So our baby goat Fern has come into the unfortunate situation of (I believe) breaking her leg. As we have had our first warmer days and are over any hard freezes, I finally saw fit to move the baby out to the barn for the first time since she came home (she has been sleeping alone in an indoor pen in the house without issues/outside with the rest of the farm for the rest of the day). With 4 1/2 foot fencing panels and plenty of space, I figured she would be alright. Within a matter of minutes her "baby left alone" maaing turning into bloody murder screaming and I ran out to the barn where she was dangling by her back leg from one of the slats of fencing.
I scooped her up and rushed her inside to assess the damage to find that her leg has a likely cannon fracture below the knee and above the hoof and (wrist?) joint. My knowledge of goat anatomy is limited, but I was pretty sure I could feel with my fingers (under the skin, no compound fracture) where it may be broken. My partner and I fashioned a quick and dirty splint right off the bat while we did some more research. I then put a better splint on her for the night with two plastic butter knives (wrapped in medical tape) over padded skin and wrapped firmly with ace wrap. This morning, after gathering my boy scout level field experience of setting bones with little confidence and some pointed reading of the forum + other goat help sites, I splinted her leg in what I believe will serve her for an acceptable amount of time. She now has three long flat sticks (one thick one along the back of the leg and two along the sides) that extend just past the back of the knee and about half/quarter inch from the end of the hoof (to allow her to put weight on sticks to the knee rather than on the bone and pasture joint). After probing her leg again (could not feel break as well as before but I did not poke around too much and may be due to swelling, though even evidence of swelling was moderate) I pulled her leg firmly but gently by the base of the knee and the hoof (pulling apart) in attempt to straighten and set the bone better before laying it to the splint sticks. Then I padded her leg very well with guaze and toilet paper, added split sticks, then wrapped firmly with ace wrap and again with medical tape.
The splint is functional and Fern has started to try to hobble on three legs. She is clearly in pain because she does not fuss when left without me or any of her animal buddies (she will usually scream until being reunited unless she is sleepy with a full belly), but she is very responsive to attention when I do go in to see her. She still butts&nuzzles while maaing for attention and will even try to come when called. She popped up and came hobbling and crying for her bottle this morning, which she guzzled just as heartily as before. I am now at a lack of knowledge for how to proceed especially regarding (if) necessary medication and how to help her heal. We do not have ready access to penicillin or other medications and can not afford to take her to the vet currently as we just paid rent and purchased a new vehicle last week.. I'm feeling guilty about not getting her the best professional help and worried that she may be in a lot of pain, but I'm hoping I've done enough that she can heal well and without great issue. Will this splint serve her well through the healing process or will I end up with a sad, deformed goat? I do know that if this one is done properly I will still have to check it regularly for circulation and change it again in two weeks or so to check how its healing. We plan to keep it on for 8 weeks or as long as it takes to heal really, is this appropriate for goats?Is there any thing else I can do to help her along and make sure she doesnt end up with an injury that causes her lifelong pain?
PS Since my last post about Fern concerning her taking a bottle, she is guzzling the bottle like it's pure molasses. She is now on her 9th week and partially weaned (at 8 weeks reduced milk to half and replaced other half with water, then reduced milk by one oz daily, we were at about 4 oz milk when this happened). With this break I have been considering putting her back on a full bottle with hopes that she will be properly nourished and I will be able to keep good track that shes still eating well, but maybe I should just go along with the weaning process? I had debated leaving her on the bottle until 12 weeks anyways and this might just be a viable excuse, but should I be concerned about diet change/scours if I increase her milk again? She is also eating about 1/2 cup of grain a day and nibbled at it hungrily this morning when fed. Any advice on this? Carry on my way or put her back on full milk and supplement as well? Grain? She seems to still be eating her regular diet (milk, alfalfa, grain) well, just very subdued and wants to lay down.
