Limping doeling -

[isra]

Hi friends-

My 5 week old doeling, whom we named Norbert(a) - Bertie for short, cried out the other day (Tuesday) and when I looked outside all the goats (mama and Dobby- the wether) were all startled and just standing there- the doeling was holding up her front leg and looked like she may have slipped (and maybe stepped on?) because she was a bit wet.

So I called the vet and they said I could bring her in to do an X-ray but I have racked up over 1000$ in vet bills the last month so I opted to watch her for a day and see if it improved.

I don’t think it’s broken- she doesn’t whine or cry if I “examine” her leg. I can’t keep her penned up all day because she’s nursing and mama wants to be out. They are penned up for about 12 hours though.

Bertie is running eating playing jumping but sometimes just on her three legs but is tenderly putting weight on her hurt leg- limping like someone who has a sprained ankle.

Advice? Take her to the vet just in case? Wrap it? Don’t wrap it? She can extend and retract just fine. No hot spots or swelling that I could see or feel.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I have experienced a similar issue before and wrapped the area for support, ( not too tight) and our goat kid was fine after three days....Bertie sure is a cute kid.

 

[isra]

I have experienced a similar issue before and wrapped the area for support, ( not too tight) and our goat kid was fine after three days....Bertie sure is a cute kid.

Thank you for letting me know! Any chance you have a picture of your wrapping technique? Do I just wrap it around her leg or focus on knee ?

And yes, she’s such a joy

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Thank you for letting me know! Any chance you have a picture of your wrapping technique? Do I just wrap it around her leg or focus on knee ?

And yes, she’s such a joy

You can feel her leg and see if she reacts to a light touching... then move to a firmer pressure to locate the area that is causing her pain.
. I would suspect the problem isn't in the knee if she still is that active...check her hoof for anything cut.....I don't wrap a joint unless I believe it is part of the problem, but if you do have to wrap it , make sure it's not too tight . Check it several times a day and make sure the hoof/foot area has good blood flow and there is no swelling.
It's your judgement call here if she needs the support of the wrap to help her heal for just a few days (2)...(3 ?)
If she isn't better within a day after you remove the wrap, you may want to consider a vet visit .....this is just how I treat a leg injury, others may do it differently

 

[isra]

Sigh. Doeling broke her leg today.

Bertie got caught in my wethers horns today (likely jumping on him when he was napping) and he stood up and she was stuck. And he threw her off (she was screaming and he freaked out- he has always been very good/gentle with her) and she broke her leg - hoof turned the wrong way and everything :/

Just got home from vets- they set it and super splinted it and supposed to go back in a week to resplint.

any advice? They mentioned maybe a screw (surgical) would help heal faster but not if near growth plate.

They mentioned a cast.

Pros cons?

Is she supposed to be immobilized completely? She’s in the pen with her mom now. But worried her mom will step on her leg or something

Feel like I left with a lot of questions and worry but he had two other baby goats arrive at the same time with broken legs and I felt bad taking up his time.

Any advice or your own experiences will help a lot. I just feel like she can’t even get around or move properly because her leg is fully splinted and extended so it drags a little.

I’ll grab a photo when I go down there again to check on her.

Sigh.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Honest no ideal, but poor baby. I can only think of maybe fashioning some think to attach to her so she can get around while waitingv for it to heal. I would do a surgery on a goat they don't handle sedation well. I would say cast/ splint and keep her to were it can't be used and I know this is mean but she needs to be away from the other goats as they head but and can hurt her even more bottle feeding time if she was mine. Milk momma feed baby kinda of deal.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Did she break her front leg or back? I had a doe that broke a back leg some years ago. Trip to the vet where they sedated her lightly so they could set the leg properly and cast it. I was told to keep her in a small area. I grabbed one of her buddies and they both went into a 6 x 6 pen. This silly goat bounced off the walls in that pen- running and jumping just for fun. Two weeks later back to the vet for more x-rays and very little healing. She ended up staying in a cast for 10+ weeks. She healed slowly but she healed. When the cast finally came off her leg was a tiny bit crooked...but 3 or 4 months later you couldn't even tell which leg it was. Some time later she was bred, delivered a doeling and became a very willing little milker. She has since gone to a new home with her best friend and last I heard she had triplets for her new owners.

 

[isra]

Did she break her front leg or back? I had a doe that broke a back leg some years ago. Trip to the vet where they sedated her lightly so they could set the leg properly and cast it. I was told to keep her in a small area. I grabbed one of her buddies and they both went into a 6 x 6 pen. This silly goat bounced off the walls in that pen- running and jumping just for fun. Two weeks later back to the vet for more x-rays and very little healing. She ended up staying in a cast for 10+ weeks. She healed slowly but she healed. When the cast finally came off her leg was a tiny bit crooked...but 3 or 4 months later you couldn't even tell which leg it was. Some time later she was bred, delivered a doeling and became a very willing little milker. She has since gone to a new home with her best friend and last I heard she had triplets for her new owners.

Thank you guys for your replies- it makes me feel so much better!

She seems much better today than last night. Trying to get out of the pen

I still have mama in there with her but will let mama out to graze in a little while and keep her penned up.

It’s her back leg- they didn’t cast it (said the splint and wrap should be sufficient)

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol just don't forget goats are drama queens ×10 one of my does i accidently trimmed her hoof a bit to shoot for close to a month she refused to walk on that leg ..i would catch her using it from the window but if she saw me she would limp then cry like it was killing her lol i would go back in and she was jumping and running like nothing was wrong. The turkey. Lol

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Better a back leg than a front. They carry more of their weight on the front end. She's young enough that she'll probably heal just fine. Good luck!