Frostbite

thaiblue12 · #1 01/23/08, 12:48 PM

What do you do for and how do you prevent frostbite?
I just found out that my 12 week old Saanen has frostbite on his front hooves and was close to loosing them. I keep him at night in a barn with straw and all their waste hay on the ground. I do not like manure packs though.
He has had poor nutrition issues but has been getting better. I got him with his ears looking squishy and his legs a bit limpy. He can get around just a bit slower than everyone else. The vet said his ears and some hoof issues stem from frostbite.
But last night when I did a check on them, his one hoof was all bloody. I washed it and put human socks on him and held that on with vet tape. He cannot wear doggie boots since it would rub the part of his skin that is already raw.
Anyway I was told to keep doing what I was doing and he will be fine. If I had ignored it he could have lost his front hooves.
It is freezing here and icy on the ground and will not warm up till the weekend. Any ideas on how to help him? The socks don't stay on long maybe 24 hours and I do not have any other ideas.

ozark_jewels · #2 01/23/08, 01:09 PM

Hmmmmm, not sure if I have any solutions.....this is the kid you told me about in the e-mails, right?? I know you were concerned about his hooves then......could it have been that his feet were frozen when he was really young and they are now sloughing off?? I have a hard time believing that a 12 week old kid is getting frostbite now.
I know a friend had a bull calf whos feet froze when he was born. They seemed ok for a while then started sloughing off.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 01/23/08, 01:14 PM

Now I'll be concerned the worry wart that I am that my goats could get frostbite. Can any goat get frostbite? or just when they are young? Sure hope your goat is ok. I would probly just try to keep it warm & out of the cold & snow & I would keep changing the sock. Hopefully you'll get lots more help than that from someone smarter than I on this.

thaiblue12 · #4 01/23/08, 01:21 PM

Yes Emily the same little boy. I thought he was a cross because of his ears but the vet says he is pure, his ears just got frostbitten as well.
Maybe the skin is sloughing off. The vet says he is lucky that he has not lost his hooves and to worry about him when it is very cold out. Well it will be 1 degree again tonight and the last time it was that cold was when I found him all bloody in the barn.
The hoof that bleeds had hair loss on the lower part of his leg and it is that part that is bleeding.
Backfourty I ws told that when he is older and his has recovered and growned his fur in well, as long as I keep straw down and out of the wind I should not worry about frostbite.

ozark_jewels · #5 01/23/08, 01:39 PM

Yes, now that his feet are compromised I'm sure he would be susceptable to freeze or frostbite. Hopefully he won't lose too much of them....

thaiblue12 · #6 01/23/08, 01:45 PM

I hope he looses none. I saw a goat not too long ago who lost both front hooves to frostbite. It hopped around on it's back legs. Was awful to watch.
Here are pictures in case I am not explaining it correctly:

His hoof:

Frostbite - Goats

His ear (yes that is his eye next to my thumb. Took me a sec to figure that out) :

Frostbite - Goats

Tam319 · #7 01/23/08, 01:52 PM

We had a doe kid lose part of a hoof to frostbite, and both ear tips. She was born in -25C weather and it takes only moments for those wet little gaffers to get frostbite. It had a scaly appearance til she was about 3 months old, at which time the scabs fell off, her hoof sloughed off and it all became raw. We put polysporin salve on the raw area and wrapped it in guaze, vetwrap and tape to protect the area from the elements and the infection. One side of her hoof sloughed off and never grew back. She was a nice little doe but we sent her for slaughter because of it.

In the picture it looks like it is just the pastern area that is affected. Or is it actually sloughing off the hoof itself as well?

ozark_jewels · #8 01/23/08, 01:54 PM

Yes, I'll bet your seeing freezing damage from before you got him. Poor little guy. I've had several newborns with frozen ears over the years.

judykmayes · #9 01/25/08, 08:16 PM

is there any treatment for frozen ears
judy mayes

DW Farms · #10 01/26/08, 05:37 AM

I was told that if you rub vinegar on it, its suppose to help. Id give that a try, couldnt hurt. Good Luck

Adam

ozark_jewels · #11 01/26/08, 06:40 AM

If you catch the frozen ears soon enough, you can take the kid inside and run barely warm water over their ears until they are soft and completely pliable again. Then use a hair dryer to *completely* dry them before putting them back outside. Same can be done for tails.
If its too late, I don't think there is much you can do, the damage is done. They will get hard and eventually the frozen part will fall off. If the ears were just frostbitten and not *frozen*, the ears will just feel really thick and heavy for a while and eventually heal.
Another reason to raise Lamanchas.....never had a Lamancha with frozen ears!

thaiblue12 · #12 01/26/08, 04:16 PM

I like my goats with ears

I am sure the damage is done to his ears already and I am just keeping a watch on them. It is finally nice weather today so they are all enjoying the sun and he is happily not wearing a waterproof mitten on his hoof

I have no clue what went on before he got here but I hope to stop it before it gets worse.
Thanks