The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: jaykay on June 02, 2012, 08:55:57 am
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Cali, who is 6 weeks old, has broken her leg. Overnight in the goat byre somehow, jumping on and off things I expect. It's about half way between her hoof and first joint on her back leg.
Just trying to raise the vet now and think how to carry her there in the car without making it worse :P
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Oh no, hope she's sorted soon :bouquet:
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poor Cali, best of luck
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Oh noo! Poor thing. Hope it all heals nice and quickly Jaykay x
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Hope vet can help :fc:
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In fact she's dislocated the hock, so thoroughly that there's nothing the vets can do about it. He said even if she were a dog and they were going to go through all the long surgery needed to fix it, it's so complicated he'd have to send her away to a specialist small animal surgeon.
So. He says she'll have a perfectly fine life, just a stiff, out of shape leg :-\
She's had a metacam injection and in fact is able to get about, though can't put any weight on that leg at the moment. He thought it could improve quite a bit, given how young she is.
Probably means the lady who was going to take her won't now. Oh well. :P
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Hard to watch her right now :-\ Hope it mends quickly, even if crookedly, and she's back to playing with the others :goat:
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Ouch! Painful, poor Cali. Hopefully the metacam will kick in quickly :bouquet:
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Oh, poor Cali :bouquet:, poor you :bouquet: :-* - and poor lady who was going to have Cali too
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Sounds like she got it caught and twisted to get it out, poor thing, poor you . what a predicament. :o
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I think that's what must have happened Tizzala. One place I can see is the high hay racks, which the kids have taken to jumping into! Am just about to try to make solid tops for them. Other than that it's just the stones of the byre itself, which I can't alter.
Poor love isn't having a good day, she managed to get inside the big chicken house and the pophole slid shut :D Fortunately I was around so she wasn't in there for long!
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Bit of a long shot but I know with the horse we have had a great deal of success with a osteopath who fixed a pelvis that was out very badly. We also used an animal rolfer. It might be worth a try if there is anyone near.
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Was the osteopath a horse one or a human one? There might be a human one about here.....
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It was a horse one but a human one might be worth a try.
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Mmmm, just been talking to a friend who's a doctor and he's been showing me how complicated the hock (ankle) joint is and just how impossible manipulating it back into place will be if ligaments are torn and all those little bones are out of place :P I think it's just the wrong joint to have dislocated, a simple ball and socket joint could be fixed much more easily :-\
The plus side is that Janet, the lady who was going to have her has rung and basically said as long as Cali's leg mends enough so she can have a decent life, she's happy to still take her. So fingers crossed her leg does mend for both Cali and Janet.
And me - I am finding it very difficult to watch her hurt and be able to do nothing for her :'(
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And me - I am finding it very difficult to watch her hurt and be able to do nothing for her :'(
Horrible for both of you :bouquet:
There's no way it can be put in some sort of splint to hold it a bit more steady for a few days?
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That's really bad luck for both of you - must be so difficult seeing her like that - hope it heals quickly :bouquet: :bouquet:
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There's no way it can be put in some sort of splint to hold it a bit more steady for a few days
aarggghh, what is with this 'new' quote thingammy >:(
Sadly in some ways, it doesn't need it. The joint is rock solid, the ligaments are bust and she can't 'operate' the bottom of the leg as there's nothing to move it with and the bones are all in the wrong places anyway :P But it's not unsteady, just unusable with the foot hanging front down.
She can't use the leg, so can't jump about which is pretty sad when that seems to be the reason for a goat kid's existence. And right now I can't see how that will change though I'm willing to hope that it might.
I will try some 'occ therapy' with her once the swelling and such has gone down, to see if I can teach her to use it in its current state.
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How awful for Cali and, because you have to watch her and there is so little you can do to alleviate the problem or the pain, for you. I have watched my kids belting about and wondered how they stay in one piece - my conclusion is that they are only ever one miscalculation away from injury and that all one can do is keep fingers crossed and hope it stays that way!
I am glad her new owner still wants her - once the swelling settles down and she has learnt to get around with her disability she will hopefully have a long productive life.
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That's what the vet said. I did ask him if I should call it a day with her and he said no, she'll have a perfectly fine life, it'll bother you much more than it does her. It being a back leg especially.
So - we'll see how she goes.
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Poor girlie and poor you. In fact, you probably feel it more than her. Hope it heals up quickly. glad her new owner still wants her. Soundsl ike a caring person.
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Oh, no ....what a dreadful thing to happen. Unfortunately goats are so boisterous, these things happen.
I have had two older goats have this happen. The vet basically told me just to let it heal, after giving them painkillers. I had to keep them in a small pen for a few weeks. I honestly thought on both occasions the leg was broken, as the goats were not putting any weight on their leg.
It took a while (one was a long time) but amazingly both goats recovered well, and apart from walking a little stiff on that leg - and probably only me noticed this - they had no further problems.
Fingers crossed all will be well with your little one.
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Oh, that's reassuring Roxy, thank you for telling me.
I've been awake for a couple of hours now, thinking about it and worrying.
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I once visited a goat farm and one goat had a leg missing. Aparently she's smashed it too badly to repair but manages fine with just the three.
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My parents, both pretty experienced with sheep and dogs, if not goats, were round this afternoon. We sat and watched Cali keeping up with her mum and sister up the ghyll and concluded that although I am very sad she can't do the jumping about bit, it's early days yet and she is managing just fine already.
I am very sad. But am resolved to try to stop stressing about it, since Cali, bless her, is just getting on with it.
She has the runs quite badly - stress? Metacam injection? Gas and air? All of the above?
Was going to syringe her with bio yoghurt but don't want her struggling and hurting her leg. Will see how she's going tomorrow.
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Metacam can cause gut upset so yoghurt would be a good plan. TBH I wouldn't physio, the joint tissue probably needs to fuse to heal so more movement causes breakdown of healing. She is very young so a few weeks and she should be bouncing :fc:
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Right, if gut not right in the morning will find a wriggle-free position for yoghurt eating ::)
Yes, agree about the physio having had a gentle look/feel today - it needs leaving alone. I'm just a bit worried about the upside down foot.
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I'm just a bit worried about the upside down foot.
:o Oh! That sounds more extreme than my mental picture...
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I'm just a bit worried about the upside down foot.
:o Oh! That sounds more extreme than my mental picture...
I just mean that because her leg is hanging, the front of the foot is dragging on the ground not the bottom, as she has no ligaments to be able to tip her foot into the right position. In a dog that had this happen, it 'wore out' the front of his foot and has to wear a boot.
In fact Cali can lift her foot clear of the floor from her hip so she might be ok.
When I was thinking of physio that's what I was thinking of, somehow helping her to put her hoof down again. But I think MammyShaz is right that all that will do is damage the healing process :-\