[dyedinthewool]

Hi,

 My 'Black Sheep' lambed on sunday evening - last year she had a bad case of ring-womb, this year it wasn't so bad but 'shepherd friend' gave me a hand to get her lambed.  She had two gorgeous ram lambs, black with white triangles on their foreheads and white tips to their tails.
It's possible that she knocked one of the lambs in the night (she's normally a very good mother) because in the morning one of the lambs was walking on his knuckle and has continued to do this since then.

 What if anything can I do, don't want him to walk like this for ever and presume if something can be done it should be done while the bones are still soft.

Can I splint it ie; with a crepe bandage (not tight) but with enough thickness for support to make him be able to walk on it correctly.

Any help appreciated

[robert waddell]

yes you can bandage them with the crepe  was the navel treated with iodine  it could be joint ill

[dyedinthewool]

H Robert,

Navel treated with Terymycin (spelling...!) as 'friend' can't use iodine due to health problem.  Lamb seems quite bright and runs around but on the knuckle joint.

If I bandage and strap banadage with micropore tape which should also help to firm/stiffen the bandage like a plastercast how long should I leave it on for.

[robert waddell]

we used to have to do this with Simmental calves usually about 2 weeks

[lachlanandmarcus]

If the splint doesnt work brilliantly dont give up on your lambie, I nearly did with my little chap whose mums pushed the wheel off the hay hake and trapped his leg underneath :-(( He walked on the knuckle and I couldnt bear to watch but after a number of weeks he suddenly didnt stand out by trailing behind the rest and I found that he was perfectly ok again. I had so nearly had him PTS, so glad I didnt!

[moprabbit]

I helped a friend last year with a lamb that was born and walked on her knuckle. We bandaged it with a crepe bandage and then used duct tape to firm it up. She had it on for a week or so and then when we took it off she was able to walk properly again. So its certainly worth doing! Good luck - keep us updated please.
 

[TheCaptain]

We had a lamb fracture her front leg (pony realated - good for nowt!) she was in a plastic splint for four weeks and right as rain after that.

[Brucklay]

I had a goat kid (not the same but similar) who had a tight ligament issue and I used bandage, soft pipe insulation for support and a bit of vet wrap to hold everything together. I would do a little bit of physio with him, just moving the lower leg back and forward at least 3 times a day. He did find it a bit awkward but like others after 2 weeks he was completely fine

[Anke]

Navel treated with Terymycin (spelling...!) as 'friend' can't use iodine due to health problem.

Bactakil seems a good alternative for navels in place of iodine. Thats what I use for both lambs and kids

[bazzais]

Had a few that are knuckled over in my limited sheepy experience of three years  - kept them in and on nice dry straw so they are not getting damp and cold on the joints.  They have all straightened out over a few days on their own.

Baz

[dyedinthewool]

A pic of lammy with his strapped foot -am keeping him in at the moment but they go out into a larger area where they go mad- chasing about.

Not sure if pic has attached as i don't know how to insert one into the body of the post...

Using just the bandage wasn't 'stiff' enough to keep his joint from knuckling over so...

I found a piece of metal  about 2" long x 2.5" wide (I think it was a small piece of a joist hanger) that I cut in half, rounded the top and bottom, made sure there was no sharp edges; bound his leg with part of the bandage put the 'splints' in the front and back bound with the rest of the bandage finished off with micropor tape.

I will change the bandage everyday as little legs grow quite quickly (had a bad experience with a horse of mine whose bandage tightened due to not being change (not me I might add) we had to have him put down as he got gangrene) thought to keep it on for just a few days and then see what it's like then.

As said above he tanks around-leaps in the air - as if his leg is A1...

[LouiseG]

Don't rule out joint ill, just in case i would cover the lamb with an antibiotic injection to give it more of a chance.
good luck

[Anke]

So your black shep is really black - I thought she was the "black sheep of your flock..."... nice lambs. What breed is she?

On of my goat kids last spring had both his front legs bent at the knuckle for a few days, he walked on tip-toes, but it all sorted itself with a bit of massage, didn't need splints. Your lamb will be fine