Rusty nail in goat's hoof

[TXMissy]

This might not be an emergency but it is an injury. My wether got a rusty nail stuck in his hoof. I pulled it out and he is limping a bit. I am about to get him on my milking stand so i can examine it. I am the only one at the house so it is a little difficult. Anyway, is there anything I can do for him myself or do I need to get the vet?
Thanks!

 

[Thefarmofdreams]

Do you have a good relationship with the vet so you can call and check in? If so, definitely do that. I loved our old vet, we could call and check in anytime and get recommendations even if she didn't think she needed to come out. Has the goat had a recent tetanus shot? He may need a booster.

I haven't dealt with goat hooves, so I'll leave first aid recommendations for the next person.

 

[JirehFarmsTN]

Is he up to date on his CD&T vaccine? He should be protected against tetanus if he’s been vaccinated, but I would definitely thoroughly clean the hoof, and try to clean the wound to the best of your ability!
You can do saline and/or peroxide, and if you have any vitamin E oil or colloidal silver, that can help the healing process.

 

[Margali]

There is a tenus antitoxoid shot for immediate protection vs vaccine. You may need to give him that.
For a deep puncture wound, the issue is debris inside causing infection and abcess if surface seals over. I would flush wound and soak his foot often to try and keep clean. For my cat, I used iodine in a medicine dosing syringe to flush wounds. I would check with vet on antitoxoid and iodine on a goat.

 

[TXMissy]

Thanks everyone! I cleaned it. I didnt see a puncture wound but I put iodine on it then Alusheild. I spoke with our Argilife guy and he said that is good. He recommended just keeping and eye on it over the next few days to make sure it doesn't get infected. If its hot or has pus he told me to give him antibiotics. Their environment is pretty clean since I only have 2 goats. The lady I got them from said they were recently vaccinated. So.. I will keep an eye in him and take him to the vet if needed.
Thanks for the help!

 

[TXMissy]

Is he up to date on his CD&T vaccine? He should be protected against tetanus if he’s been vaccinated, but I would definitely thoroughly clean the hoof, and try to clean the wound to the best of your ability!
You can do saline and/or peroxide, and if you have any vitamin E oil or colloidal silver, that can help the healing process.s

There is a tenus antitoxoid shot for immediate protection vs vaccine. You may need to give him that.
For a deep puncture wound, the issue is debris inside causing infection and abcess if surface seals over. I would flush wound and soak his foot often to try and keep clean. For my cat, I used iodine in a medicine dosing syringe to flush wounds. I would check with vet on antitoxoid and iodine on a goat.

Is the tetanus antitoxoid something i can get OTC?

 

[TXMissy]

Does anyone know what gauge syringe to use when giving shots? I found some tetanus antitoxin at TSC.

 

[Alaskan]

Does anyone know what gauge syringe to use when giving shots? I found some tetanus antitoxin at TSC.

I never had a choice in guage!

I just told the lady at the feed store counter what I needed, she handed me what I needed.

 

[farmerjan]

What is the dosage on the bottle of tetanus antitoxin? If the goat was just vaccinated recently he really shouldn't need it. I figure for most smaller animals like the goats a 5 or 6 cc (ml) syringe should be what you need. Use an 18 gauge needle and 1/2" should be fine. We do most of our vaccinating of cattle subQ (under the skin) as opposed to IM (intramuscular) so use 1/2 to 5/8" long needles and ususally use a 3 cc or a 5 cc syringe..all according to what we are giving them.... and we have a couple of 10-12 cc ones for when we give LA300 and use a 16 gauge needle since it is a little thicker. Also use a 16gauge for most penicillin as it is also thicker . We use some 20 gauge needles occasionally too. Only keep a few 1 inch long needles since we don't do much IM shots. The beef quality assurance program (BQA) doesn't want IM shots as it causes that tissue to have to be trimmed when the animal goes to butcher....so that is a requirement to sell under the BQA sales.

 

[TXMissy]

I never had a choice in guage!

I just told the lady at the feed store counter what I needed, she handed me what I needed.

Lucky duck! TSC actually has a chart so you can figure out what to get based on what you are doing. I love that store.