She is not panting hard, shaking, or showing signs of shock. I just know her personality and that its unlike her to just want alone time, though thankfully it means she is resting up. We have not given any medication so far but love and pets.. Mostly worried about pain and do not want to cause undue suffering to my baby.. Really hope you guys can help and give some reassurance/pointers because this is NOT a situation I had any kind of preparation for! (sorry in advance for my thousand questions!!)
I scooped her up and rushed her inside to assess the damage to find that her leg has a likely cannon fracture below the knee and above the hoof and (wrist?) joint. My knowledge of goat anatomy is limited, but I was pretty sure I could feel with my fingers (under the skin, no compound fracture) where it may be broken. My partner and I fashioned a quick and dirty splint right off the bat while we did some more research. I then put a better splint on her for the night with two plastic butter knives (wrapped in medical tape) over padded skin and wrapped firmly with ace wrap. This morning, after gathering my boy scout level field experience of setting bones with little confidence and some pointed reading of the forum + other goat help sites, I splinted her leg in what I believe will serve her for an acceptable amount of time. She now has three long flat sticks (one thick one along the back of the leg and two along the sides) that extend just past the back of the knee and about half/quarter inch from the end of the hoof (to allow her to put weight on sticks to the knee rather than on the bone and pasture joint). After probing her leg again (could not feel break as well as before but I did not poke around too much and may be due to swelling, though even evidence of swelling was moderate) I pulled her leg firmly but gently by the base of the knee and the hoof (pulling apart) in attempt to straighten and set the bone better before laying it to the splint sticks. Then I padded her leg very well with guaze and toilet paper, added split sticks, then wrapped firmly with ace wrap and again with medical tape.
The splint is functional and Fern has started to try to hobble on three legs. She is clearly in pain because she does not fuss when left without me or any of her animal buddies (she will usually scream until being reunited unless she is sleepy with a full belly), but she is very responsive to attention when I do go in to see her. She still butts&nuzzles while maaing for attention and will even try to come when called. She popped up and came hobbling and crying for her bottle this morning, which she guzzled just as heartily as before. I am now at a lack of knowledge for how to proceed especially regarding (if) necessary medication and how to help her heal. We do not have ready access to penicillin or other medications and can not afford to take her to the vet currently as we just paid rent and purchased a new vehicle last week.. I'm feeling guilty about not getting her the best professional help and worried that she may be in a lot of pain, but I'm hoping I've done enough that she can heal well and without great issue. Will this splint serve her well through the healing process or will I end up with a sad, deformed goat? I do know that if this one is done properly I will still have to check it regularly for circulation and change it again in two weeks or so to check how its healing. We plan to keep it on for 8 weeks or as long as it takes to heal really, is this appropriate for goats?Is there any thing else I can do to help her along and make sure she doesnt end up with an injury that causes her lifelong pain?
PS Since my last post about Fern concerning her taking a bottle, she is guzzling the bottle like it's pure molasses. She is now on her 9th week and partially weaned (at 8 weeks reduced milk to half and replaced other half with water, then reduced milk by one oz daily, we were at about 4 oz milk when this happened). With this break I have been considering putting her back on a full bottle with hopes that she will be properly nourished and I will be able to keep good track that shes still eating well, but maybe I should just go along with the weaning process? I had debated leaving her on the bottle until 12 weeks anyways and this might just be a viable excuse, but should I be concerned about diet change/scours if I increase her milk again? She is also eating about 1/2 cup of grain a day and nibbled at it hungrily this morning when fed. Any advice on this? Carry on my way or put her back on full milk and supplement as well? Grain? She seems to still be eating her regular diet (milk, alfalfa, grain) well, just very subdued and wants to lay down.
She is not panting hard, shaking, or showing signs of shock. I just know her personality and that its unlike her to just want alone time, though thankfully it means she is resting up. We have not given any medication so far but love and pets.. Mostly worried about pain and do not want to cause undue suffering to my baby.. Really hope you guys can help and give some reassurance/pointers because this is NOT a situation I had any kind of preparation for! (sorry in advance for my thousand questions!!)
