Author Topic: sheep broken leg (Read 15656 times)

fsmnutter · « **Reply #15 on:** December 14, 2014, 11:13:32 am »

Quote from: shygirl on December 14, 2014, 09:13:47 am

Quote from: Tim W on December 12, 2014, 10:19:07 pm
My experience is that you are better off putting her in the freezer now

how would you do this in reality if they cant travel to abattoir if lame? is home kill the only option?

There is legislation allowing for emergency slaughter on farm. The vet has to sign off that its been an 'emergency' or accident eg. a broken leg, then kill the animal humanely and bleed it on farm before the carcase is delivered to the abattoir in a timely, suitably chilled fashion. Worth it for cattle who break a leg perhaps, but more likely to be better off doing a home kill yourself with a sheep and just keeping the meat for your own consumption.

DartmoorLiz · « **Reply #16 on:** December 20, 2014, 06:53:08 pm »

I had a ewe "Peggy" who broke a back leg when she was 18 months old and I got it cast by the vet. 6 weeks later I took the cast off and her leg was fixed, except for a pressure sore on her hock which cleared up quite quickly. However, she did not eat much while she was kept in even though she had company and she never really thrived after that. I culled her this October after she became a bag of bones. I don't know why she failed to thrive but I always wonder if the pain of the break or the pressure sore or the upset of being in was just too much. Next time I'd humanely slaughter her right away.

I hope your girl has a better outcome.

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #17 on:** December 20, 2014, 06:58:36 pm »

One has to remember that while a human being can understand that he/she may feel terrible/in pain/scared they can usually appreciate why it is and that the situation won't last. Not so with an animal.

shep53 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 20, 2014, 07:24:48 pm »

Have 2 ewes in the flock that have had a broken leg , both are on the hill and neither have a limp , so long as its a straight break between knee and ankle then ok, anything else and I kill as quickly as possible

trawscoed · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2014, 02:22:07 am »

I have also noticed that the ewe is off her food, but at the same time she's probably not expending as much energy.

I have obviously been checking the leg, in particular the foot, for warmth and I reckon it feels warm, which is a sign of circulation at least. For now all seems well.

Thanks for the info about emergency slaughter rules, that's handy to know. Just to clarify to the person that asked, yes I do intend to give the ewe a chance now that the leg is in a good splint.