BEFORE her leg was taken.  She's fair but firm, not the herd queen anymore, but definately respected in the herd.  Her pain was also carefully controlled so that she could learn to adapt and gain strength.


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