broken leg

gunsmithgirl · #1 08/07/14, 09:29 PM

So my one of my younger does broke her leg somehow last night or early morning before I went out to milk this morning. Her leg was swollen 2-3 times normal size the break seems to be right above her pastern on her rear leg.
Normally in these situations I never hesitate to call a vet...however my FIL went into the hopsital a few weeks ago and we found he has a very aggressive cancer. Long story short DH has missed a lot of work and we cannot afford a vet right now.
I splinted her leg, the splint looks good and she is keeping it on. I have her some LA-200, a BOSE, and some chewable asprin.She is not putting any weight on it and is moving slow, she still had the heart to jump up on the milk stand before I could lift her up though. Is there anything else I should do or keep an eye out for?

Helena · #2 08/07/14, 09:41 PM

Many years ago with a small kid doe..the vet advised us to splint it and hope it would heal and be able to be OK..for the doe. Well..a few weeks later we took off the bandages and the leg was covered with...maggots...yes..probably eating the dead flesh.etc..but sent me nuts and I put the little one down that day. I don't know what to tell you to do..perhaps you could have the vet help you with payments...but if the break is bad..animals deal with pain because they know not what to do for themselves..Give her aspirin or get a medication for pain from the the vet...or consider putting her down..and perhaps in the freezer and give thanks for her life. Wish you the best....

poppypatchFarm · #3 08/08/14, 02:28 AM

As long as it isn't a compound fracture splinting should be fine. A friend of mine splinted a doe herself with a fracture in the same location and it healed perfectly. Make sure you pad it well with something soft like a cotton wrap so she doesn't get any sores. You can unwrap and check it in a couple weeks just to make sure everything looks okay.

hurryiml8 · #4 08/08/14, 05:33 AM

As long as it's not a compound fracture, it should heal. I had a doe break her leg last year and the vet splinted her, but didn't have to set it. It healed fine. I kept her away from the others to avoid further injury until she healed. Vet said adult dose of aspirin her was fine. She was an adult lamancha.

gunsmithgirl · #5 08/08/14, 08:09 AM

I did pad her leg with cotton wrap before splinting. I have been giving her 2 of the low dose chewable asprins ( she is a ND). I am going to continue with the LA-200 to make sure infection does not set in. There is no broken skin but I'd rather be safe. She is up to date with her CD&T, so I should be good there.

How long should splints normally stay on a broken leg? Is is like 6 weeks when a person is in a cast? How often should I unwrap to check?

wintrrwolf · #6 08/08/14, 08:10 AM

With the swelling it will probable be hard to tell, splinting should help stabilize the area, double check though that you don't do too tight that it restricts the flow of blood. Once the swelling starts to go down you will need to rewrap it. Personally I would check it everyday for sores from rubbing that would draw in flies. If the skin isn't broken there should be no reason for flies and maggots to be an issue.
Do you think she got head butted hard?
Goat metabolism is pretty high but personally I would shoot for 6 weeks and just watch her, when she starts putting weight on the leg and using it almost normal.
And don't forget the probios! ;P

MDKatie · #7 08/08/14, 08:45 AM

Please do not let her jump up on the milk stand any more! I wouldn't even lift her onto it. I'd just milk her while she's standing on the ground. She needs to be penned in a very small area, so she can let her leg rest.

My doe kid broke her leg this spring, and the vet kept the splint on for 2 weeks, and then she stayed in a small stall for another 2 weeks. She was very young, and the bone broke right on the epiphysis, so he said it would heal quickly. You may want to leave your splint on longer. But definitely check it every day (don't unwrap, just try to check where you can) to make sure it's not rubbing or causing sores. I would only re-wrap it if the swelling goes down and it gets loose. You want the bone to stay immobilized completely so it can heal.

I'd also stop the pain meds unless she seems terribly uncomfortable. I only gave one dose of meds the night my goat broke her leg, and after that she never seemed to need it. Plus, if she's too comfortable she may injure herself by being too active.

CraterCove · #8 08/08/14, 09:41 AM

I agree with MDKatie. The pain is there for a reason, unless she seems in unbearable pain, don't giver her meds for it. She needs to rest the leg as much as possible.

Pony · #9 08/08/14, 09:59 AM

She'll heal fine. Keep an eye on it, check it like Wintrrwolf said, restrict her movement.

I wonder about giving antibiotic prophylactically. Is it really necessary?

We've had a couple of broken legs here: one complete break, one spiral. Both healed well with splinting, done at home with no vet.

Josie · #10 08/08/14, 03:13 PM

I had a broken leg here...did not break thru skin, but was completely broken...set, padded with cotton splinted with a split pvc pipe, held together around leg with vet wrap. Restricted movement (kept her in a small pen) Healed up fine.

gunsmithgirl · #11 08/08/14, 04:00 PM

Thanks Everyone! I knew I would get some good advice here from folks who have been through it! It is much appreciated!

Donna1982 · #12 08/08/14, 09:37 PM

We had two break their legs last year actually within 7 weeks of each other. Splint it and try to keep her in a small area and she should be fine. Both boys heal 100% and you wouldn't even know it now