baby triplet & young mother question.

[3crow]

My girlfriend had a doe that deliveried triplets, she asked me to post this for her. The doe is a percentage boer (mix dairy) her front fetlocks are swollen but otherwise seems fine. She is about 14 months seems like she is handling things pretty good. Is the swelling in the legs an issue?

The third triplet is having difficulty. Her hind legs seem to be weak and actually hyper-extend back. The joint seems correct but will hyperextend, and the joint in the hip seems weak as well. I told her I thought she needed to take her to a vet, to get the joints checked out to make sure they are okay. She nurses and seems alert and gets up and down. When her legs don't work she seems frustrated and flops down on her side and gets her legs repositioned and gets back up and starts over. Any tips out there?

Thanks.

[nehimama]

How old are the triplets? If very young, I'm fairly certain the leg issue will straighten out in a few days. Triplets can cause crowding in the uterus; no room for the babies to stretch. If really worried, an intramuscular injection of BO-SE (from the vet), about 1/4 to 1/2 cc will help.

I'm sorry I can't offer any insight on the leg swelling of the doe.

[Pony]

We had similar walking issues with Mabel, one of our quads. Things were kind of crowded in utero, so she must have been bunched up something fierce. She was really fine in a couple of days, though, and is now the best runner/jumper/bouncer-off-the-walls in the bunch.

You can splint the legs with toilet paper or paper towel rolls and good ol' duct tape, if you feel the need. I was going to splint Mabel, but there was enough improvement over a couple of days that I decided not to worry about it.

Is the doe's swelling in her joints?

[where I want to]

Calcium problems can cause fluid in the lower legs so I would watch for that but if it doesn't progress or she doesn't have other signs, I would not worry. But I would watch for mor signs carefully.

[jil101ca]

Give the doeling a few days, mine had triplets too and the 2nd born was the same, i was really worried about her but saw improvement everyday. If the kid is nursing and trying then she should be fine. Mine was the smallest and now she is the biggest, strongest, fastest.

[3crow]

Just talked to my girlfriend, the triplet seems to be doing better and not as weak through the hip joint. She also is doing better outside the pen and off the straw. Thanks to all that posted.

[shiandpete.1]

Has the doe been tested for CAE, sometimes that disease settles in the joints causing swelling.

[3crow]

No, I don't think the doe was not CAE tested. Not sure that is something she is going to do.