# cracked horn



## winstonsmith (Aug 6, 2012)

Hello all- first time poster here and newcomer to keeping goats. We're minding some goats for friends vacationing out-of-town. One of the goats has cracked a horn- not loose, just cracked- near the base. I think this may have occurred when the goat rammed the fence when one of my dogs got too close on the other side.
It bled for a few minutes, then stopped. We packed it with neosporin, and went and got some blue kote and sprayed the wound with that. 
Is there anything else we should be doing? The owners are not reachable by phone, and this is something we were not prepared for. Hopefully we are on the right track with treatment? 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated- I don't want our friends to come home to bad news! Thank you in advance for your help.
W


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

It's a scary experience especially when it's not your goat... you did right by applying the meds you did however, it can go either way and can heal and be fine or it could either fall off or break totally off if it's hit again. Most goats are not fond of dogs and see them as a threat and will act on them as such so try to keep the fence clear of dogs as to avoid her hitting it again. IF it does break off, there will be profuse bleeding, applying pressure and blood stop powder will help.


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## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

You can splint the horn and "tie" it up tight with some wire for a few days until it mends some....you can't leave the wire on too long or make it too tight as blood flows through the horn. Best of luck with it.


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## winstonsmith (Aug 6, 2012)

Thank you Liz and Mully- 
The "crack" is vertical, approx. an inch long, not horizontal (as a twig would break), and is near the base, about an inch above the skull, so it doesn't appear as if it is in danger of snapping off, unless I'm wrong about that. The wound is about an inch long. I will keep an eye on her, and my dogs only go out when I'm home, so I'll watch them too. Thank you for the advice and quick response. If you think of anything else, I'll be checking back.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great advice given.... :grouphug: 


I am sorry that it happened....


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

This sounds silly, but maybe ... superglew? If the crack starts to get bigger, that is.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> This sounds silly, but maybe ... superglew? If the crack starts to get bigger, that is.


 Great idea.

I have seen people use Gorilla Glue. It works better then Super glue.


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