NEW KIDS WITH CROOKED FRONT LEG/FEET

[danetschool]

Our Nubian/Nigerian dwarf doe gave birth to twins last night, but there's a problem. The front feet on the buck kid are crooked and one foot on the doe kid is crooked. This is our first experience with kidding. The "defects" are not serious and the kids do all that a normal kid would do. Rickets? Vitamin deficiency?

To make matters worse we are financially strapped; not an extra dollar in the house-a bleak time. Is there something we can do to help their lower legs/feet? There is no possibility of a vet visit.

The back legs seem fine. I will try to post better pictures of the lower legs if needed. The areas effected are just above the hooves; slightly bent out or inward on the front legs.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'd give 'em a couple of days. Lots of times they'll straighten out on their own. There is a Selenium and Vit E paste that sometimes helps to hasten the straightening, but even without they'll probably be fine.

If they don't show improvement you can use some popsicle sticks and vet wrap and 'help' them a little. A lot of times they just need to gain a little weight so they can help stretch things out to a more normal position.

Congrats! They are real cuties!

 

[Alaskan]

I'd give 'em a couple of days. Lots of times they'll straighten out on their own. There is a Selenium and Vit E paste that sometimes helps to hasten the straightening, but even without they'll probably be fine.

If they don't show improvement you can use some popsicle sticks and vet wrap and 'help' them a little. A lot of times they just need to gain a little weight so they can help stretch things out to a more normal position.

Congrats! They are real cuties!

X2 on time, maybe selenium deficiency, and the vet wrap ...

With wrapping... they grow so crazy fast and move so much... be very careful that you do not wrap too tightly. Easy to.do when they are so small

 

[danetschool]

Thank you for the comforting replies. We have the paste on hand. How often would you recommend giving t he kids the paste?

A reply on another group said not to use the paste/gel, but to use the injectable kind. Your thoughts on this. I know it would be faster acting-any other reason? We don't have the injectable form.

 

[Baymule]

I had a lamb born with front feet forward at the pastern. This earned him the moniker of Floppy Feet. Yeah, I know, dark humor. The only selenium/E paste I could find was a huge tube for a cow. I just pushed about a dime's worth out on my finger and put it in his mouth, once a day for a few days. That and my Great Pyrenees kept nudging the little guy to make him get up and walk, soon straightened him out.

I know you are worried and love your babies dearly. It will be ok, y'all got this.

 

[danetschool]

I had a lamb born with front feet forward at the pastern. This earned him the moniker of Floppy Feet. Yeah, I know, dark humor. The only selenium/E paste I could find was a huge tube for a cow. I just pushed about a dime's worth out on my finger and put it in his mouth, once a day for a few days. That and my Great Pyrenees kept nudging the little guy to make him get up and walk, soon straightened him out.

I know you are worried and love your babies dearly. It will be ok, y'all got this.

Thank you. I figured once a day, just needed to have someone confirm it. And the words of reassurance are much appreciated as I wonder if I had cared for the doe correctly this wouldn't have happened.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

A reply on another group said not to use the paste/gel, but to use the injectable kind. Your thoughts on this. I know it would be faster acting-any other reason? We don't have the injectable form.

The injectable form is a prescription medication and you'd have to get it, or a prescription, from a vet. It can also cause problems if dosed incorrectly. The paste is pretty safe.

 

[danetschool]

The injectable form is a prescription medication and you'd have to get it, or a prescription, from a vet. It can also cause problems if dosed incorrectly. The paste is pretty safe.

Thank you.

We have two does and a buck. The second doe does not appear to be pregnant though the buck has been with her a lot. I have noticed the buck does not react to her as he does to the doe that just had the kids. My thought is that she has not, or ever, come into heat. The two does are the same age. Causes of no heat cycle?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Do you know her history? I had a doe that was born as a triplet with two brothers. She was a freemartin. She never cycled in her life. I've been raising goats for 30 years and that was the only time I had that happen.

Freemartin | Veterinary Genetics Laboratory

A freemartin is defined as a female that is born as a twin with a male and is sterile as a result of exposure to masculinizing hormones.

vgl.ucdavis.edu

"A freemartin is defined as a female that is born as a twin with a male and is sterile as a result of exposure to masculinizing hormones. A connection between the two fetal circulatory systems develops early in gestation (anastomosis) and leads to the exchange of blood between the fetuses. Exposure to male hormones leads to underdevelopment of the female's reproductive tract."

There is also a correlation between polled goats and breeding anomalies. I don't have polled goats so I'm not extremely familiar, but I do know that it's suggested to not breed two polled goats because of the possibility of problems in the offspring. Maybe someone with more experience in that area will chime in. Or you can probably find more info online.

 

[danetschool]

Pepper, our unpregnant doe, was born as a single. The mother refused her, so the owners put her with Inky, also a single, to be raised by that doe.

I looked up "polled" and I'm not sure I understand this right as it says born without horns-so a goat that never has horns? The explanation is worded oddly. All our goats have horns.